Teachers Are Sharing The Jaw-Dropping Things They've Taken From Students, And I'm Honestly Questioning What The Hell Is Going On In Schools These Days
Hi! I'm the weekend editor, Chelsea, and growing up, my dad was a teacher, which means I've heard alllllllll kinds of stories about his experiences as an educator — including the wild and bizarre things he's confiscated from students. So, I recently asked the teachers of the BuzzFeed Community to share the items they had to take away from their kids, and these are, undoubtedly, the most unhinged stories I've ever heard. Here's what people said:
1."I was a first/second-grade teacher and was reading to my students while they sat on the floor. As I was showing the pictures in the book, I heard one of my second-graders say, 'Benjamin Franklin.' I noticed she was reading from something in her hand. I looked closer and saw she was holding a hundred-dollar bill! I asked her where she got it, and she said a first-grader gave them out the day before. That little first-grader took a bunch of bills from her dad’s wallet and brought them to school to share. Luckily, I was able to recover all the bills and give them back to the dad. The kids didn’t know the value of those bills, but it was a good lesson for everyone! Still makes me laugh!"
—Anonymous
2."It was my first year teaching, I was teaching fifth grade. Often our fifth-grade girls brought little purses to school, carrying lip balms and tissues. It was very common for girls this age. As I was teaching fifth-grade science; I kept noticing one girl sneaking something into her purse. Eventually, I noticed she was sneaking small pieces of HAY (like timothy hay) into the purse. I found out later, like 1:30 p.m., that the little girl had a hamster in her purse, THE ENTIRE SCHOOL DAY! I can't believe it took me so long to notice. I was a bit embarrassed, but overall, I thought it was hilarious. That poor li'l hamster."
3."I'm a substitute teacher, and I confiscated a blown-up condom from a high school boy."
4."I have also confiscated a live bullet from a second-grader. Parents, please keep it locked up!"
5."As we were coming out of the lunchroom, I noticed my second-grade student brought his chicken out. I told him we could not take food out of the lunchroom. As he patted his jeans pocket, he said I need it to feed my pet frog. I asked him if his pet frog was in his pocket. He said yes. I asked him to show it to me. He pulled out a huge frog from his pocket. I couldn’t believe he had that frog in his pocket all morning without me knowing it. I made him place the frog in a shoe box I happened to have until it was time to go home."
—Anonymous
6."At my school, we wear uniforms and have a dress code. During an inspection, I confiscated rings, earrings, bracelets, etc. without even looking at the items. The next day, a mother came to school, visibly upset, saying we have her wedding rings! I found out we confiscated what I thought at the time was a huge fake diamond ring. Turns out, it was very real!"
7."A WWII vintage hand grenade. It was disarmed, but still…"
—Anonymous
8."The most bizarre thing was a butt plug. Yes, a butt plug. A kid brought it in. It was recess, and the kid was passing it around and playing with it. The principal got called to collect it. They had gloves, a Ziploc bag, and a brown paper bag. Needless to say, I am glad I didn't have to make that phone call home (it's not my pay grade to deal with that one). The mom was so embarrassed that end of day, she had a friend pick up the kids and collect the brown paper bag. Parent-teacher conferences were interesting."
—Anonymous
9."I’m a PE aide at a middle school. It wasn’t me but another teacher at the school. I knew the kid and was quite surprised that they had to confiscate a dead bird from her backpack. Another student had told the teacher, and sure enough, there it was. The student said they found it on the way to school and was gonna take it home to try and revive it."
—Anonymous
10."I had a crazy freshman biology class. One day, a student randomly asked whether it was safe to eat raw cookie dough. I explained why it wasn’t safe and how cookie dough ice cream was produced to make it safe. Fast-forward a couple of days, and as I’m beginning class, I see a group of boys starting to pull various supplies out of their backpacks to make chocolate chip cookies. Flour, spoons, butter, bowls, and all! I never thought I would have to confiscate baking supplies in freshman biology. 🤦♀️"
11."A rotisserie chicken. A middle schooler had been carrying it around all day and nibbling on it. By the time he got to my class, it was about 2 p.m. on a very warm day."
—Anonymous
12."Not a teacher, but I was one of those kids! I overheard my mom say our garden wasn't doing well and, earlier that week, my class had learned about how beneficial earthworms were to the soil. So, I started collecting earthworms and dirt in my desk and figured I'd take it all home at the end of the week. Maddie Lou ratted me out, and Mrs. Bishop had to confiscate them all. Sorry, Mrs. Bishop!"
—Zara
13."An origami gun. The student had about seven of them in his desk. They were beautifully made! It was a crime to have to throw them in the recycle bin."
—Anonymous
14."I was a social work intern at an elementary school where a kindergartener I worked with showed me the vape he uses. That was one of many calls to CPS."
15."Forty-six years ago, I was teaching first grade in Texas. Billy Doug brought a deer leg to school. He said it was rough getting it away from the dog in the alley. He then tried to sneak it to music class under his jacket."
—Anonymous
16."I work in a secondary school and once confiscated a worm off of a year-10 boy."
17."One time during show and tell, a kid with a new mom brought her lingerie to show off, calling it a toy that her parents use all the time."
—Anonymous
18."A teacher called me, an administrator, to her classroom as the student was playing with an inappropriate item during instruction. When I called the student out of class to have a conversation, I asked the student what was the student playing with. The student replied they were only doing a 'magic trick.' I said, 'What kind of magic?' The student then proceeded to pull a plastic tampon applicator out of their sleeve with no cotton insert to be found."
"I asked, 'What is that?' Knowing full well what the item was, just needing to hear from the student and being fully curious as to what the answer would be. The student proceeded to show me how inside the base of the tampon applicator was a marble, and when the thin applicator piece was pulled back and then pushed in with force, the marble could be projected and magically disappear from the applicator and the student could then quickly slide the tampon applicator back up their sleeve. The marble really could be projected quite far down the hallway. I have never in my 20 years in education taken a tampon applicator from a student due to a magic trick or projecting an item from one."
—Anonymous
19."First-grade teacher here... I had a little girl bring this cute purse that strangely smelled of skunk...turns out her mom's leftover blunt/roach clip from the night before was inside!"
—Anonymous
20."Can of fart spray. A middle school kid was spraying it so much we thought it was a gas leak and were ready to call the fire department. They 'fessed up when they realized that it was going to be a THING if they didn't come forward. I also confiscated a hand-crank can opener during recess for third, fourth, and fifth grade. The kid wanted to see what was inside the metal support posts of the playground and wouldn't put it away. This other one wasn't a confiscation but an honorable mention: A girl lost her purse at school and went to the main office to tell them it was missing and what it looks like, but said, 'Don't open it. I don't want you to open it.' A couple of hours later, a bag matching her description got turned in. WELL, DUH, we're going to open it. She had her bowl and green inside."
21."In August 2023, one of my students, a 10-year-old girl, who was a pretty bad, misbehaving student, brought in a worm. Yes, a worm, but she didn’t just have one — she had seven! So, I told her she needed to put them outside, but she didn’t want to. So, I called her mom. She was confused, but she came to pick up her daughter. The next day, the girl said her mom told her to apologize. She then was a perfect student for the rest of the school year."
—Anonymous
22."A Kool-Aid water flavoring that he was squirting at students and permanently stained the carpet."
—Anonymous
23."When I was teaching fourth grade, I had a student vape in the middle of class. Our first-grade teacher confiscated a bullet from a student that same year."
24."I was setting out mats for nap time and took a child’s sheet out of their nap bag. A thong fell out of the sheet. I liked the mother and never looked at her the same again."
—Anonymous
25."Obligatory Not The Teacher, but my friend was busted with his translucent orange cordless house phone (late '90s) when it kept ringing during classes. He lived close to school, but apparently that thing had range."
26."The squeakers from a rubber ducks. Students would take the squeakers out of the ducks and keep them in their mouths so they could randomly make duck noises in classes without anyone knowing where it was coming from. Luckily, other students were also annoyed, and it was easy to figure out who was responsible. It is never fun making students spit things out of their mouths 🤮 but definitely necessary at times!"
—Anonymous
27."A piece of black trash bag. A student was chewing on a chunk of the trash bag he pulled off of our trash can while we were having circle time. I asked him why, and he said he didn’t know."
—Anonymous
28."Three screwdrivers. At the time, there was a trend on TikTok about 'Swiss cheeseing' your 'opps' (enemies). I was student teaching, and we had a suspicious student. The head teacher alerted security to come to the classroom immediately after the bell rang. I noticed the student whispering to another friend, and eventually, he got up as if he were going to attack the other student. When he stood up, I stepped in his path, and the HT called him over. The bell rang, and all the students left except for him. Security came in and had him empty his pockets. That’s when we found the THREE screwdrivers. One of them was sharpened. And no, I am no longer looking for work in that district. And this was a middle-class area, with a bunch of problems and bullying."
—Anonymous
29."I caught a first-grader playing with 'mom's handcuffs.' No, mom is not a police officer."
—Anonymous
30."A life-like, well-sculpted penis made out of Play-Doh. I was hesitant to confiscate it and have to put it in my hand."
—Anonymous
31."Recently, a teacher in my elementary school confiscated crystal meth from a young student who thought it was rock candy and was in the process of handing it out to peers. Another student brought a puppy in his backpack. Nobody was hurt in either situation. Whew!"
—Anonymous
32."High school teacher here. Our students aren't allowed to wear hats, and one day, a boy had one on. I went up to him and asked him for it, and it was a black hat with the tiniest white print that said 'World’s Smallest Cock.'"
33."A first-grade student brought cocaine to school thinking it was Kool-Aid powder. He had it inside of his desk and was caught fidgeting with it while trying to pass it to another student. Luckily, the teacher found it before both students tried eating it, but unfortunately, he was expelled. And yes, the parents were in deep shit, too."
—Anonymous
34."I'm not a teacher, but years ago, I was a student watching this confiscation happen. A boy a couple of classes ahead of me had somehow: 1) caught a live bee, 2) made a tiny leash out of thread for the bee, and 3) successfully attached the leash to the bee without hurting it. He was taking the bee for a 'walk' around school, following it as it flew within the radius of the leash. It was probably the funniest/most surprising thing I saw confiscated at school!"
—Anonymous
35."I taught fourth grade at a magnet school tied to a highly ranked university (think Stanford/CalTech/UC Berkeley/UCLA/USC), and a younger sibling (first grade) of my student came into my classroom with 'daddy"s backpack' full of the fruits and tools of daddy's crimes: gun, ammo, lots of cash, and more. It was one of my worst days as a teacher because we had to call CPS and the police."
—Anonymous
36."Secondary school English teacher here. I've confiscated a screwdriver, a massive metal torch, and duct tape, all from the same student..."
—Anonymous
37."When I was student-teaching, one of the kids was passing out pills in the cafeteria. We couldn’t figure out what they were because the school had a big ESL population, and the text on the bottle was in another language. Called the ESL office to find a translator and learned they were laxatives."
—Anonymous
38."I'm an eighth-grade math teacher from Baltimore. Last year, during the final exam, all of my students were very focused on completing their tests. However, around once every 5–10 minutes, I would hear a peculiar yelling/singing sound that would interrupt the whole class. After hearing it a couple of times, I discovered that one of my students had snuck in a popular toy called a 'Yodeling Pickle,' which functions exactly how you think it would. Extremely frustrated with his intentional disruptions, I permanently confiscated the toy and gave him a zero on the final exam. Because of this, the boy was forced to retake the class in summer school. Looking back on it now, I find the whole situation very funny, and the pickle has become one of my most prized possessions."
—Anonymous
39.Finally, "A big tortoise from the school atrium/pond. My student (a kindergartener) had literally jacked a pregnant tortoise and put it in his backpack. I discovered it about halfway through the school day, by chance. His parents had to seriously sanitize his backpack, and I asked him to read an apology note to the turtle the next day after we discussed the implications of his choice. That was my last year as a teacher."
—Anonymous
Have any other experiences to share? Let me know in the comments.
Some entries have been edited for length/clarity.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-800-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.
StopBullying.gov is an organization that provides resources to prevent harassment and bullying against children. Stomp Out Bullying offers a free and confidential chat line here.
