Grade school teachers are responsible for a myriad of things in addition to being educators.
As adult supervisors, they have to make sure everything in the classroom is in order and act accordingly if something goes awry–which is inevitable since there is always one mischievous student or two.
Curious to hear from educators and their disciplinary tactics, Redditor RodotC asked:
"Teachers of Reddit, what's the worst thing you have confiscated from a student?"
These teachers had to deal with confiscating weapons.
Sharp Object
"A huge butcher knife. That he was actively trying to stab me with. He was 6."
– Interesting_Sock9142
Taser Tag
"An entire police-grade taser."
– Financial-Cattle-356
"My buddy Eric once brought in half of a police grade taser"
– MalachyXavier
Clever Crisis Prevention
"A large brick that an angry male student picked up and walked into the toilet block with. A teacher’s aide alerted me to the incident unfolding. The boy had a verbal altercation with another boy and followed him into the toilets with a brick he had found."
"I walked into the toilet block and said, 'Excuse me, that’s my brick.' The boy turned around and asked how it was mine. I said my name was written on it and I’d like it back. He asked where it was written, so I held out my hand to show him. He handed the brick over and I said, 'My mistake, it looked a lot like this one.' I removed the brick from the toilet block situation very quickly."
"I held on to the brick and alerted the deputy principal. I still can’t believe that sh*t worked."
– Barkblood
Huge Assortment
"I used to be a monitor for kids from rough neighborhoods, we would take them out to the mountains or countryside and have them sleep overnight and do activities, like scouts."
"During the day I would take mostly cigarettes, but during the pre bedtime inspection we always confiscated shanks, metal poles and upgraded 2x4 bats..."
– logges
Harmful Accessory
"Legitimate brass knuckles. He was knocking them against his desk and saying threatening things to my other students. Brass knuckles are illegal in general where I live, not just forbidden in school, so both he and his parents were in some trouble."
– Grammar__B*tch
Criminal origin stories may be found here.
Young Klepto
"Most of the time it was just lighters."
"The worst thing I found was less about the item itself and more about the context. I heard news that my student with Down's syndrome was mugged that morning in the bathroom before school and would be spending the day in the principles office. Coincidentally this was the same day that another one of my students, one who has tons of behavioral issues and was borderline sociopathic (this kid legitimately liked seeing others upset/in pain), returned from being sick."
"When I was told that the mugged student was still missing his wallet. I started to think back to how shifty the other kid was being that morning, but part of me almost refused to check the other kid's desk as I just didn't want to believe one of my 3rd grade students could truly be that heartless. Eventually I did check, and I was getting happier and happier as I dug through the desk not finding anything, only to reach the back and pull out the f'king blue Sonic the Hedgehog wallet. I think it was the only time I'd ever been angry as a teacher, and I was just fuming. Not even at the student, more just pissed that that's the way things had to be."
– zachtheperson
Bad Business
"Not a teacher, but when in high school, they had to shut down an entire bathroom because a girl had a business of piercings and tattoos in the bathroom. Chick literally had the whole Claire's piercing gun and a whole tattoo gun... and of course the drugs.... let's just say she was expelled."
– mixedcerealwithoj
Oh, The Irony
"A tightly taped and wrapped 'brick' that had 'not drugs' written in sharpie. He was throwing it around the classroom like a football. When I confiscated it and saw what was written on it I called the resource officer. It was drugs."
– IssaJuhn
These are not toys.
Repeat, these items are not toys...for kids.
Poke And Prod
"A raccoon penis toothpick a male student kept poking a female student with."
"He had backups."
– Chaps_and_salsa
"People actually make toothpicks from raccoon penises?? Just because you can doesn't mean you should ffs."
– Epik_Guy
I'm not a teacher but as a middle school student, I had something taken from me and I still don't have a clue as to why.
It was clearly not required reading but I had a paperback copy of Stephen King's The Tommyknockers on my desk.
My teacher was so appalled after seeing it, she swiped it and told me that I could retrieve it after class.
Perhaps it was unsuitable reading material for a 14-year-old? Who knows?
But I remember feeling guilty for no reason and ashamed that I was reading a book written by The Shining horror author.
@jman42/Bluesky
@SecretaryBurgum/X
@Doug Ellin/X
@evanrachelwood/Instagram