Let's be honest — there's no Adult™️ feeling quite like that "AHA!" moment when you realize something you were taught as a kid doesn't actually hold up in the real world.
Well, Redditor u/Necessary-Spinach182 asked, "What BS is still being taught to children?" and people sure had A LOT to say. Here are 17 of the best responses:
1. "It doesn't matter who started it."
"It absolutely matters who started it. If you punish a child for arguing/fighting over something they didn't start, the child will be confused, and rightly so. It goes against everything we tell children about fairness and rule of law."
"No one should be punished for getting dragged into a mess that they had no original involvement in."
2. If you ignore bullies, they'll leave you alone.
"When you do that, one of two things are likely to happen: either they'll mess with you more, or they'll move to someone else and bully them. If you stand up to bullies, they back down. The earlier in life you put these people in their place, the less likely they'll develop their bad behavior as a lifelong practice."
— u/wecaka
3. "If a boy hits you, that just means he likes you."
"A boy was bullying me quite a bit and I told my mom, to which she said, 'That means he likes you!' No, mother, he's literally tormenting me."
4. Memorization = intelligence.
"Memorization and intelligence are two separate things."
5. You should blindly believe everything a teacher says.
"Prior to college, there is far too much emphasis on simply believing what the teacher says, and not nearly enough on the sourcing of their information or independent research. Students are often expected to trust what they are being told is true without being taught how to make sure it actually is true. This has created a lot of people willing to believe the first thing they hear, so long as the person saying it sounds 'more educated.'"
6. Teaching abstinence only sex education.
7. "You will not be in trouble if you tell me the truth."
"Stop using this if you are going to punish them. It's teaching kids that it's more important to not get caught, that your word means nothing, and that they should lie or they'll be punished."
8. Cracking your knuckles will destroy your hands.
"Like, just fucking say it annoys you, Jessica. Ask them to stop, it's not that hard. Stop feeding them bullshit."
9. "Adults know what they're doing."
10. Your school record will follow you for your entire life.
"My record from my first school didn't make it to my next school. That record didn't make it to the following school either, only a few miles away. Entering college, nobody really knew anything about the schools I'd attended."
11. You need a four year degree to be successful in life.
12. You should be nice to people even if they don't deserve it.
"'I'm sure they'll come around and be friends with you. Just remember to be nice to them though if you want things to work out.' Total BS. I heard this so much growing up. Teachers and my peers picked on me endlessly because I was an easy target. My parents didn't believe me when something bad happened, so they all took advantage of that. I learned real quick that everyone will gang up on you just for the fun out of it."
13. How to deal with bullies.
"That if you are being bullied the two best solutions are:
1. Tell your teacher.
2. Sit down with the bully and explain how hurtful their words are."
— u/cpdf98
14. “Studies are more important, there will be time for friends later.”
“As an adult who cannot speak to people, I’ll tell you now — you need to learn basic communication skills early in life, because later on people will be complete assholes and won’t give you the time of day."
15. What our solar system looks like.
"None of the classroom solar system models are even remotely to scale."
"What stuns me is how few people understand how vastly huge and dominating the sun is. 99.8% of all the mass of the solar system is in the big brilliant ball of light and heat in the center."
16. The importance of social media.
"Kids are starting social media so early these days, and I think that’s very dangerous because it puts a lot of pressure on them to attribute their worth to their social media success. I also think parents are way too open with their social media when it comes to their kids, and it’s totally a violation of the child’s privacy (of which some parents will never admit)."
Now its your turn! Are there any lies we're still teaching kids that you're 200% over? If so, let us know in the comments below!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.