When you're a young student, a lot of the stuff that teachers do is confusing. You're forced to go along with the lessons they teach, the assignments they give, and the things they say.
And why do you go along with it? Because you're so young you don't have any true knowledge or understanding of the world. So you're forced to trust that they know the write way to teach and instruct.
But when the years pass and you become an adult yourself, there's an opportunity to look back and reflect. You remember some of those confusing assignments and, lo and behold, they're still confusing.
Only now that you're older, you don't have to take the teacher's word for it. You can call it for what it truly was: bizarre and ridiculous.
polly1nyara asked, "What was the weirdest school assignment you were ever given?"
Flipping a Frog
"We had to dissect a frog, then clean it down to the bones, then glue the bones together to make the body, then make a creative scene for the body to be in" -- MarsupialRage
"Serial Killer 103?" -- JeremyTheMVP
"I would hate this assignment but only because frog bones are So. Small. And easily breakable."
"It would just be an exercise in frustration trying to glue it back together, especially without all the equipment they use for articulating skeletons." -- CoyoteWee
A Classic Assignment
"In college psychology we were told to devise a (safe and legal) social experiment of our choosing and note how the people around us acted."
"For example, dressing as a baby and walking around public, sitting down in an elevator with arms wrapped around your knees rocking back and forth not talking to anyone, etc."
"I can't remember what I chose to do anymore since it was so many years ago but it was a fun class."
-- Aerionne
A Surefire Way to Create Empathy
"We picked colored papers at random at the beginning of the week and each color would be our social class for the rest of the week (I.e. yellow paper = king, blue paper=soldier etc.)"
"I remember getting the second best card and I got a lot of privileges, so it was fun for me."
"Can't say the same for the kids who got lower cards, like peasant or prisoner."
Wut.
"My fourth grade teacher went to Disney World, came back, told us all about it, and then made us write a five paragraph essay on her trip." -- armadillollidamra
"Haha what an a**hole!" -- Poor_University_Kid
Bit of a Reach
"I took an accounting class in college. It was about credits/debits, accounts billable/payable, FIFO/LIFO, etc. The term project was to go to two fast food restaurants of your choice, eat there, and then write a report comparing the service."
"At the time I didn't even question it but in hindsight I have no idea what the deal was."
"I did McDonald's and Chick-Fil-A"
Logistically Unsound
"I'm an art student and our first big project was to go to B&Q (diy shop for people who don't know) and paint an aisle."
"The worst part was we had to literally sit down in an aisle and draw while people were shopping around us it was SO awkward and everyone hated the experience with a passion."
-- Nookaalex
In Cahoots With the Publisher?
"My whole PE class in college, we needed a textbook, homework was to read the chapters."
"Student: is there a quiz on this? Teacher: no this is a PE class well test you in the field and in the gym and see how you improve. Student: is the book mandatory? Teacher: yes it's required for this class."
"We literally had boatloads of reading every week from an overpriced textbook that no one bought and we never got quizzed on it."
-- skraatatta
Class Bonding
"For a psychology project, we were assigned to exercise in our clothes till they're drenched in sweat. After that, we had to place them in ziplock bags."
"The next day we had to blindfold ourselves and guess which person owned which clothes based on the scent of the sweat." -- SarcandIron
"How is that related to Psychology at all?" -- Mrchikkin
Dr. B Sounds Like a Rad Dude
"My favorite and weirdest assignment was from Dr. B in high-school. He gave us the assignment of planning out and writing how we would kidnap him without killing him or anyone seeing."
"I had a very detailed plan that included using his relationship with other teachers to coerce him out of his classroom unsuspectingly, creating clorophorm in the science lab (which I had access to and confirmed we had the ingredients needed)..."
"...storage of him under the stage in the band room (had my own keys as head of drumline), and picking him up after hours and taking him out the side exit which had no cameras and was accessible by a road through an orchard (again, no cameras)."
"Taking him to the band room to be chloroformed, gaged, tied up,, and stored under the stage would all be achieved during my TA period (where I usually just wandered class to class cause my teach didn't care)."
"When he handed back assignments I didn't get mine back. Instead I just got a sheet of paper that said 'see me after class.'"
"Shi**ing my pants I stayed, and he told me 'I don't think I've ever had a student whose plan would actually work..... you terrify me.'"
"We both laughed, I got my paper back, and I left the room with 'well... let's just hope I never fail a test.'"
"Weirdest and most fun assignment I had in high school. His point was to engage students in their writing with their mischievous side."
RIP
My high school creative writing teacher asked us to write our own obituaries. Sounds morbid, but it was actually a lot of fun to write/share. Some classmates took a serious approach and wrote about what they hoped their life had been like (fulfilling career, lots of kids, etc.). Some went in a darkly comedic direction and described hilarious accidents that culminated in their death.
Birthday candle fire
We did something similar for an introductory French class on Halloween - we paired off, then each had to draw a gravestone for our partner, with their birth and death dates plus cause of death. My partner said I died on Halloween, killed by a falling jack-o-lantern. I accidentally used my partner's birth date as their death date as well, so I said they died in a "birthday candle fire."
Probably not even the weirdest assignment we had to do. Our French teacher was good at her job.
Lettuce not ask questions
A 300 word essay about if we would choose cabbage seeds or cabbages
Happy feet
Draw a tap-dancing penguin with a monocle. My 5th-grade teacher loved art and so sometimes she would give us random topics to draw once we finished our work.
Rumpelstiltskin
Middle school science teacher told us to draw a machine that turns straw into gold. Yes, the assignment was total BS but that was what she asked us to do. She deemed my elaborate matter conversion device "not detailed enough" and gave me a C.
To this day I have no clue what she was trying to accomplish other than making her students hate her.
Ice ice baby
In my child psychopathology class last semester my prof had us put ice cubes in all of our food that had some form of liquid (so like soup, yogurt, pasta sauce, etc), as well as our drinks for two weeks. The assignment was to get us addicted to the presence of ice cubes in our food and drinks and to really make a habit out of finding ice cubes and planning our day around it like an addict.
I had to bring an ice cube wrapped in tin foil in a plastic bag to work so I could put it in my fruit cup later that day. There were some foods that I outright avoided so that I wouldn't ruin it with the ice cubes for those two weeks. Very weird assignment to say the least, but effective nonetheless.
Historical lessons
That sociology class where they made some of us wear marks and show papers for a week like we were Jews in Nazi Germany was pretty crazy.
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English Teachers Share The Most Disturbing Assignments Students Have Submitted
Is this homework or 'Exhibit A?'
It's often been said to write down your feelings and your thoughts. Putting pen to paper can free you of life's emotional strongholds. It's always surprising to discover the freedom one finds when telling their story in a form of third person. You can feel the pain but it can't hurt you. Every once and awhile a simple homework assignment can turn into the vigorous waving of a red flag. And once that flag is flown the teacher tends to become the therapist. Educators really should be getting dual checks.
Redditor u/MyNameAlexUgh wanted to know from English teachers about warning signs in the work of their students by asking.... English teachers of Reddit, what is the most disturbing story/assessment a student has ever submitted?
Disheartened Young Boy Calls 911 To Ask For Homework Help, And The Dispatcher Doesn't Miss A Beat ❤️
When you're a kid stuck on a really difficult math problem, what can you do? It's not like you can dial 9-1-1 and get help, right?
Right?
Our dispatchers never know what the next call might be.They train for many emergency situations, homework help is n… https://t.co/3t8eT975at— LafayetteINPolice (@LafayetteINPolice) 1548447263.0
While it's not an endorsed solution, an Indiana boy did just that. On January 14th, he called emergency services due to difficulty with his homework.
The call was answered by Antonia Bundy, a dispatcher with Lafayette Police. Despite the situation being a little less dire than their typical call, Bundy assisted the boy.
The boy starts off the call explaining he "had a really bad day" because of his homework. Bundy asks about the subject he's having difficulty with. As she works through the problem with the boy, Bundy is very patient, not giving him the answer, but instead helping him come to it himself.
It's a really sweet clip to hear.
Boy calls 911 for homework help. So very sweet. https://t.co/RGcyWzbfHN— Randy #RESISTS (@Randy #RESISTS) 1548714991.0
@merrythedog @LafayetteINPD @PoliceOne @apbweb @WLFI @WTHRcom This melts my heart, that little boy overcame an obst… https://t.co/RYNCdqrTij— Mindy reinhardt (@Mindy reinhardt) 1548635286.0
My heart goes out to this kid...sounds like he could have used a hug, too....... 911 dispatcher helps student with… https://t.co/49wUeANFjp— Elizabeth Llorente (@Elizabeth Llorente) 1548793518.0
Again, the department's statement on the situation stresses that 911 services are not for homework help. However, at the time the call was taken, the queue was sparse, and Bundy could see if anyone was on hold. She'd have been ready to help anyone else who called if necessary.
"She's very much a dedicated employee, it doesn't surprise us that she goes above and beyond on a regular basis,"
Said Sergeant Matt Gard of the Lafayette Police.
"They do receive some oddball requests, but this situation of calling asking for homework help — I've been in law enforcement for 13 years and I don't know I've ever heard of this happening."
Bundy most certainly stepped up!
@LafayetteINPD @PoliceOne @apbweb @WLFI @WTHRcom I love this! I'm so happy this struggling child was not chastised… https://t.co/eoJEQcScp2— Gail Burchette (@Gail Burchette) 1548700530.0
@Onlyabrit @LafayetteINPD @PoliceOne @apbweb @WLFI @WTHRcom So true.— Helena Caesar (@Helena Caesar) 1548671811.0
Solid proof of good humans in this world https://t.co/H17OgFVCfd— Jenny Lougheed (@Jenny Lougheed) 1548782808.0
@BichonMom3 @LafayetteINPD @PoliceOne @apbweb @WLFI @WTHRcom I was a latch key kid and it can get lonely. Thanks for helping this guy.— Chris Fox (@Chris Fox) 1548696327.0
Though, if it were someone else, they might have shut this question down due to the fractions alone!
@_shireenahmed_ Couldn’t agree more! (PS I hated solving fractions too)— James Tyler FC (@James Tyler FC) 1548783401.0
@nonfamousbot @LafayetteINPD @PoliceOne @apbweb @WLFI @WTHRcom poor kids!!— Nawali ❄☃ (@Nawali ❄☃) 1548685742.0
@LafayetteINPD @PoliceOne @apbweb @WLFI @WTHRcom Fractions suck, but always ask for help.— 𝑽𝒊𝒅𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 (@𝑽𝒊𝒅𝒂 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆) 1548734529.0
@LafayetteINPD @PoliceOne @apbweb I couldn't be a 911 operator for various reasons but this is the worst case scena… https://t.co/DFsOak7QS1— Julie Ann (@Julie Ann) 1548692353.0
At the end of the call, the boy apologizes for calling saying he "really needed help."
While Sgt. Gard is happy that Bundy was able to help and brighten this boy's day, he does want to stress the importance of when to call emergency services. Maybe the school can educate the kids on local homework help lines instead?
Teachers Share The Most Ridiculous Excuses Students Had For Not Doing Their Homework
Yes nobody "likes" to do homework, or for the most part assignments at work. But for almost 96% of the population at sometime in life it is a necessity. But we all have those nights where it's just too much, too much wine, too much boredom or just not enough interest and we fall asleep before we can finish and then wake up too late to continue. So our mind races... "What excuse can we give? What seems plausible?" One thing is for sure... the dog is in the clear.
Redditor u/nooby32 wanted the teachers of the internet to reach out and tell us... Teachers of Reddit, what's the most ridiculous excuse a student has given you for not doing their homework?