> I subbed in a high school chemistry class studying reactions. And I told the kids that sodium combusts with water. <
I taught chemistry for many years. And I can verify how stupid school administrators are. Sodium does react vigorously with water. But no kid could possibly get his hands on elemental sodium. It would be way easier to make a standard pipe bomb. No matter. Out you go.
Here’s another true story. A friend of mine taught chemistry at another high school. One day she made a remark similar to yours, and the principal found out. My friend couldn’t be fired as she had tenure.
So the principal made her go through every student textbook, and remove all pages that covered elemental Group 1 reactions. Insane, simply insane.
Those stories leave my jaw dropping. I did not realize that level of right-speak and even cancel culture toward basic physical processes existed in schools. Stupid stuff in literature, maybe, but chemistry? That’s unbelievable!