School is a necessary part of everyone’s lives, and with any luck, attendees end up with a few good memories and an education. But it’s also a place with a lot of rules and regulations that don’t always make sense.
Teen years are rife with the desire to rebel against adults who don’t always get it. A Reddit thread asked people to talk about the time Redditors may have seen someone creatively break a rule.
Answers range from cringeworthy to hilarious. Let’s take a look!
10. He Did Say No Blue Mohawks
Punk style was reviled in the 1980s, but one kid found a loophole.
“Back in the 1980’s there was one kid in my school was hardcore into the punk scene. Had a bright blue, 6” high, razor thin, stand-up-straight mohawk.
The principal gave him detention for being a distraction, etc. and his parting words that day were “And tomorrow…no more blue mohawk!”
The next day the kid came in with the same mohawk, only bright pink.”—BagsOfCowSnot
9. This Teacher Was Totally Wrong
Sometimes substitutes enforce rules for the wrong reasons.
“No hats in school.
In high school junior year,, There was this one kid in my grade that was allowed to due to him having Alopecia Universalis, which is basically having rapid baldness.
A new teacher wasn’t aware that he was allowed to and asked him to take it off. The kid explained why he was able to, but the sub didn’t believe him, forced him to take it off, and was being very cruel to him for wearing the hat/his lack of hair.
The next day, everyone wore hats to school as a sort of rebellion against the teacher. She got really mad and started yelling at the students and said some nasty things.
She got fired.”—6lesbianlover9
8. A Jacket Ban?!
This was bound to make students break the rules for their own well-being.
“Senior year, my school banned jackets. A friend was cold, wore his jacket to lunch, and the VP told him to take it off. Friend pulls out the student handbook and asked where it said he couldn’t wear it. VP flips for a while and ends up showing him the, “…or anything the adminstration seems disruptive,” clause. Friend rolls his eyes but takes off his coat.
The next day, friend comes in with the same tweed sport coat the VP wore every day.”—banjolier
7. One Kid Broke the Rules in Technicolor
Creative and tasteful, TBH.
“After the columbine shooting, our school banned black trench coats.
For the most part, nobody cared, except the mysteriously gothic “trench coat kid.” He had worn a trademark black trench coat every single day because it made him different, and then all of a sudden the school tells him he can’t do that anymore.
So the kid went out of his way to find (or make) different colored trench coats and wore those instead. My favorite one was covered in duct tape.
TLDR; Gothic Joseph and the technicolor trench coat.“—NeedsMoreTuba
6. Well, This Kid Really Tried
We want pictures!
“I was at a private school that had rules about the length of boys hair. One guy in particular always ignored the rule and the administration would tell him to get a hair cut every so often, but he never did. Eventually when his hair got about down to his shoulders the principal pulled him aside and told him his hair was twice the allowed length and by next week it needed to be shortened by half.
Monday rolls around and he comes in with half his head shaved, and the other side as long as ever. We were impressed by literal interpretation of the principal’s request, but it still ended up with him getting a suspension for a week and he had to shave the other side before he could come back.”—Link-to-the-Pastiche
5. Purses for All!
Those who rebel together stay friends forever.
“Just after the Virginia tech shooting, when I was in high school, the administration banned backpacks/messenger bags. Purses were ok though. One guy shows up to school with a purse. They suspended him for two days. The next day, most of the guys showed up with purses carrying all of their things. They lifted the backpack ban.
Edit: looks like it wasn’t just my school either.”—Thesecondcomingof
4. This Adorable Food Fight
In the strictest sense.
“Last day of senior year, we started a food fight at lunch. And by food fight, I mean we drew angry faces on an orange and an apple, then faced them toward each other, made a big circle around them, and we all reacted like we were watching a fight. All the security guards ran to break up the fight, only to make their way to the middle of the circle to find two pieces of fruit sitting on the ground.”—the-bryman
3. A Rebellious Protest and Proof
These kids are organized!
“Halloween costumes were banned at my high school because of some idiots like 10 years before that dressed up and used it as an excuse to hide their face while they vandalized the school.
My senior year more than half of the class decided that we would still dress up and march into the school together in the morning. We all knew we would be punished right away, but it didn’t matter. I stayed up all night making a suit of armor out of metallic duct tape and carboard, along with a broomstick horse to ride. Here is a picture that ended up in the yearbook
The next day we all gathered in the parking and waited for everone to show up. People went all out and there were a lot of amazing costumes, and after about 20 minutes of waiting we started our march in. The deans had learned of our plan and were waiting for us right as we entered. They started pulling people aside in groups and taking student IDs to hand out detentions.
In my group there was one guy dressed up as an ATM and when the dean asked for his ID he started making ATM noises and then slipped the ID out through the slot where you would put your debit card in. It was one of the funniest things and I was so jealous that my costume was not as clever as his. Even though having so many of us participate was pretty awesome, his costume just made that whole event for me.”—-eDgAR-
2. It Was the Principle That Mattered
This student rebelled by getting into their dream school!
“Friend was told in high school by his guidance counselor not to waste his time applying to his dream school because he wouldn’t get in. He got pissed off and went to the principal, who told him it was the counselor’s job to give her best opinion, so he trusts whatever she says. He applied anyways, and got in. He took the acceptance letter, made a copy, and taped them to both the principal and counselor’s door with “thanks for nothing!” written on both. He didn’t even go to that school, he couldn’t afford it, but it was the principle of the matter.”—dirtybirds233
1. This Kid Gamed the System
This is wrong, but clever.
“When I was in high school, there was a rule implemented that if you showed up late to school, you had to go to the front office to get a detention slip. You would then have to give it to the teacher for that period, who would then mark it down, and you were required to go to lunch detention for that day.
I figured out by the third slip that literally no one cared: teachers, security, or students. So when I was subsequently late for the rest of the year, I would take out an old slip that I had from a previous detention, walk through school, give it to my teacher to mark down, then take it back to “give to the lunch detention supervisor”. But I never went to detention because the front office didn’t have record of me being late.
I was late no less than 50 times my senior year, only having been reprimanded the initial three times. I even told my parents about it after I had graduated and even they agreed it was dumb and funny.”—AnEnigma1
There you have it! You have to admit that some of these rebellious methods are quite clever. Did you ever creatively break a rule when you were a student? Go ahead and share your story in the comments, you can’t get detention for it now.
