Things Teachers Did in 80s & 90s That Wouldn’t Fly Today
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
I’m a product of going to school in the golden years. There’s things teachers did in the 80s and 90s that wouldn’t fly today.
Teachers are underpaid and underappreciated. That must make dealing with a classroom full of kids who don’t want to learn what an adverb is even more frustrating. Those things about teaching remain the same, but some parts of the job have changed quite a bit in the last few decades. A Reddit thread asks, “ “80s/90s Kids: What’s something a school teacher did to you that would not fly today?” And here’s what the Gen Xers and millennials have to say according to Reddit.
- “My elementary school teacher used to say to kids ‘you’re cruisin for a bruisin’ and once washed out my friend Jermaine’s mouth out with soap. This was circa 1987”
- “One of my history teachers tied me to my desk in high school.”
- “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.”
- “The school took us to the theater to watch ‘Gremlins.’”
- “My middle school teacher confiscated my lunch after catching me trying to eat some of it during class and then he ate it in front of everyone and sent me to lunch with nothing.”
- “My fourth grade teacher was a softball player in her younger years. When you weren’t paying attention she’d hurl a stick of chalk at you. She rarely missed.”
- “6th grade teacher Ms. Sullivan would take 3 kids every Friday to McDonald’s for lunch. She smoked during the drive and everything.”
- “Late 90’s my 1st/2nd grade teacher would punish the ‘talkative kids’ by putting us against the wall with our arms up and beat us with a ruler if we put them down due to pain, numbness or being tired. I don’t think that would be acceptable nowadays.”
- “If you read enough books during the year in elementary school you got to have a sleepover in the library. Like we brought sleeping bags and slept on the floor. In the morning they had griddles out and we made pancakes. I know, total nerds, but it was my favorite elementary school memory.”
- “Birthday whacks from the teacher. As odd as it sounds, the teacher would 100% get fired for doing that.”
Steve Maney’s radio career has taken him all over the US, from interning with Howard Stern to working with Elvis Duran, this radio veteran now calls Charlotte and Kiss 95.1 home. He is Kiss’ staple entertainment guy writing about his thoughts on local news and funny topics like the name of the male Karen. It’s so much to know, but Maney will deep dive into any topic to get you a great piece to read.
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