You Won’t Believe What Teachers Used to Get Away With in the 80s and 90s!
Ah, the 80s — that neon-lit era of big hair, killer tunes from Cyndi Lauper and The Police, and those flicks that practically defined a generation: The Breakfast Club, Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ghostbusters… the list goes on. We adore diving back into that nostalgia by binge-watching Stranger Things and cranking ‘Running Up That Hill’ long past bedtime, pedaling through our old haunts. But here’s the kicker: while we glorify those days, we often overlook just how wildly different childhood—and especially school life—was back then.
Remember when teachers didn’t just raise eyebrows but sometimes also rulers? Or took lunch right off your tray? Sounds like a plotline from a dark comedy, right? Well, thanks to a provocative question sparked on Reddit — “What’s something a school teacher did to you that simply wouldn’t fly today?” — there’s a treasure trove of jaw-dropping, hilarious, and downright outrageous stories pouring in from those who survived the schoolhouse experience in the 80s and 90s. Some tales will make you gasp, some will make you laugh, and others might have you questioning how those teachers kept their jobs!
Whether you’re here to champion the softer, kinder touch of today’s classrooms or just grateful your kids won’t be on the receiving end of some vintage disciplinary tactics, buckle up. These stories are fun, wild, and a little bit eye-opening. Ready to take a bizarre stroll down memory lane that only the 80s and 90s could deliver?
The 80s were a magical time. Cyndi Lauper, The Police, and The Cure were at their peaks, and we were blessed with classic films like The Breakfast Club, Back to the Future, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Ghostbusters. Today, we love to relive the nostalgia through watching Stranger Things and blasting ‘Running Up That Hill’ while biking through our childhood neighborhoods. But while we tend to recall all of the wonderful things about the 80s, we often forget that it was a completely different time, particularly in the way that children were treated.
One curious Reddit user recently sparked a conversation by posing the question, “80s/90s Kids: What’s something a school teacher did to you that would not fly today?” Hundreds of people who attended school during the 80s and 90s started spilling their wildest and most shocking stories about teachers doing things that would definitely get them fired, and maybe even arrested, today. So whether you think the younger generations are snowflakes or you’re thankful that your kids won’t be subjected to being smacked with rulers in school, we hope you can get a kick out of these crazy stories from school days. They may not paint teachers in the best light, but thankfully, times have definitely changed since then.
Be sure to upvote the stories you find most shocking or that bring you back to your school days, and then feel free to let us know any wild stories you have from being in class back in the day. Keep reading to also find an interview with 80s enthusiast and co-host of the podcast Stuck in the 80s, Steve Spears. Then if you’d like to further your studies about school, you can check out another Bored Panda article featuring anecdotes from teachers’ perspectives right here.
My 3rd-grade teacher had the whole class camp in her backyard after the last day of school. She took us to see the original TMNT movie in the theater, then we stayed up late telling ghost stories. One of my absolute fondest memories.
My history teacher had a set of pillories in his room. Misbehave? Your head and hands went in and the top board clamped over. No pain or anything. Just had to stand there and feel the shame. Awesome guy and it was an interesting and educational punishment. Rather than sit in the principals office you had to stay in class and learn about colonial punishments.
I’m assuming todays parents would try and kill him with sticks over that.
6th grade teacher Ms. Sullivan would take 3 kids every Friday to McDonald’s for lunch. She was cool as hell. Smoked during the drive and everything.
I had a high school Spanish teacher tell me after class one day that she wouldn’t say anything if I sucker punched this one annoying bully in the class that she also hated.
7th grade science class, the teacher walked around with a beaker full of mercury and told us to stick a finger in it to feel how dense it was. Then he gave us each our own penny-size drop of mercury to play with at our desks, so we could see how it moved. I’m sure we were poisoned that day.
Nowadays if a thermometer breaks they clear the school.
One of the kindest, most well-liked teachers in my high school was a gay man named Mr. McCreary. One day after school,he walked by a group of us, and the health teacher/wrestling coach says “there goes Mr. McQUEERy!!!” Even back then, we all just kind of looked at him blankly.
I told my biology teacher that I wasn’t feeling too well, he said that I didn’t look sick, and as punishment made me stand in the corner until I fainted.
It was in the early early 80s (maybe even late 70s) and my aunt didn’t know her right from her left. She was in middle school back then I believe and her teacher was yelling at her and at one point he painted her face, arms and clothes red on one side and blue on the other and told her “that way you’ll know which is which”. She still didn’t know which side was left and which was right, she just knew one side was blue and the other red… She got home that evening and next thing I know my grandfather was beating the teacher’s a$$ in front of his wife.
When I was in first grade, I asked to use the bathroom during recess. My teacher said no, I just had lunch and could’ve used it then (when I didn’t have to go). So I pooped my pants behind a tree and had to go through the embarrassing aftermath during nap time.
It was my first grade. I shook the ruler in my hand, and teacher took my ruler and hit me with it causing my nose bleeding. Few years later I found out that she also had been working as a school psychologist.
My Math teacher in H.S was very handsy. A hand on the shoulder; or a bit lower. Patting thighs of students who’d be asked to come sit next to him at his desk under the guise of helping them with their schoolwork. Inappropriately long gazes given to the girls.
Every single female student was extremely uncomfortable in his class but he was universally described as ‘harmless’. He wasn’t.
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