# Innocent things you did as a child without repercussions, that would get you suspended today
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [April 24, 2015, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469 "2015-04-24T19:34:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/1 "2015-04-24T19:34:51Z")
In the news this morning was an Arab-American kid who [asked a girl to the prom in a creative way](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/04/23/teen-suspended-after-using-fake-bomb-to-ask-girl-to-prom-in-washington-state/). He made a suicide bomber costume and carried a sign that said ‘I kno it’s A little Late, But I’m kinda…THE BOMB! Rilea, Will U Be My Date To Prom?’ Nobody was upset by this stunt, and he wore the ‘bomb’ for less than a minute. Nevertheless, school officials decided they would have to Take Action™. The student was suspended from school and banned from the prom. On the news I saw on TV, he said teachers were present when he was making the ‘bomb’ and the sign, and nobody had a problem with it. Classmates found his prom proposal idea funny. The school officials would not relent.
That’s what prompted this thread. This thread is not about that particular incident. What I want to know is this: What innocent things did you do as a child, and which were perfectly acceptable behaviours for a child and were not punished in any way, that would get you suspended from school today?
I can think of two songs that would cause a child to be suspended – or even arrested – today:
_Heigh ho, heigh ho
It’s off to school we go
With hand grenades and razor blades
Heigh ho
Heigh ho, heigh ho, heigh ho…_
And:
\*On top of Old Smoky
All covered with blood
I shot my poor teacher
With a forty-four slug
I went to her funeral
I went to her grave
But instead of flowers
I brought a grenade\*
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### Author:  [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/2 "2015-04-24T20:12:22Z")
I usually had a pocket knife handy. That would go down _real_ well in today’s schools.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/3 "2015-04-24T20:28:05Z")
> [@Finagle](#):
>
> I usually had a pocket knife handy. That would go down _real_ well in today’s schools.
In high school I was going to leave the Antelope Valley and drive up to Oregon after school one day. Naturally, I put my Buck #110 Folding Hunter on my belt. I got stopped by a ‘bouncer’ (an adult who patrols the school making sure there are no fights or anything else amiss) who pointed out that I had a knife on my belt. I was thinking about my first long, solo road trip and it never crossed my mind I would be wearing a ‘weapon’ to school. I explained what happened, and he allowed me to go to ‘my’ truck to stow it there and not have it on me. Today I’d be in cuffs.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/4 "2015-04-24T20:50:14Z")
> [@Finagle](#):
>
> I usually had a pocket knife handy. That would go down _real_ well in today’s schools.
I’d say there were more boys than not with pocket knives. And that was elementary school (1966-71 for me). It was actually kind of expected.
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### Author:  [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/5 "2015-04-24T21:00:41Z")
I once took a WWII era rifle to elementary school for show and tell. After getting permission from the principal to do so.
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/6 "2015-04-24T21:09:26Z")
In 7th grade I made an “assassination” attempt against the class president. I had a neat squirt gun that looked exactly like a snub nosed .38. I don’t remember if I actually “shot” her or just staged an assassination attempt. No one cared.
Later that day, I pulled my piece on the bus driver and told him “Take this bus to Cuba.” He wasn’t impressed.
No biggie then; either would make national news these days.
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### Author:  [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/7 "2015-04-24T21:15:11Z")
This is a travesty and an outrage and I feel really bad for the kid in the OP–
Saddled with a name like Rilea for the rest of her life.
There was my brother’s classmate stabbing him with a compass. In fact, maybe compasses are made out of breakaway plastic now…?
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### Author:  [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/8 "2015-04-24T21:15:13Z")
Not quite as bad a re-staging RFK’s assassination, but in HS I had a notebook with locker combinations. I had a bunch of different ways of getting combinations, and had quite a list. One day the principle found me with it and confiscated it. No suspension, but he was pretty angry. I learned a valuable lesson that day:
Keep Backups!
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### Author:  [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/9 "2015-04-24T21:22:56Z")
In grade six, my dad and I built a crossbow from a set of plans in an old popular mechanics magazine (using a bit cut from a carspring for the bow). I was so proud of this, I took it to school to show it off. The teacher had me demonstrate its parts for the class, but sensibly forbade any loading of it.
I never dreamed it would get me in trouble - and it didn’t. These days, I’m sure there would be a shitstorm. 😃
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/10 "2015-04-24T21:30:15Z")
Pocket knife and bigger knives too. Can’t really think of anything else that I didn’t actually get suspended for back then.
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### Author:  [@skdo23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/skdo23)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/11 "2015-04-24T21:45:44Z")
Bringing a toy gun to play cops and robbers on the playground was common at my elementary school back in the late 1970s - early 1980s. Also, I’m guessing that nowadays we would be asked to rename one of our more popular recess games to something other than “Smear the Queer”.
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### Author:  [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/12 "2015-04-24T22:07:38Z")
My friends and I created a lot of explosions from many different things. I tried creating my own gunpowder (it worked, but barely). We just liked to make things go BOOM! (Think Seamus in Harry Potter.)
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/13 "2015-04-24T22:17:53Z")
I took a typewriter to school once in 4th grade.
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### Author:  [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/14 "2015-04-24T22:59:31Z")
I carried a pocket knife with me from second grade through high school. No way would that be allowed today.
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### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/15 "2015-04-24T22:59:49Z")
Our dog would follow us to school and sit by me in class. No he wasn’t a service dog, just a lovable mutt. No way you could do that now.
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### Author:  [@Last\_Glacial\_Maximum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Last_Glacial_Maximum)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/16 "2015-04-24T23:01:35Z")
Story #1:
In grade school {1970’s), we would sneak away from any adult that was monitoring recess.
We would then sometimes build small 6"- 8" fires using those old wooden matches and small twigs. When caught, the adult would step on the fire with their shoes and scold us for playing with matches…
I’m sure nowadays we would have all have to attend some sort of anti-pyromaniac training.
Story#2:
Unfortunately, just a few years ago my 8th grade Son was expelled from school {4 weeks from graduation}. The story was that one of his friends brought marijuana to school and got caught. The principal and police asked this kid who else smokes pot or had it in their possession. Of course the 14 year old named names…
My Son and two other boys were expelled from school even though marijuana was not found on their person or their lockers…:eek:
At the expulsion hearing, I brought up the fact that what if this 14 year old named 25 or 50 names and marijuana was not found on those other students or in their lockers, would 25 or 50 students be therefore expelled 😕
I got an uneasy, rambling answer. Then they expelled my Son…
.
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### Author:  [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/17 "2015-04-24T23:05:28Z")
I bought a teacher a pair of boxer shorts for Christmas.
And no, there isn’t an interesting story behind that. He was barely older than me and I just couldn’t think of him as a teacher because he was a total dork (apparently the other girls were madly in love with him. I thought he looked like a gigolo). We were friends and he loved South Park so I bought him boxers with dead Kenny all over them.
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### Author:  [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/18 "2015-04-24T23:08:50Z")
> [@Last\_Glacial\_Maximum](#):
>
> I got an uneasy, rambling answer. Then they expelled my Son…
> .
WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?! :eek:
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### Author:  [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/19 "2015-04-24T23:33:21Z")
When I was 16, one of my classmates snatched my free school lunch away from me during lunch break.
I responded by pushing him over, ground-and-pounding him while yelling curse words at him, and then retrieved my lunch and resumed eating it until the monitor arrived and intived me to the principal’s office, where I was given a stern talking-to and sent to 5th period a good fifteen minutes late.
In this day and age, I’d probably have been arrested and charged with assault and battery.
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### Author:  [@Last\_Glacial\_Maximum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Last_Glacial_Maximum)
#### Post date: [April 24, 2015, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/innocent-things-you-did-as-a-child-without-repercussions-that-would-get-you-suspended-today/718469/20 "2015-04-24T23:33:30Z")
> [@congodwarf](#):
>
> WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!?! :eek:
Yep,
That’s how they interpreted the school district’s “zero tolerance” policy for drugs on school grounds.
It still bothers me today 5 years later !
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