Things Teachers Did Back in the Day That Would Not Fly Today

I can’t believe they let that slide 10 years ago!
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Devin Siebold, KC Mack, and Bri Richardson are back at it again as they take us on a throwback to the olden days, comparing the things teachers could get away with back then compared to now!
We've got a crazy classroom birthday tradition for you, where KC dishes out a story about a teacher who would do birthday spankings to their students on their birthdays.
If you think that wasn’t wacky enough, wait till you hear about the time where a teacher would punish students for chewing gum in class by placing it on their nose throughout the entire remainder of the class.
Not gross enough? You asked for it… The trio dives into a dental operation ongoing in class where a 1st grade teacher helps a kid with a loose tooth by tying it with a string and yanking it out with the doorknob!
There’s plenty more where that came from, so tap that play button and join us while we cringe, laugh, and reminisce on the crazy things teachers did back in the day!
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[@rebeccamartens9926]

When I was in 8th or 9th grade not only were we reading literature, Hemingway, Shakespeare, we were still doing vocabulary/spelling words.

[@Mw541987]

Something that teacher definitely would not get away with now…I had a teacher who would toss uncapped dry erase markers at kids who fell asleep in class. The same teacher also taught a class in an auditorium and a kid fell asleep and he told the rest of us to hide in the production room in the back while he changed the time on the clock to well after 2pm and turned the lights off. We all watched him wake up confused and gather his stuff and run out thinking he slept through the end of school. It was amazing! Our teacher had to run after him. He also joked that how he graded papers was by standing at the top of his stairs and tossing them down and the closest ones were f’s and further away better the grade. He honestly was the best and unfortunately is no longer with us but fondly remembered by many.

[@immastar312]

Yes. I did that and I got in trouble because I did.

[@bspoon5041]

6th grade teacher Mr Swank stapled Richard Haas's pants to the seat of his desk cause he wouldn't sit still. This was in 1971. Mr Swank also if we didn't behave, wouldn't stop talking would make us write the Lincoln's Gettiesberg address 5 times for each infraction. I asked him if I could recite it instead after a few times of violation. I did and never had to do it again. But he was one of the best teachers I ever had.

[@SConArt87]

Teachers never used to be scared of the parents. I’ve had parents go through my personal bag, yell at me, tell my admin stories, and even call me a “P-file” And they get away with it.

[@vloggingwithkerry]

At least to my knowledge from 2006 to at least 2012ish (that’s when everyone I knew graduated) high school had smoke pits that both students and teachers would smoke. Lots of them even “selling” in Canadian schools.

[@daniellemitchell3118]

One of my teacher angels( mentor) told me that she had to resign when she started showing when she was pregnant. And she was married. Now mind you, I've been teaching 25+ years. So, this was in the 60s or 70s for her.

[@ajc4314]

Teachers off duty cruise from Seattle to Alaska! Three days with you all and the stories would be EPIC!

[@dyannaboone8212]

"As a society, we used to create citizens and now we create individuals." Great insight. You see it in the rules and norms now. You would think that creating individuals would be a positive, but there is a lack of unity and community. Possibly a consequence of more tech and less interaction? Covid sequestering? Definitely noticed it in my 25 years of teaching.

[@TheSeuloSound]

Come On!!!!!!!! Where The Red Fern Grows and Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry were two of my FAVORITES

[@LoriBarkley]

In Japan, students are responsible for cleaning their school - not just the classroom, but the whole school. It's quite impressive and it builds COMMUNITY, which is something that is lacking in the US.

[@adammiller9029]

Japan has serious issues with rampant depression, employers taking advantage of people because if they do not fall in line their 'community' will oust them, and a declining birth rate, large in part because of its approach of prioritizing the group above the needs of the individual. Don't sit there and pretend Japan is some utopia where everyone is coming together in a rejoicement of community. There are some extreme problems Japan as a whole is facing as a result of it.

[@Nameless-ny8nk]

​@@adammiller9029 None of the problems you listed are caused by children CLEANING THEIR SCHOOLS wich is the only thing that was praised about Japan in the comment...

[@JuliusSiezure]

@@adammiller9029 YOU SEEM TRIGGERED

[@Itsmeepiphany]

Let’s be fr that school would be sooo dirty

[@daniellemitchell3118]

There used to be a ski club at school every Thursday...DURING SCHOOL. They left after lunch and came back to school around dinnertime.

[@rebeccahshanks]

When I confiscate notes, I never single students out, but I DO use them for grammar lessons

[@alexasutton3837]

See that’s humor I had a teacher who’s weekly vocab words were based on how she felt about us. I figured it out after we were bad for a week and our vocab was about being loud and lazy. Loved her so much she was an amazing teacher

[@daniellemitchell3118]

When my dad would fall asleep he'd say, " No, I'm checking my eyelids for holes."

[@LoriBarkley]

I answered my student's phone in class. I told the person on the other line that the student was in class and that they needed to call back later. Never had another phone out in my class the whole year.

[@adammiller9029]

Ya... that's kind of inappropriate.... on your part. All that gets across to a kid is you have no sense of personal boundaries or privacy. There are better, more mature, ways to handle that.

[@loudawgent4396]

@@adammiller9029 you're part of the problem. why teachers with spunk, authenticity, and personality get ran out

[@LoriBarkley]

@@adammiller9029 That's the whole point. I DO have boundaries. When in the classroom, it's study time. That's my boundary - established on the first day of class.

[@monicaruby8888]

@LoriBarkley Retired School Counselor here and that's awesome, I love it!

[@epicmomentsphotography6181]

I love teaching from novels, and I love it just because of the conversations we have about the text, and then putting it into writing. Just a great way to teach reading.

[@HeatherHogue73]

Preach!!!

[@ZCP303]

What doesn't happen/wouldn't fly: Writing something 100 times as punishment. Either on the board or on paper...especially because no one writes anymore...

[@amylee8969]

@ZCP303 Give them a type writer and make them type it 100 times. Let’s see how well they do without “copy and paste”. 😂😂

[@anthonyplayter2981]

English Language teacher (from the UK) living in Spain, its really refreshing listening to this. Thanks 🎉

[@JessicaNWheeler]

When I was in middle school (7th-8th grade) and high school (9th-12th grade) we not only had detention, suspension, and in school suspension we had something called "Saturday School". If you got that you were at the school for a certain amount of time on Saturday (idk how long I never had it) and you were cleaning the school during that time.

[@lizabeth003]

Corporal punishment is still a thing in schools around here. I still hear kids talking about someone who had to go to the office to get paddled

[@donnacarter2617]

OMG My school in the 70 & early 80's had a smoking lounge for the students. When I was in tech ( 10th, 11th, 12th grades) , were allowed to smoke outside before the bell rang, but if you were caught throwing your butt on the ground, you had to clean all the garbage and butts on the outside grounds. I feel for the kids today, compare to what we had the 80's.

[@mariawaugh-clayton7978]

Me too. They gave us extra minutes to finish out cigarettes. It was crazy.

[@DonovanSpaghetti]

I remember back in high school. I had a really close relationship with most my teachers, and I was usually that kid I didn’t have a ride home, so I walked or rode my bike or took the bus. I’ve had teachers take me home before. Nowadays, if I told anybody that they would bring up all these new rules and regulations, or always jump to the worst conclusion, for no reason. Instead of thinking an educator would like, you know, care for the well-being of their students..😂

[@Serra-81]

The thinking about books that connected as kids, reminded me of Johnny Tremain. That book and the lessons that the teacher brought, have stuck with me 30+ years later. Great teachers instill the desire ti learn. My favorite teachers were the ones that could make you think, and made you question why you think the way you do. Some did it with games, others with simulations, and others with open discussions.

[@danotalksmusic]

We are also doing a read aloud of Number the Stars for our 4th/5th grade split class!

[@HeatherHogue73]

8:44 Bri, can you come present this to my district? They only seem to care that we teach to the test. They don’t think kids care about novels or need to read them. Like your previous school, we are mostly expected to read short stories and informational texts, which is so different from an actual novel. I am so passionate about this! This is everything my teacher besties talk about.

[@catsrus615]

Mid 80s in my state, paddling was still a thing.

[@shehitmewithacactus]

Love the energy of this trio!

[@stacie4651]

In first grade, my teacher had all the girls in our class have a sleepover at her apartment. It was only her and her helper keeping track of a room full of us. My 4th grade teacher often had students sleep over. She was an amazing and kind-hearted person. I always felt safe at her place, safer than my own home honestly. Her husband worked overnights, so it was only her. The house was small, so I always slept in her bed with her. One time, my mom left me there for a few nights, and there was another classmate that needed to stay there one of the nights, too. I remember him sleeping on some blankets made up into a bed on the floor next to me. She is still one of my favorite teachers because she made me feel safe during some of the hardest years of my life, and we still have contact through FB.

[@BobbieDillman]

In the 1950's lived on a small town in Pennsylvania during grade school and our principal would go to the local bar for lunch and back them they didn't serve food!

[@carriethompson8907]

When I interviewed back around 2003, the head of the chemistry department told me to show up to his his home. All of sudden the tennis team showed up, and they had wings and a "party". :) no alcohol. In inner-city, you can do more. He told me if you want to be just another teacher, go to suburbs, if you really want to make a difference, stay here. I did. This guy also had a short bus for the kids who were acting a fool. He also had alot of ta's who would grade all his chemistry papers and he would focus on his kids and his upper level college classes. Unbelievable! Not only was he successful with all this, he also became a vice princ ipal last I heard.

[@Krista-388]

omgosh the note reading in front of the class. my initial reaction to hearing that was "yea.. obviously thats what happens!"

[@donnatribble3900]

I am an Alt School teacher and in my 2nd second grade year, I had to wear a dunce cap and walk the hallway with a crocheted tattle tale for tattling from my stool in the corner! That is the only thing I remember from that year and to this day I still feel like that teacher hated me. BUT I had wonderful teachers who loved me after that!

[@amylee8969]

In middle school, our teachers made us write those repetitive sentences like “I will not talk in class” 50 times. Back in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, you did NOT get the full middle school experience if you NEVER had to do this😂

[@TeacherKellyTag]

Yes, Devin is back!

[@JUDAIHIRO]

I loved the segment of reading..I remember back when I was in 6th grade, one of the things I remember that was really important when it came to reading comprehension is text to text, text to self and text to the world.

[@paulabrashear9014]

My 3 favorite Teachers/Comedians. Each of you compliment each other🙃

[@kathyotoole4608]

My senior year, we had a senior smoking lounge(outside the back doors) but you had to have a note from your parents that it was ok. BTW, putting a tooth in milk is only if you knock out an adult tooth and you are trying to get to a dentist. Also, our school district has a permission slip all parents sign that allows the nurse to dispense Tylenol and Tums.

[@bradmartin6625]

My wife had me read The Giver and it was amazing to read

[@sherylfisher4992]

I'm a SpEd IA and one afternoon while the teacher was teaching with half the lights on in the classroom so it was a little dim...and it had been a long day, I started nodding off. My head bobbed and when I brought my head back up there was a child staring right at me; I looked at them and winked a little bit and they started to laugh because I knew that they knew. 😂🤣

[@ladyjanet61761]

The vice principal would paddle kids. We were terrified of him. This was in the 1960’s.

[@leetramp]

In the school my brother attended in the 60s, his principal called his paddle the 'board of education.'

[@chomparrific4600]

I had that in 2008

[@blandry85]

The battery (Drumline) in the marching band used to have to put down their drum and carry a cinder block during practice if they were doing things to disrupt the rehearsal.

[@KarenI-eq3zh]

I been to your show....My co-workers and I laughed so hard..it was in Cincinnati Ohio...Please come back to Cincinnati Ohio again..

[@TeachersOffDutyPodcast]

Thank you so much! We had so much fun!!

[@andiovenden3765]

I’m excited to see you in Toronto! It would normally be cold here but we’ve had a milder winter. Make sure you get some authentic Canadian poutine and a beaver tail in Ottawa!

[@ellengalbavy538]

I graduated HS in 1986 from a predominately Catholic HS. Our male PE teacher was older enough than the female one that he could have been her father. He was also married (at some point), and she had never been married. The joke every year was to try to get the freshmen to think they were dating. Well, the joke was on us students - they got married the summer after I graduated!

[@jellyrcw12]

Your podcast is sssooo funny. My grandma was a teacher and I listen to your show to laugh and think about her

[@mariawaugh-clayton7978]

I took 15 kids to the closest McDonald's in the rural south. It was 85 miles away. No seatbelts in an SUV. They didn't know what McDonald's sold, so it took us an hour to order! Facts! It was in the 90's.

[@DorothyOzmaLover]

They always hit content w/ flare that grabs interest so luv em!

[@carriethompson8907]

Quite a few things. I have a student, whom I am still a mentor for, we still connect on a regular basis. 2001. I have also taken her in and supported her through the years.

[@The66Tink]

You put the tooth (usually more so for permanent teeth) in the milk to preserve it for the dentist to be able to put it back in the child’s mouth.

[@I_onlyrunforcodes]

When I was in high school (1998-2001) there was absolutely a smoking area for students where you were expected to stay if you were smoking. 😂

[@LadyJane975]

Hearing you speak of upcoming travels, I had to share. I started my school career in Honolulu and completed my High School education in Fairbanks, Alaska. My father was in the military and served 4 years in both of those locations. I am certain that much has changed as I have remained in Florida these past 30+ years. Nonetheless, both Hawaii and Alaska remains breathtaking. I wish I could remember more of Honolulu, but alas, I do not. I do remember frequent church luau's at the beach and would marvel at seeing a live octopus in a white bucket. My family often visited Bellows Beach. My folks would boogie board in the water. And although Mum was not allowed to stop, my folks did catch a glimpse of Mr. Thomas Selleck as he was filming his popular television show, Magnum P.I. You will find that the city of Anchorage is far different than going to Fairbanks where you might see the Northern Lights and in the summer they play a midnight baseball game because the sun is high in the sky. Chena Hot Springs is a delight you must experience! And take a trip to "pan" for gold, ride a ferry and see the icebergs. Outstanding.

[@kgibbs2805]

Telling a story to my 2 kids about when i was in 4th grade in the 80s. My kids couldn't believe when I said, "so I found her in the teacher's Smoking Lounge down the hall from our class." Of course there was a smoking lounge at our elementary school, multiple in fact.😂

[@adeleennis2255]

What KC described as birthday spanking was what we called the Spanking Machine. We used it in Truth or Dare too. It wasn’t reserved for birthdays.

[@SuperAwesome34]

I remember in 4th grade my teacher hays me write the first page of the dictionary because I kept saying ain't. She would always say "ain't is not in the dictionary.". Of course, now it is. I am 54 now, and still say it. Lol.

[@oliviamonteith4108]

My mother in law was a Kindergarten and first grade teacher for about 30 years. She used to carry around a canoe paddle. I don't know if she ever actually used it on anyone, but all the other teachers (my own included!) used to threaten their kids that they were going to borrow Mrs. Monteith's paddle. She used to bang it on the edge of her desk to get attention so it had notches beaten into the side. After I grew up, several years after marrying her son and after she retired, she was cleaning out closets, she found that paddle, as well as a bull whipe and gave them to me. My daughter used to love telling people about her grandmother had a wooden paddle and bullwhip, and when they got a weird look and asked why, she'd say, "She was a kindergarten teacher!" And so many people just nodded and said, "Oh. Okay,f" as if that was a logical explanation.

[@carriethompson8907]

Last one. I have the kids perform in class. One time after they got their work and science done, we had a dance off. Those kids in the inner city can dance!! Especially with breakdancing, do they do that nowadays? We've done karaoke, performances with phones out, etc. I go around and ask the kids what they like to do when I substitute and if they say dancing, singing or playing guitar ... I ask them to perform. Sometimes they do :-)

[@bspoon5041]

Senior class 1 week camping trip with 4 teachers in the woods. I found a horse skull and brought it home. They never forgot me 🤣.

[@bethshupp-george5593]

I was a freshman in high school when the Tylenol poisoning happened; I remember discussing it in current events in History class. Last week, my kid learned about it in her freshman Biology class.

[@MummaBear]

One science teacher would throw the huge wooden board rubber at us, all the way from the front to us t the back row 😂

[@blugreen123]

I'm from Indiana. When you're here, you have to get an authentic pork tenderloin sandwich!

[@CarinRenee]

Last year my son was in 6th grade and also loved to be selected to help clean the cafeteria. I think there was also an incentive of “school bucks”

[@hillorisartin6129]

My 8th grade teachers got married while I was in their class. We didn't even know they were dating. My mom found the wedding announcement in the newspaper. They were afraid they would get fired because they taught together so they kept it quiet. Needless to say they did not get fired and are still married today.

[@carriethompson8907]

When I was in high school, there was a teacher that would get on a table and throw books that the kids. I remember also that the principal said he needs to start using a book for his curriculum. He would assign chapters and say go home read and there's a test tomorrow. This class was not my forte and so I wouldn't take him seriously. He'd walk around and say thompson, flagged it again. Truck driving school, now that would be a good position. You get your own hours, can fish whenever you want..... I started to study for him and loved the class. We also would do a round table in class and talk about different world history issues.

[@lisapeesalemonsqueezah3241]

One time my second grade teacher made me write “I will not cry over everything.” Over and over again. I’m so glad they got rid of that. To be fair, I did cry a lot. But she was mean and scary!!

[@sandrajacobs5549]

She should have taught you how to spell. Write

[@lisapeesalemonsqueezah3241]

@@sandrajacobs5549 I appreciate the correction, but there are less rude ways of going about it.

[@ellengalbavy538]

KC is confusing sleep apnea with narcolepsy. Apnea is when you stop breathing when you sleep; narcolepsy is when you have severe daytime sleepiness. The 2 conditions can go together, but not always.

[@KcMack]

No, in severe sleep apnea cases, people can’t get a sufficient amount of rest at night, causing a person to fall asleep constantly throughout the day.

[@ellengalbavy538]

@@KcMack sorry, but I know a bit more about this, as both my late father & I have dealt with this. Narcolepsy is a completely separate sleep disorder that can occur on its own, and does NOT always occur with severe sleep apnea. My dad had both, and my severe apnea (over 60 episodes/hour) came on so suddenly that even with my medical insurance putting off my sleep studies, I never had full-blown narcolepsy before getting my CPAP.

[@KcMack]

I completely understand the difference between narcolepsy and sleep apnea. As a person who also has severe sleep apnea, I know before getting my sleep apnea treated, I could fall asleep mid sentence. I was only going off of my personal experience. It was horrible!!

[@carriethompson8907]

Another teacher in this inner-city school taught Physics. I remember when she had some white kid observers and one of these things are not like the other. She also would give out paperwork for some of her kids in the class and then say okay, the rest of you who want to learn something can come over to this side and she would teach physics at a high level. Pretty soon most everybody would come over and learn. Another master teacher :-)

[@madisonoertel835]

This is the highlight of my weekend ❤

[@lsullivanhd]

1976, I was in 6th grade--hopped on the back of my teacher's motorcycle during lunch and we drove to get trophies. Wow, school was different then.

[@noahcat1]

We had pagers when I was in HS but they better NOT go off during class. I graduated in '91. A friend of mine got pregnant in 7th grade and had the baby her 8th grade year. This was in the late 80s. Her BF was in HS.

[@ambertietge6492]

"THATS MARY K!" 😂

[@SmartMoufShirts]

I wrote SO MANY sentences in notebooks in middle school that I almost got the first case of carpel tunnel. A teacher caught me doing them vertically one time, and I was on my last word, writing it for the 100th time, and she said, I had to doo all 100 sentences again, and write them one sentence at a time. She explained the whole point is the repitition to force the instruction into my mind as a permanent memory. Out of pure spite, instead of writing "I will always remember to control my talking and be respectful of others.", I wrote, "I will always remember that this method does not impact my behavior." I gave her the notebook, and said, "I wrote all of these as full sentences before the next one. And I will remember to control myself." She took the notebook and put it in a drawer without even looking at it. Apparently she saw it later, and I became a legend in the teacher's lounge - I found out after I graduated. She never let on.

[@amylee8969]

Did you really get the full middle school experience in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s if you NEVER had to write those repetitive sentences? 😂

[@Njliz723]

Forget cell phones, remember when you had your Tamagotchi keychain PRAYING it wouldn't go off in class. Then it does, teacher takes it, gives it back at the end of the day, and your Tama DIED 😢

[@artsou1]

As a Canadian, we see up to 40⁰ C on both sides of 0. Hot summers, cold winters.

[@DoctorsSong]

This was back in 99, when I was a junior. I asked a teacher if she could give me ibuprofen cause I had cramps and she had a huge bottle on her desk. She told me to ask one of my classmates. I was confused but did as she said and my classmate said: "Oh, yeah you just help yourself to the Meds. She can't give them to you or can't give you permission to take them." I was grateful cause it meant I could stay in school but man I think of the liability now as an adult.

[@lisapeesalemonsqueezah3241]

“In the summer, is it cold there?” Americans are so cute!! Looool! I love “y’all” so much!

[@susancotter8635]

Almost to Salt Lake! See you in front row!!!

[@melodybrake]

In my district when you register your kid there’s a section that asks if your kid is able to be given over the counter meds by nurse or principal.

[@dyannaboone8212]

I want Devin's shirt! Love it! Did not see it on the merch site. Is it going to be added?

[@naesenh.2162]

If you use to get caught chewing gum you’d have to scrap any gum on the concrete for the entire lunch into a cup.

[@tiffity.taffity3214]

It’s only been about 4 years since this but, when I was in high school the kids in ISS after lunch time would go and clean the cafeteria.

[@happyascheese]

My mom told me stories about smoking funky grass in the smoking area in high school. That blew my mind. It would have been the mid 80's .

[@olly2027]

I’m using better health. Thank you guys.

[@MrCarrellScience]

There are some books being banned that I remember as a kid. Great cultural experiences that I may not get to have living in small town Arizona. There are done books, however, that definitely don't belong in an elementary or middle school... I don't need my kids exposed to some... Adult... Topics

[@daniellemitchell3118]

My first 8 years of teaching, I used chalkboards.

[@parrotfish89]

I remember in elementary school if I did something bad or the teacher needed to tell my parents something important they will pin a note to my back so my parents can unpin it and read it at home.

[@The66Tink]

My third grade teacher took a kid’s handheld football game because he was playing it in class and she told him he would get it back the last day of school. We had a smoking area in my high school.

[@ddiker011]

When I was in elementary school, my English teacher would make you smack yourself when she caught you doing something wrong. And she wasn't satisfied with just a little tap on the cheek, she would make you smack yourself until she was satisfied with how hard you hit yourself.

[@rebeccaernette1749]

Bri gave me 2 new books I should read and I graduated last year. Some books were not taught because there wasn't time for it. My English teacher couldn't teach pride and prejudice because she had to focus on the big state test

[@SmartMoufShirts]

In the 70s, some of the younger teachers would hang out with older students at their house, and have just community type of social time. They were genuinely just connecting with a group of students. It was a little hippie dippy, but we were flower children, and it was the age of Aquarius. Everybody was all up with people, and buying the world a Coke and two turtle doves or whatever. I was in 10th grade when I sat in on a guitar circle at a teacher's house. Two different male teachers facilitated it on a Saturday, at one or the other's house, and a bunch of music nerds showed up to have pizza and soda, and play with a huge collection of guitars and amps and effects. But we also had time to learn, and made beautiful music with real instruments. That was a non official event that the school announced, but didn't sponsor. It was just a community thing available to students only. We ended up with about 12 kids, and covered three grades. All of us got to see teachers as humans, and each other outside the confines of our own boxes - ages, grade levels, cliques, etc. It changed the way we socialized at school. It changed the way we regarded and heard teachers. It changed the way we contemplated adult and student interactions. Most of us took away a lot more than guitar. Turns out the two teachers who invited us to just get in the guitar groove were collaborating on music projects. They ended up performing some covers at school during talent shows, as intermediaries between contestants. It was slick. Ya cain't do that t'day!

[@iKatieUndead]

I didnt realize until I was an adult how much having a garbage principal/admin effected the quality of my education until I found this podcast.

[@SmartMoufShirts]

Our coolest students were our athletes. Our high school made them the janitors during the day. They all had specific duties in support of the regular staff. It caused accountability for them, and those of us who worshipped them. When they realized they were part of the reason our school looked so good, they got that pride in their work feeling. That was the goal of the school - to instill pride in something larger than each individual. All of our starters in every sport were proud janitors. And they weren't in charge of the staff. They were the grunts, being ordered around by janitors. The rest of us were held accountable for our behavior by them. All we wanted from them was to be seen by our heroes. If we got a look that said we were not worth ther approval, it was earth shattering. Consequently, we put trash in cans, picked up around our desks, didn't write on walls or furniture, and never just vanavandalized the school. Those who couldn't care less were frequently dragged by three or four giant basketball players, and desposited in the principal's office. It was a good system. But I know they couldn't do it today.

[@heyyitsjanea]

number the stars was a favorite book of mine we read in 5th and 6th grade

[@emilygatsos8112]

LOVE Number the Stars! My students (I’m special Ed, multiple grades) still read novels- even To Kill a Mockingbird. They read Where the Red Fern Grows, too. I’m totally with you, Bri! And, they should be able to do Vocab based on the novels instead of those stupid vocab books!

[@gregpatterson9398]

My bf was born being able to write with both hands and his teacher when he started school made him choose a hand to write with it and stick to only one. The teacher encouraged right handed but he went with left handed for writing

[@EveFields]

When I was in elementary school and we were doing spelling test or a math test our teacher would use shaving cream as a review and we would cover our desk in shaving cream and then we would write the word in with our finger and shaving cream or do the math problem with Shay with her finger and shaving cream because we didn’t have those little mini whiteboards. We had chop boards still cleaned our desk. It got the pencil in the ink, pen and all of that stuff off of our desk and we were still reviewing for something.

[@amandaladd8771]

I think it depends where you teach too. I’ve answered kids phones, read texts, and called them out when being dopey and at my school our admin backs us up. I also have kids who will text me to ask for help or to communicate school stuff. On a side note I also have really solid relationships with my kids.

[@stacyrift8057]

Some things that would not fly today in the classroom: In the 80s in Elementary school our teachers would spank students with a paddle (with or without holes) or a yard stick, we had to do the birthday spanking crawling on our hand and knees like they talked about, book slammed on desk or floor if we fell asleep, would make us stand at our desks if we would leaned back our chair (didn’t have 4 on the floor), make someone stand in a corner with our nose touching the corner. Also, one of my classmates would get out of his seat a lot so our teacher tied him to his chair with a double jump rope. One of the times he stood up and walked around the room still tied to his chair!

[@Robin-jv1is]

In the 80's when I was in high school in New Jersey we were allowed to go outside in between classes & smoke

[@ventalexandria7727]

There were many married teacher couples in my school- at least 8. we could have the husband one period and the wife the next. They would also work together t o run the school clubs and would invite the teams to their houses for meetings and celebratory dinners and BBQs. It was so great and we had a real sense of respect and community. I had one teacher who was engaged and she said she couldn't spend the night at her fianace's house in case a student sees her there, it's not a good example. We respected her for that.

[@tabithamayer2442]

Speaking of subs,my 6th grade daughter had a sub that was vaping in class so my daughter went and told and the sub came to another classroom after the situation and was talking crap with other students about my daughter because she went and told on her.

[@Mylife_MyFashion]

The interesting things is that I do better in school when given a book then a short story or 3 paragraphs. 13:29

[@michellekerr2707]

This actually happens in businesses all over the world,the management would keep piling things on your shoulders keep making things as hard as they possible can and either don’t care at all or doesn’t care until the employees revolt and it affects the bottom line $$$$$ then things get a little better for a while but it always seems to build back up especially if management is changing all the time and the employees are changing all of the time, that’s how you tell you have to have people who have been working at the same job for as long as a place has been open if it’s new or a well seasoned teacher at the very least