Schools are supposed to be hubs of knowledge and enlightenment, yet, nowadays, they often end up being the butt of the joke. Students and teachers call out schools for their ridiculous standardized tests, poor facilities, and academic requirements that are lacking.
We've decided to shine a light on all the absurd things that happen in U.S. schools. So, here we have for you a list of bad lunches, questionably graded tests, and the horrifying state of school bathrooms – all things that show how messed up the US education system really is.
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Son’s Math Test
My Chem Teacher Sucks
Had a teacher like this you have to read the directions and follow them to the letter it states circle all that apply yes they are right in that d. Is all of the above but they are wrong because they didn't follow the directions
Uninspiring Teacher Comment
My 11 year old daughters teacher wrote this comment on her homework. I'm absolutely flabbergasted and angry. This after my daughter just competed in gymnastics nationals a month ago.
The things in this list might be hard for foreigners to comprehend, but the call is coming from inside the house, too. Many Americans know how crazy and dystopian some of their schools are. According to a 2023 survey by Pew, 51% of adults in the U.S. think that the education system is going in the wrong direction.
When asked about specifics, most respondents say that schools need to spend more time teaching students core academic subjects like math, reading, and social sciences. 52% of the respondents also agree that schools don't receive adequate funding and resources.
Online Classes Are The Worst
My School Wants Us To Allow This On Our Personal Devices, Just To Use Google Classroom
A Teacher In Texas Is Giving As To Students That Buy His Book And Leave A 5 Star Review On Amazon
Okay, that's flat out corruption. The teacher needs exposing in public, and then sacking.
The U.S. actually spends quite a lot of money on education, more than any other OECD country, in fact. In 2021, the U.S. spent around 5.6% of its GDP on education. For comparison, in Germany, Japan, and France, the percentages were 4.5%, 3.5%, and 5.2%, respectively.
Yet that doesn't translate into better results. U.S. students still lag behind countries like Canada, China, Estonia, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Washington think tank the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) reports that a student in Singapore is 3.5 years ahead of an American student in math, 1.5 years ahead in reading, and 2.5 years ahead in science.
They Took Our School Bathroom Doors Away
If you expand the picture there are clearly hinged doors on the cubicles
Teacher Doesn’t Hide His Use Of AI
I mean - as long as he checked if everything is correct, it should be okay for a teacher to use chatgpt for such things.
A University Anatomy Course Censoring Body Parts
Some experts suggest that U.S. citizens don't see where the money goes. As the senior scholar at the American Enterprise Institute Mark Schneider writes, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) often fails to publicize their expenditure data. In 2023, the NCES published a report but didn't give the public the raw data.
I Got A Point Off For Stapling My Homework Wrong
Just about excusable if there were explicit instructions not to use staples but instead use a tag (what they called "treasury tags" in my youth). Otherwise, the teacher needs reprimanding.
School Has Become Pay To Win
You've got to start them early on the 'buy this and get this free'. They don't want anyone figuring out what a c**p show that is.
My School That Started An Eco-Friendly Project By Giving Out Apples To Students
And why do we need to know where the NCEE spends its money? According to Schneider, it would help to "unpack national trends and extract lessons that can help us understand how to reverse the stagnation" in the current education system. Also, "To make the large and ever-growing national investment in education more effective and efficient."
My School Thinks This Fills Up Hungry High Schoolers
So lunches are free for schools in my city and surrounding cities. Ever since lunches have been made free, the quantity (and quality) has decreased significantly. This is what we would get for our meal. It took me THREE bites to finish that chicken mac and cheese. Any snacks you want cost more money and if you want an extra entree, that’ll cost you about $3 or $4.
My Little Brother’s Middle School Schedule. He’s Having Such A Hard Time Remembering When Periods Start And End. Why Are The Times This Specific?
Our High School Covers The Expiration Date With Sharpie
That's not an expiration date. It's an arbitrary "sell by" date which tells the store when they should rotate their stock, and when to discard unused stock. (Typically by destroying it.) It's a very common misconception that it's an "expiration" date.
The NCEE president Mark Tucker explains that the problem persists because the U.S. education system was built on a "factory model." Originally, most teachers in the U.S. were women without many prospects to work in other fields. In the rest of the world, however, teachers were professionals, trained and highly qualified to work in classrooms.
What A Sad Country We Live In For My 12 Year Old To Text Me This:
When You Get One Formula Wrong In Our Weekly Tests At My School They Make You Write It Out 150 Times. I Have 4 More Of These To Do
This Map In My School's Elementary Library
Tucker says that the solution to the poor U.S. education system is simple. "We have to have more highly educated teachers and we need to pay them more." But that's easier said than done. He says that the U.S. still might have a slight superiority complex. "We were so dominant for so long that it's hard for us to accept that there are now so many countries pulling ahead of us," he explained to The Guardian.
During The Summer, My School Installed Metal Gates Over The Bathrooms To Keep Us From Going In Between Class
Well now. If that's the barrier which stops the *boys* going for a pee in the proper hygenic manner, it seems to me that there's a straightforward solution... I mean, if you gotta go, you gotta go, and those horizontal bars won't stop a stream of fluid passing by.
My High School Nurse Sent Me Back To Class Even Though I Had Obvious Symptoms. I Got Home And Was Immediately Tested Positive For Covid. Shoutout To The Best Nurse Ever!
Apparently My College Now Require Us To Scan A Qr Code And Track Our Geographical Location To Take Our Attendance To Prevent Students From Skipping Classes
Huntington Beach California. The school implemented this after a number of students were caught with vapes in the bathrooms, as well as a number of other illegal activities. (possession of a vape by anyone under 21 is illegal, fyi) As a result, the school implemented this on a trial period for the 2024-2025 school year to test if this would allow the school to better track its students.
Students in the U.S. also have a great deal to say about the changes they want to see in their schools. In 2019, The New York Times asked high schoolers how they would improve the education system. Students agreed that teachers need higher wages and more support, they would like to learn real-life skills and see standardized tests and grades de-emphasized, and feel less pressure to do well in school.
My Teacher Only Lets Us Go To The Bathroom 3 Times A Month
Can anyone explain this sort of nonsense to me? What sort of society thinks it makes sense to limit when children are allowed to attend to natural bodily functions?
Just Paid $800 For My School "Books"! It's Loose Leaf Paper!
You see this quite a bit with fields of study that are either new, or prone to regular changes. In both cases, they don't want you reselling the books, because in both cases, there's no guarantee that each year's textbook is going to be the same. Saw that happen with my environmental engineering textbook when I was going for my degree. Hell, halfway through the semester, our professor had to have us completely ignore two whole chapters of the text book because the standards that were presented there, had changed, and those processes could no longer be used.
Wth Is This???
Banned words! What could be more emblematic of American freedom! (although if they want to ban the use of combinations of "skibidi ohio rizz", that's fine by me. The youth of today use such words to drive us old ones mad)
American students also want teachers to make lessons more engaging. "A textbook doesn’t answer all my questions, but a qualified teacher [who] takes their time does," student Michael Huang wrote to The New York Times. "Having a teacher [who] just brushes off questions doesn't help me," he added.
This Is What We Got Served For Lunch Today At School
My School Just Throws Away Brand New Unopened Lunches
A Free Bag I Got From My School
What's not to love about the American school system? It amazes me that we still have college graduates who can read, write, theorize, and win Pulitzer prizes.
These high schoolers also understand that they need support from their parents and teachers to thrive. One respondent, Melanie, wrote that when a student has people who are truly rooting for them, they might be destined for success. "With enough support and resources, any student could be motivated to step out of their comfort zone, and be pushed to further their thinking and education and do great things in the world beyond the classroom."
What My School Gave Its Teachers For Teacher Appreciation Week
My School’s Decision To Put Office Tiles In A Gym
Given the color of the tiles around the registers, I would be willing to bet that the decision happened around the time the school was constructed. Likely in the 1980's, when those tiles were seen as a viable and cheap ceiling choice, when compared with other options. At the time, they likely never considered hoodlums would be more interested in getting basketballs stuck in the ceiling.
This Sign On A High School Classroom Door
How do these pics from American schools compare to your school experiences, Pandas? Share your thoughts with us in the comments. And, if you want to see more similar content, be sure to check out our previous articles here and right here!
My School Is Repeatedly Playing Baby Shark In Between Classes Until Enough People Sign Up For A Charity Walk
Well, I guess the torture school was full so they sent their wanna-be recruits to the school administration class.
Someone Stole The Toilet Stalls At Our School
In ours (former custodian) male students messed around with the urinal divider so bad we could no longer anchor it. No privacy for them now. Not sure WHY the stall dividers are missing...graffiti?
Son’s Kindergarten School Work. What 3-4 Letter Word Is This??
Online School Started And I Can’t Learn Now
This-Is-Why-Kids-Drop-Out-Of-School
ok, look, parents of students under 18, college students, and teachers: if you see this on digital/online schoolwork from a textbook publisher (so not a question written by the teacher themselves), report it to the textbook publisher. this is an obvious error and can be addressed. it's not uncommon to have something like this to turn up and it's the publishers responsibility to fix it. now, if the teacher wrote the question, that's on them. (source: industry insider knowledge)
Some One Marked Out The Profanities In The Book I Was Given To Read In Class
Ah yes, America, land of the free! Where mind control and censorship rule supreme!
Do As The Teacher Say Not As The Teacher Do
The Line At My School To Check Bags (Keep In Mind That Almost All Of Theses People Are Wearing Clear Backpack)
Context is important. Bag checks don't just look at a clear bag. Students must also pass through a metal detector, and around a d**g detection dog. That's because while the backpack may be clear, their clothing is not.
My School Asked Us To Research And Watch A Tedtalk Despite Blocking Their Website And Their Videos On Youtube
My (Belated) Teacher Appreciation Week “Gift” From My Underfunded School- A Handful Of Items That I Should Get As Part Of My Job But Usually Pay For Out Of Pocket
The Parking Rates At My College Basically Force You To Pay $32 For Parking Since Most Classes Take Over Four Hours
There Aren't Enough Seats In The Lecture Rooms, So I Don't Have A Table Or Seat, Even Though I Pay A Lot Of Money To Study
My Kid's Teacher Said "Gnome" Begins With N
My School During Passing Period. Right Picture Went Sorta Viral A Couple A Years Ago And Left One Was Taken Today. Nothing Has Changed
My Blind Child Came Home From School Today With This Homework
My Kid Was Sent Home From School With This…whaaaa???
My School Is Fining Students That Take Too Long In The Bathroom
When Your School Bans Wikipedia... Only To Copy Directly From Wikipedia In Their Own Lesson Resources
My Daughters (4 Yo) Preschool Homework. “Match The Pictures” With No Other Context
So My Sister's School Had 4000$ That They Could Basically Spend On What Ever. They Choose This Pice Of "Educational Art"
Tf You Mean “No Correct Answers”? It Was A Required Question?
My School Locked All The Doors To The Toilets And Complain When We Don't Go During Breaktime And Lunchtime
After several instances of throwing wet paper towels against the walls and otherwise trashing the space, the principal would lock the space from use and direct students to the space across from the office. Worked for a couple months, but memories are short.
Our School District Says It Would Cost $1,500 To Put In Two Dividers. Teachers And Students Use This Restroom
Your school district is lying if they're saying it'd cost 1500 to put in the urinal screens. Looking at the panel on the left, based on the full height aluminum bracket, that points to either a phenolic, or polymer panel. Both are rather expensive, as bathroom partitions go. Poly urinal screens start at 1500 per screen, and 3000 per panel. Doors are around 750 each, and pilasters (the supports) are 250, give or take. (Depends on pilaster width.) That's not counting the full height brackets and labor to install. Phenolic screens are roughly double what poly is, cost wise, but use the same basic hardware to keep it attached to the walls. Labor is typically in the 60 to 75 dollar per hour range. Your average school bathroom will cost 10k per bathroom for males, and 15k per bathroom for females to do a fresh install of everything. (I was a co-owner of a partition installation company before going to college to study engineering.)
This Was My Teacher Appreciation Gift From My Administration A Few Years Ago. A Hole-Punched Kool-Aid Packet, A Shoe String, And A Cheap Pun
My School Is Making Us Cut A Hole In Our Mask To Play Our Instruments
Here’s How The School Sent Out A Sign Up Link
We Live 0.7 Miles From My Daughter's School So She Is Ineligible For Bussing. Yet Every Morning As We Leave For School, This Thing Idles Out Front
sorry, but 0.7 miles is very much in walking distance. let alone for a very short bike ride.
This Milk At My School
The milk is frozen folks. The original image had the student noting that they thought it was funny that the milk cooler had gotten so cold, it froze their milk into a brick.
Schools “Pepperoni” Pizza
These Tables At My School
Looks as if some are adjustable. Always drove me nuts in summer when putting the rooms back together if I couldn't level work pods. Most desks are adjustable.
When You Need A 90% Or Above To Pass The Class But Your Teacher Is A Jerk
This Textbook That I Spent Like 100$ On
Got Called Out By My Teacher Because The Essay I Wrote Was Flagging As AI
Back Of School ID Card In Oklahoma (Xpost)
X post and also very, very old post. The expiry date on that voucher is June 1 2013.
My Son Works At A Fairly Prestigious Charter School. This Is What They Served High School Kids For Lunch
Honestly I’d Rather Just Ask For Cash
They are actually acting in a commendable way. If their sales tax is 4% (that is among the highest, can be as low as 1% while groceries can be taxed up to 10% because America loves their unhealthy food...), and their cost of good is $35 per box, the surcharge is actually sensible for a charity or fundraising. Of course they would be happy if you renounce the candies and just give them cash, but as far as a charity sale go this is not half as bad.
My School Could Afford $6000000 Worth Of Renovations But They Can’t Afford Toilet Paper That I Can’t See Through
Toiletries are done based on contract for an entire district, not for a single school, and typically are based around the idea of preventing (or at least making it very difficult) for a student to maliciously clog a toilet. This thin paper dissolves much easier, and makes it harder for someone to stuff an entire roll into the toilet and create a flood to get out of class, or school. That's the same reason that stores and malls use this same kind of paper.
This Is What Our Social Studies Teacher Told Us North America Is
That is basically what North America is, the United States and Canada. It is not just the United States. We have North America, Mexico, Central America, and South America in the Western Hemisphere.
The Wall Clock In My Old Elementary School’s Gym ⏰
Brit here, I can comprehend pretty much everything here. I pay attention to what’s happening in countries that aren’t my own. I know that every country has its share of fruit loops and fools, sometimes they manage to get jobs in education, this applies to every country. You could easily amass a collection of similar images from my country. The only differences would be the spelling and the measurements. Fools everywhere I tell you!
Well I has been over 40 years since I was at school, but I am pretty sure that schools in Australia, and presumably in the UK, still don't have (a) metal detectors (b) d**g sniffing dogs and (c) active shooter alerts.
Load More Replies...To be fair to the US, I'm pretty sure you could find similar dreadfulness in plenty of schools in the UK. Still...
Yeah, we have a lot of fixing to do with our schools. Everyone says FIX THE SCHOOLS!! However, we can't get our legislature to fund school infrastructure or teacher salaries, much less any tools and/or supplies needed to teach the children. It's a super big mess, and always has been. But hey, there's an interchange that will serve one business that will cost millions of dollars to build, let's do that instead.
Brit here, I can comprehend pretty much everything here. I pay attention to what’s happening in countries that aren’t my own. I know that every country has its share of fruit loops and fools, sometimes they manage to get jobs in education, this applies to every country. You could easily amass a collection of similar images from my country. The only differences would be the spelling and the measurements. Fools everywhere I tell you!
Well I has been over 40 years since I was at school, but I am pretty sure that schools in Australia, and presumably in the UK, still don't have (a) metal detectors (b) d**g sniffing dogs and (c) active shooter alerts.
Load More Replies...To be fair to the US, I'm pretty sure you could find similar dreadfulness in plenty of schools in the UK. Still...
Yeah, we have a lot of fixing to do with our schools. Everyone says FIX THE SCHOOLS!! However, we can't get our legislature to fund school infrastructure or teacher salaries, much less any tools and/or supplies needed to teach the children. It's a super big mess, and always has been. But hey, there's an interchange that will serve one business that will cost millions of dollars to build, let's do that instead.