19 Times Misbehaving Students Got Perfect Consequences

Thinking about consequences that “fit the crime,” I instantly remember our end-of-year camp in fifth grade. We were sequestered in boy and girl cabins for a week without our parents, and our fifth-grade teachers were our supervisors. Needless to say, it was the wild, wild west that week.

At the height of unsupervised chaos, word spread through camp that someone in the boys’ cabin was leaving, uh, human waste in the sink. 😳 When they finally caught the culprit, the fifth-grade supervisors made the guilty party clean the entire bathroom by hand. (Obviously, the girls’ cabin won the Respectful & Responsible Award that week.)

Though the punishment wasn’t for me, it obviously left a lasting impact. Would I remember that story if the boy had just gotten a stern talking-to? Maybe. But I remember feeling like the consequence he got was not only appropriate, but important to consider the impact it had on the cleaning staff.

A teacher on Reddit shared similar perfect consequences (scrubbing spray paint for hours and hours—yikes!), and they prompted others to share. Here’s 19 other times educators dished out the perfect consequences for their students:

In the shadows

Yep, this one is at the very top because it is my FAVORITE perfect consequence! Kid came back CHANGED!

Let’s do lunch

Now, that’s one awkward lunch!

Practice Academy

Practice makes perfect, am I right?

Psychological trick

Have any of the rest of you thought of this one before?

Lock the doors

Why did I just picture Dorothy at the gates of Oz? Ha!

I love my principal

Nope, I changed my mind. This one is my favorite.

Fluorescent colors

…wait a minute, are bright yellows, oranges, and pinks poor fashion sense? I’m in trouble!

Not Meemaw’s slippers again

I don’t think I could afford it, yet this sounds pretty effective!

What is it with teenagers and ceilings?

I’m glad he never hit the clock again! And the admin smirked!

Mom for President

Not sure about that last part, but I’m glad the young lady received the apology she deserved!

Wafting

“Mom? It’s me. I need to explain what wafting a fart is to you.”

“Wait… Mom?”

Shew, I would have been SO EMBARRASED. This is a fitting punishment!

Female mathematicians

Yikes! I can’t believe they said that!

Properly labeled

I love that a lesson was learned WITHOUT a lunch detention!

Bathroom punishments

Either they stopped trashing the bathroom, or they had a really clean building!

Pucker up

Now, this one made me cackle!

A lesson from the master

Comments like these were throughout this post! Kids really don’t want to self-incriminate to their parents!

Punishment twist

I did not expect to read this today! Wow!

Chew ’em up, spit ’em out

I’m seeing flashes of the Sandlot scene at the fair. 😳

With out ever-evolving techniques to “solve” behavior issues among students, these tales truly hit home. They showcase that sometimes, students can actually learn from their poor decisions. Even better? Administrators can sometimes support discipline in creative, meaningful ways that have a lasting, net-positive impact.

Have you or an admin you know laid out the perfect consequence? Let us know in the comments!

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