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People Are Sharing The Dumbest Rules That Their Schools Ever Enforced, And Here Are 50 Of The Most Mind-Boggling Ones
Ugh, school, am I right? Nah, just kidding, school’s pretty awesome. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I know that I’m wearing rose-colored goggles, but I also genuinely believe that our school days are objectively pretty darn good, overall. Well, except for a few… minor complications when it comes to rules.
You see, schools are like a microcosm of society: they’re full of some really cool stuff that is, unfortunately, balanced out by some rules and regulations that are absolute BS. Just how much BS are we talking about? As it turns out, cartloads of it. And it stinks to high heaven. One redditor proved this to the internet after asking their fellow users to share the dumbest rules their schools have ever enforced.
Check out some of the best of the worst ones below and upvote the ones that made you shake your head like a food critic being served microwaved meals. Oh, and be sure to share some of the mind-bogglingly bad rules that you’ve experienced first-hand in the comments.
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#1
Toilet paper rationing. This was in 1997/98, btw. Apparently the high school girls room was going through too much toilet paper so the dean, a woman, stood outside the door and distributed a few squares of 1-ply institutional toilet paper to us as we went in. If she noticed toilet paper on the floor, our ration got cut down. If we asked for more for...bigger jobs...we were told to saved it for home.
There were several episodes of girls stuck in stalls until friends could beg for more TP because of period messes or unexpected bowel incidents. The dean wouldn't even hand it over--she would go in the bathroom and pass it a few squares at a time over the door. If you didn't catch it as it fell and it landed on the floor, well, that's your fault and you're not getting more. If you used more than she thought necessary, tough luck, go to class with blood/sh*t on your body.
It took about a week of extremely angry parents coming to the school and calling both the school and the school board, but we finally got our toilet paper back, unlimited.
How did we celebrate?
By TPing her car, of course.
RELATED:
#2
Rule: No duct tape ON clothing.
Reason: Some girls thought they could get past the "no ripped jeans" rule by covering the tears with duct tape. It became a "fad" and everyone started doing it so it got banned. A kid in my AP literature class found a loophole and MADE an entire outfit out of red and black duct tape. I mean Shorts, A TShirt AND a jacket and SHOES. When the school tried to suspend him they couldn't because the rule Was " No Duct Tape ON clothes" It said nothing about clothes made OUT OF duct tape... He won the argument and even wore the outfit a few more times to Say "F***k you " to the school and principles lol .
#3
I wasn’t allowed to test my blood sugar in class (type 1 diabetic). Some teachers didn’t care but most made a fuss about it. “Go to the nurses office if you need to do that, it’s a distraction to everybody and other students might get freaked out by the needles” even though it was just a little prick that nobody could ever even see, and none of my classmates ever complained.
Told my parents about the rule, my dad got furious and told me to do it anyways, and that I have absolutely nothing to worry about as far as getting in trouble at home goes. So to me, this was free reign to stick it to the f**kers at school. I tested every class, more than I needed to, just to spite them. Eventually I got sent to the office and my principal called my dad. Dad showed up, and I’ve barely ever seen him as furious as he was that day. He was cursing, yelling, tearing papers off of walls.
I was never, ever, ever bothered about it again.
Redditor SoLe123456’s thread went super-viral on the r/AskReddit subreddit. At the time of writing, in less than a single day, it already racked up 70.6k upvotes (and counting!). What’s more, the thread got over 34.7k comments and 400+ awards, showing just how many dumb school rules there really are on Planet Earth.
Nobody’s saying that rules aren’t needed. They’re incredibly important! They help create structure where needed, give us clarity, and provide us with a sense of security. This last one, security, helps us focus on what’s important. Without it, you’d constantly be living in a state of anxiety which will affect your performance at school and, later on, at work. In case you need further proof, just take a look at how much anxiety the Covid-19 pandemic introduced and how it affected your schoolwork and ability to concentrate.
#4
My highschool had "coordinates", not a uniform. But they stopped selling the shorts like a decade before I started there... So me and a bunch of buddies tracked down used pairs and started wearing them.
Next year, shorts were banned outright... So me and a bunch of buddies on the rugby team started wearing skirts, because the rules said skirts were acceptable, but didn't specify gender. So you had a bunch of guys with hairy, hairy legs walking around in skirts we deliberately hiked up a little to show some thigh.
Shorts were allowed again in a week.
Bow, I’m a Slytherin 3 years ago
These people (the ones in skirts - not the school) are genius.
#5
I got Saturday school for missing a day of classes when I was 16. Seems reasonable, except I missed to go complete my US citizenship and officially become a citizen alongside my mom (it took us 12 years to go through the legal process, btw. Whole other issue). I had a note from my mother as well as a signed official Federal form they give you to explain to school/employers why you were absent. Apparently the only acceptable absence excuse was illness. I got punished for becoming a citizen
#6
"Don't damage school property" sounds reasonable enough until you get detention for staining a chair after suddenly getting your period.
But! And there’s a big ‘but’ here! Not all rules are created equal. Not by a longshot. They have to be fair. They have to make life easier. They have to make sense. And some ‘rules’ fail on all counts, making us ask, why the ever-loving-frick they even exist at all if they only work to make everything more difficult. Can’t the teachers realize that they don’t make any sense??!?
Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as creating the perfect set of rules. It’s just not doable. However, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t attempt to make life better for students and teachers alike. Perfection is a process. A process of constant growth and improvement. And that means letting some rules go the way of the dodo. Though, that’s a bit unfair to the dodo—I’d pick the bird any day of the week over most of the rules featured in this list.
#7
Different staircases for boys and girls.
#8
We suddenly one day weren’t allowed to stand in circles during recess because, and I quote “we could be dealing drugs.” I will add that for the years prior we had been standing in circles no problem.
Next recess, we stood in a triangle, cue principle going apes**t. Next day we stood in a square, principle kept us inside for a week. And threatened us all with detentions if we did it again etc.
I believe their idea was open ended circles so they could see what we were doing. Still stupid.
#9
I got a suspension for holding a stick. The phone call with my mom went something like this (only slightly dramatized):
School: Mrs. TheQueq, your son has been suspended.
Mom: Oh my goodness, what did he do?
S: He was holding a stick.
M: Did he hit someone with it?
S: No. He was just holding it.
M: ...Did he threaten to hit someone with it?
S: No, just held it.
M: Did he refuse to put it down when you asked?
S: No, no, he was very cooperative.
M: So... what did he do wrong?
S: He held a stick.
M: And I should be upset about that?
S: Absolutely, you know we have a zero tolerance policy.
M: Right... well, I'll talk with him.
As you might guess, I did not get in trouble at home.
Rules (and their consequences) have to be communicated very clearly, they have to be enforced consistently, and they must be timely. However, at the core of our need for rules is the fact that they’re supposed to solve a specific problem that we have. If instead they create additional chaos, demotivate students and teachers alike, and make people wonder why they’re in place at all, they’re awful rules. Get rid of them.
What’s more, rules can’t be created in a metaphorical bubble. The people who will be affected the most ought to at least have a say because they might notice some glaring flaws that would otherwise be ignored.
#10
Early 2000s our school banned mp3 players with the reasoning, they would make us anti social.
As protest, we blocked the access to the teacher's lounge by silently stand there reading books and shush-ing every Teacher trying to get past, while also making a petition to include books in the ban, since obviously they too made us anti social.
#11
"Zero Tolerance"
Just means that if someone starts a fight with you, you fight back as hard as you can. You're going to get suspended for defending yourself anyway, might as well make it worthwhile.
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago
If my daughter defends herself she knows she won't get into trouble at home even if she gets suspended.
#12
Girls MUST have a male escort them to prom as their date. If your date bails, you can't enter.
We were an all girls school. Many of us had zero guy friends. Finding dates was hard. I remember one year a girl's boyfriend dumped her when everyone was starting to show up for photos. She showed up at the venue, mascara running, begging the principal to let her go in. Principal wouldn't let her. One of the senior homeroom teachers ended up calling her nephew and said, "I need you to put on your suit and get here ASAP." He showed up with flowers and everything. So like... it was salvageable but totally avoidable.
The worst part? It wasn't always a rule until one year a group of girls went as friends and kept "stealing" other people's dates. Way to punish everyone forever because of one group of bi**hes.
Furthermore, you can’t expect rules to be perfect the moment you make them. They have to be improved and adapted over time. Yes, it’s difficult, exhausting, and everyone would rather just get on with it, but on the other hand, the rules we live by form the foundations of our lives. We deserve rock-solid foundations, not fractured ones.
Don’t hold on to a rule, regulation, or school-life structure just because you’ve gotten used to it and because it’s been the way things have always been done. Think about better alternatives. Adapt, otherwise what you’ll end up with is a bunch of rules that people remember not because of how awesome they sounded on paper but because of how incredibly dumb and flawed they were in reality.
#13
In high school, the supervisor told the prefects and head girls to break up girls hugging in the hallways .I went to an only girls school and teachers discouraged girls from hugging each other. Apparently they thought that it encouraged 'lesbianism'. smh.
PjandBolt 3 years ago
First of all, lesbianism is perfectly normal and should be treated that way. Second of all, girls hugging doesn't always mean their lesbians. I am sick and tired of people thinking that any two people showing affection means that they're together. Affection is normal in every relationship.
#14
Skirt had to be a certain length. That's not the dumb part. If a teacher thought it was too short you had to KNEEL SO THEY COULD SEE WHERE THE HEM CAME TO ON YOUR LEGS. Was this a Christian private school where old male teachers were making middle school girls kneel on the floor to check their skirt length? Why, yes it was. I never wore skirts, so I was spared, but God, I hated that school.
#15
Locked the only boys bathroom because someone wrote on the wall in sharpie. It wasn't even anything rude or inappropriate either. It was just the word "hi" or something like that.
Didn't unlock the door until one boy wet himself and parents threatened to sue.
#16
No coloured bras. I went to an all-girls school and we wore uniforms and the top was a light colour and very see-through for some reason (so it was easy to tell if you had a pink bra on for example). The weird thing was it was always the male teachers who called students out for breaking this rule.... yikes
#17
I spent 2 years in a private christian school where girls could not wear skirts or dresses unless it covered their whole legs all the way down to their feet. We were between 3 and 8 years old and that rule was meant to make sure boys wouldn't have any sexual temptation. This is not a joke.
#18
Guys were free to wear pants in cold days but girls had to wear a skirt no matter how cold it was
Katherine Boag 3 years ago
Us too. We were allowed to wear stockings, which i despised. And the skirts were short and would blow up in the wind.
#19
At my high school, girls could not wear sandals or shoes that showed toes because, “toes make boys think of babies”. And babies made boys think of sex, and naturally sex is the devil.
#20
my high school decided to ban women’s athletic shorts one day which was ridiculous for many reasons. the next day every girl showed up in athletic shorts & the rule was removed by second block
#21
If you throw snowballs, you get a one day suspension. The first long weekend after a snowfall everyone would throw snowballs to get an additional day added to the long weekend.
#22
You have to wear your tie all the way home. Some sad bastard teachers would stand on the main road away from the school and try to hand out detentions in presumably their own time
#23
Banned all backpacks / bags on campus. Students were expected to somehow carry everything they needed in hand.
This was especially challenging if you had a non ideal locker placement.
#24
‘No ripped jeans’
They enforced it to the point that when I fell in school, scrapped me knee and ended up needing stitches (obviously ripping my jeans in the process). They still dragged me to the office to suspend me for the day because me jeans were ripped. I was left there, stitched up, blood drying on my jeans as the vice principal yelled at me that my outfit was “inappropriate”.
Add on: I went to a private school outside of the US, we had a doctor on call so he stitched me up at school, notified my parents and gave the okay on me going back to class. The vp didn’t notify my parents I was getting suspended for the day until after I went home and told them myself.
Yvonne Dauwalder Balsiger 3 years ago
There is stupidity and there is this! I don't even know what that should be called...
#25
Girls weren’t allowed to show their ankles. The dean had a pack of socks in her office she would give the students and make them wear. Only girls tho. This was the 2000s.
#26
In grade school, we weren't allowed to play on the playground equipment when it snowed. Eventually, were weren't allowed to play with snow or even go near it- I got in trouble for sitting in snow.
This was in Minnesota where it snows half the year. Recess basically consisted of milling around the blacktop for thirty minutes.
Foxxy (The Original) 3 years ago (edited)
I remember one day in primary school it hailed so much, we had never seen so much hail before. Our teacher let us outside (after it stopped) and let us play with the piles of ice. It was so much fun. Never experienced anything like that again.
#27
Can’t be standing around in groups more than 4 “gang mentality”
#28
Girls were not allowed to wear cycling shorts under their PE skirts. They wanted us to wear these dark green PE pants, basically just underwear and it was gross. My year protested, we said shorts or nothing and they backed off. This was 20+ years ago and it's totally different now, girls wear what they want for PE.
#29
No farting in class.
They would say "if u need to fart then go to the toilet" but then 9 times out of 10 if u asked to go the toilet they'd say no
#30
One particular professor at my university would lock the door a minute after class began. If you had to leave to go to the bathroom, you couldn't get back in.
Somehow this ancient fossil is still teaching and pulling similar stuff.
Kirsten Kerkhof 3 years ago (edited)
We have classrooms that have these hotelroom locks. You can only open it from the outside with a staff pass (it opens normally from the inside). If a student needs to go out for a moment for whatever reason, I need to leave the door open or they can't come back in. I usually teach with the door open anyway, but there are times when it's preferable to close the door. And with these classrooms I just feel I can't. I hate them. What's wrong with a simple key? -- Also, I've locked myself out more than once, because I'd left my pass on the desk. With a key you can just go back in because you couldn't lock the door, but with these rooms I need to find someone to let me in to grab my pass. Grrr ...
#31
We weren’t allowed to wear thongs. I don’t know how they caught people who did tbh
Kirsten Kerkhof 3 years ago
So staff looked at all the girls' butts to check for panty lines? Not creepy at all. Nah-uh. /s
#32
No leaving the dorm unless it's for a fire alarm.
I went to boarding school from the age of 7. That rule meant we couldn't get out of our dormitory to have a wee in the night. We had a plastic tub one of the girls brought in and went in that. Then we had to smuggle the tub to the bathroom in the morning without matron seeing. Stupid bloody rule!
#33
No beads. Apparently they thought beaded jewelry was gang related?
#35
They outlawed bracelets because there was an article in a magazine somewhere saying they advertised what sexual acts you were open for based on their colour.
Then someone tried to outlaw wrist watches for the same reason.
Helen Haley 3 years ago
This kind of crap is always brainless to ban. if you take away something you 'think' is serving that purpose, and it actually was, they just come up with something else.
#36
You had to wear your ID around your neck on a rope thing.
Then the chokings started.
#37
"No Satanic Drawings"
What qualified as Satanic was anything the teachers or faculty deemed as such, including the Star of David
#38
In high school, hair length on men and stubble. Look, a bunch of 15-16 year old guys are going to have a bit of stubble no matter how thoroughly we shave. Forcing us to go to the principal's office to dry shave nearly daily is freakin absurd.
#39
Elementary school principal banned talking at lunch. If you were caught talking or even signing to someone, you had to go sit by yourself on a folding chair with no table.
There was once my mom came to eat lunch with my older sister and I. The principal was like " Oh you should go eat out in the hallway with your daughters" and she was like "nah, I'm gonna sit here with my daughter and her friends and talk to them and enjoy their presence" (usually if a parent came for lunch the student could invite one friend to join, unless you had siblings. Then it was too many people so you couldn't invite a friend). Anyway, one of my older sister's friends whispered to my mom that she was going to move so she wouldn't get in trouble for talking. THIS WAS A NINE YEAR OLD.
#40
We once had a rule that we could only go to the bathroom during class. Not in the breaks. Only during class.
#41
We were not allowed to put our coats on until we were outside
During winter when we would have a storm, we had to go outside in the rain to put our coats on or face receiving a detention if we put them on in the corridor
Jo Johannsen 3 years ago
First case of pneumonia will break the budget for the next ten years.
#42
Dumbest Rule: Zero tolerance for fighting. This meant both the kid who started the fight AND the kid who got beat on were both suspended. If the kid who got beat on just took it, he was just sent home for the rest of the day. If he dared to fight back, he was suspended for a week just like the kid who started the fight. Here's the truly stupid part: The school administrators couldn't explain how this led to MORE BRUTAL fights.
#43
"No fighting", enforced by punishing the kids who were getting hit.
Caroline Nagel 3 years ago
My theory is that people in power admire bullies and think that those who are being bullied deserve it.
#44
My primary school had this wierd obsession with safety. When we played dodgeball the boys had to throw with their non-dominant hand while the girls got to throw full force. And we could get detention for going where the teachers couldn't see us. But the worst rule by far was that we weren't allowed to run on the playground, I'll never forget the time my teacher literally said, "the playground is no place to run."
Bella, Your Kitty-Loving Queen 3 years ago
Ugh. Another sexist school that thinks men are always more athletic than women. I hate people who think like this smh.
#45
My friend nearly got suspended for wearing a trench coat, it was the Late 90s, probably didn't help that he had long hair, was shy, and weird
Ray Martin 3 years ago
America - thanks to the worshipped 2nd amendment, teens have easy access to lethal weapons, but as long as they can't get trench coats everything will be fine
#46
Candy canes were outlawed because you could sharpen them to a point and use them as a shiv.
I went to school in rural Washington. We were definitely weren’t somewhere that shankings were to be expected
#47
It wasn't really the rule that was dumb but the reason for it. In my last year of high school, the school issued a rule that all students had to wear student IDs. If you didn't, you had to immediately go and pay for another ID. While you can see how many students may have saw this a way to skip class, the reason for this was the school shootings that happened the previous year.
The reasoning was that it would be easier to spot who is a student and who is not a student to then see who has malicious intent.....except that most shooters were students....so....
Yvonne Dauwalder Balsiger 3 years ago (edited)
I was expecting to read they wanted to use the school ID as a dog tag to make it easier to identify shot students or something. Glad for the clarification in the last paragraph - but yeah, that won't prevent a shooting at all.
#48
Not really a rule, but the toilet paper Holders are OUTSIDE of the Stalls on a wall. So you have to calculate before taking a dump how much you need and hope that it was enough
Nice cuppa tea 3 years ago
Probably just led to everyone taking more than they need, causing the waste that they were trying to prevent in the first place?!
#49
If you were caught on your phone they’d take it until the end of the week. you’d get it back at half 3 on friday. parents went mental and a few even came together and sent bills through for part of the phone bills, they ditched that rule after 2 weeks.
#50
My school made it compulsory to wear uniform in online classes
What do you think ?
ADHORTATOR 3 years ago
Holy...when I was at school in Germany in the 70s and 80s, almost nothing was forbidden - we had snowball fights in the winter, played ballgames in summer, gathered in groups, most of the boys had swiss army knives in their pockets...
pecan chewy 3 years ago
Throughout secondary school we were made to shower completely naked. We weren't allowed to take towels in or cover ourselves. We were watched going in and had to prove we'd got water on us when we came out. The boys showered in shorts. Not a great experience for girls in different stages of puberty on a weekly basis!
Chloe *Leah* Pheonix 3 years ago
Something tells me the staff are 🎶peeerrveeertsss🎶
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bryguy 3 years ago
These are so weird, but even weirder is how just last month (Apr 2021) Florida lawmakers pass a Bill that legalizes Teen Genital Inspections if they are suspected of being trans. This is to "allow young girls the chance to prove their skills in sports." WTF! A teacher/coach is actually allowed to inspect your childs gentiles and there is nothing legally you can do about it. And we are supposed to just have faith that isn't going to be abused horribly?
BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 3 years ago
The stupidest school rule I've heard is, "YoU cAn'T sHoW yOuR sHoUlDeRs Or BaCk sInCe ThEy DiStRaCt ThE bOyS!" Any boy distracted by normal body parts so much that they can't focus on school should not be allowed around girls
Kat 3 years ago
We weren't allowed outside during breaks. There was a shop across the street from school and they didn't want us to go there. Everyone who went out had to write down his/her name and class when getting in. So half the shool went out on every break and they couldn't handle the amount of people wanting in when the bell started ringing. All of them were extremely late for classes and the teachers started to complain and so it stopped.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Back in the 1950s, my dad's high school said all boys had to come to school in a tie and jacket. My dad and his buddies came to school in a tie, a jacket, and their blue jeans, and an undershirt. Three days later, the rule went back to "something clean is fine, thanks".
Kira Okah 3 years ago
Our secondary school had mandated school underwear - white striped with the school colours, unavailable anywhere but the exclusive school shop. This wasn't like vest and shorts type underwear, this was bra and knickers type underwear. The PE teacher (all of ours were female) had to be in the room when we changed and would give detention if we weren't in school underwear. Oh, and the bra sizes didn't go above a 34 band or a C cup, so tough if they were too small for you.
Random Anon 3 years ago
You know it's no wonder there are a lot of people with mental disorders looking back now. Bullying was rampant and the schools did diddly squat. A single bully can terrorize a lot of children.
Tabby_Sohee 3 years ago (edited)
My middle school had rules that girls weren’t allowed to wear leggings, or tank tops. Reasonable enough. But - they definitely should have thought themselves through. My friend asked the assistant prin. why we weren’t allowed to wear tank tops. A grown-a** woman told the 11 year old, “girls’ shoulders are too distracting to boys and it’s unfair for them to have to deal with their hormones because you can’t dress correctly.” Also, when I asked a different assistant prin. about the leggings rule and if it would be okay if we wore sports pants over the leggings: “No, your legs are still highly distinguished and those curves are the reason you have to watch out -“ here he laughed. Yes. He. I was in sixth grade.
Lynne Stark 3 years ago
I went to Seattle Public Schools. Girls were not allowed to wear pants if any kind. If it snowed we wore pants under our dresses to come but had to take them off for school hours. Only in 7th grade, were we allowed to wear pants or jeans
Octavia Hansen 3 years ago
In my school, guys were wearing T shirts of everything . . . beer, marijuana, sexy women promoting cars, bands and drinks. My dad had a sense of humor -- one day gave everyone in the family a shirt of the Playboy bunny head but no words. As a girl wearing it, I was called to the office. Not my brother. Mom was called to the school, no explanation. As I was walking back to class, still wearing the shirt, I could hear mom yelling: "YOU HALTED MY DAUGHTER'S EDUCATION FOR A SHIRT? WHEN YOU BUY HER CLOTHES SHE'LL WEAR WHAT YOU WANT!" Thanks Mom!
MauKini 3 years ago
20 years ago my school banned the homepage of the university of sussex.. because of the word "sex" in it... Smart move.
Axolotl King 3 years ago
Heh. I've seen a high school called Squalicum...
Load More Replies... labaguette🥖️🥖️ 3 years ago
Some of these are weird, but I can understand others. Like the one with the cough drops, I understand the reasoning behind it but I still think it might not be quite right.
denzoren 3 years ago
We had a few strange ones. I went to three different schools: 1. No walking on the grass (I know right) if you did it was a 3 day suspension. 2. No running during recess (this was for kids). 3. We had uniforms so your shirt always had to be tucked in...always (not strange but it was annoying). Bonus: The first job I had made up the rule of "no huddling". We were a department with about 9 persons and during lunch we would all gather in one cubicle and eat together...they thought it promoted "talking about management badly" lol
Memere 3 years ago
I experienced the 'no huddling' at the office too! The head of HR would cruise around the entire 3 story building at lunch hour & check to make sure no one was eating lunch in their cubicle. And when 3 of us from HR started using our lunch break to walk together, he & the HR manager changed our lunch times so we couldn't walk together!
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Anna Banana 3 years ago
Not technically a rule, but I remember teachers going berserk any time somebody yawned, even though it's virutally impossible to supress a yawn. I guess their egos just couldn't take it that their teaching style wasn't the most exciting in the world.
JennyLaRue 3 years ago
In the Uk where uniforms are common, we weren't allowed to take our blazers off without permission. During the summer months you had to keep it on during breaks until the headmaster gave an announcements that people were allowed to remove them - that announcement always seemed to arrive about a month after the weather hit summer temperatures. This is the same headteacher who banned crisp packets and made people decant their crisps into tupperware so they could bring their snacks to school.
JessG 3 years ago
I understand those rules, however, they really should have been more aware of the warm temps for the jacket thing
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Don't Look 3 years ago
Too many of these are about defiance. Also, it's now extremely clear why American children don't get decent education. The schools don't have time or the ability to teach anything. Kids would rather run around trying to be as belligerent as they can without dire consequences.
Angela Jester 3 years ago
80's in South Georgia - Girls weren't allowed to wear shorts. We could wear clam diggers, which stopped just past the knee. We spend most of the year above 80*F and 80% humidity. We had to layer tank tops, we couldn't wear just one. By the time my daughter went to the same school, you could wear shorts that went past your fingertips, but no tank tops and no leggings, even with a tunic top. She's got a full hourglass figure, and she was told not to wear shorts that were within the rules because they were still distracting to the boys on her.
Alethia Nyx 3 years ago
My school developed a zero tolerance for any sort of pushing, not just fighting, but any sort of pushing or silly teenage play fighting. But it wasn't out of the blue, it was after a couple of boys were half play fighting half really fighting, and one boy tipped backwards his head hitting a lock sticking out. He was in an induced coma for I think 2 months and had to learn to walk, talk, and write again. It wasn't for no reason but was way over the top.
Definitely_Nate 3 years ago
My old school when I was in 4th grade made sit down eat and shut up for 20 minutes straight giving us 10 F*CKING MINUTES TO EAT
Sarah Grape 3 years ago
my elementry school said 'no running on the playground bark, run in the field' then said 'you can only use the field for soccer and walking laps' they had a literal paved path around the edge of the field and administration would count your laps with a bar code as you walked during recess. you also couldn't enter the school grounds before 8:00. the bell rang at 8:15. I knew a family who lived nearby that would host kids in their house if their parents worked early
Tacocat 3 years ago
My weird school rule was no leggings. Because sometimes they are see-through. If you choose to wear them, your shirt better come down to your fingertips, just like the requirement for shorts, skirts, and dresses. We were also banned from figit spinners, because they were "distracting and could be used as weapons".
Bernd Herbert 3 years ago
During my school days some 20 years there were none of those! In Germany that is
IlovemydogShilo 3 years ago (edited)
I wet to a primary school in the early eighties where the principal banned leg warmers and crimping our hair.
Chloe *Leah* Pheonix 3 years ago
My school banned finger guns so people didnt get hurt, cause ya you can fire real bullets with ya fingie. They also have a late start on mondays so u can sleep in but then they dont serve breakfast because you had 2 extra hours to eat at home when those 2 extra hours are supposed to be spent sleeping so Monday is just full of starving kids raving for lunch
Axolotl King 3 years ago
Oh in elementary school we had a book event thingy and they were giving out Dr Seuss books. So there was this one specific Dr Suess book I wanted to get so I got in line and when I got to the front of the line they said, "Oh these books are only for 5th graders sorry" I was in kindergarten at the time. The book was "Oh the Places You'll Go" btw. Long story short I got the book :) And I read it by myself :)
Tracey Sharp 3 years ago
I once got punished in Primary School for jumping in puddles without gumboots..
A. Jones 3 years ago
Pretty much all my schools (k-12) I went to had skirts and shorts had to be at about to knee length. They were all public schools, never wore skirts just jean trousers. Modesty was a big thing, but the 2nd part gets weirder. Weirdly they were very relaxed on hair styles and piercings. Seen a few peeps with Mohawks, dyed hair, and piercings.
Jocelyn 3 years ago
you're not allowed to kill yourself on school grounds. and every school shirt(not the uniform ones) were required to be black, yellow, gray, or white. also if you leave during the day you can't return
Terry Tobias 3 years ago
What did they do to you if you killed yourself? Suspension?
Load More Replies...
Broken Angel 3 years ago
If someone beat you up, and you fought back, you were the one who got in trouble. If you just sat there and didn't fight back, you would get in trouble. Basically, if you started the fight, you would be fine, but if you were the one getting attacked, it was an instant detention... seems reasonable.
Satirical Duchess 3 years ago
honestly I think any school uniform is absolutely ridiculous. my school every student is issued a POM card (stands for "Pride of _______" the blank is my school name though so I won't include that obv) if you lose it and your parents don't approve it it's instant dt if you get three points it's instant dt. but the things are so insane. yrs 7-9: no make up; 10-11: light make up (foundation, pale eye shadow); skirt on the knee, not above not far below; socks below knee and certain colour (boys ankle socks only and no make up); tie a certain length and right house colour; top button not showing; one earring per ear; no other jewellery unless religious and very specific rules for watches and shoes. there's probably other things just on uniform alone I could talk about so if you want to know more then just ask :)
Ambar 3 years ago
i just found out today that my school banned google hangouts so, we couldn't send invites anymore. but hey, we got gmail but still!
Susan Trevaskis-Owen 3 years ago
In Jr High: No going to your locker during your lunch break, except for during the first 5 minutes of said break. No idea what the reasoning behind that was. In high school, bandannas were banned because I dunno too gangish even though we had no gangs? The ban was announced on a Thursday, most of us wore bandannas in protest on Friday, the principal announced it was "Bandanna Day" and by Monday it was largely forgotten. Oh! And not a ban or rule exactly, but in 7th grade the principal saw me reading a Stephen King novel & made me bring a note from home showing I had parental permission to read it. My mom & I both thought that was ridiculous--she had never even once told me that I couldn't read whatever I wanted to read--but she did give me the note.
Xylle Flora 3 years ago
My school's computer room had a stupid rule where the bathrooms were only for teachers. That was already a bit stupid but then the closest bathroom was about ten minutes away.
Reyes 3 years ago
My school also had a couple of weird rules, first of all. When I was 10, I was talking with one of my friends, I was making a joke. and like *any* sane person he laughed and bumped me in the shoulder, then one of my teachers started giving me a lecture about how violence and bullying is not ok. There is also another rule when I was 13. I wanted to apply for boy's volleyball, and to my surprise, I only found a girl's volleyball, I asked why there was no Volleyball for boys and it turns out my school won't be doing BOYS (not girls!) volleyball. As much as many other boys were disappointed. Turns out my school is a little bit sexist if you ask me.
3 years ago
The weirdest rules I remember are from my old school. We weren't allowed to wear spaghetti straps or flip flops. This was because it was in Phoenix, Arizona and the hallways were outside. Rattlesnakes and scorpions frequently got on campus.
Miss Frankfurter 3 years ago (edited)
Catholic girls school. At all other Catholic girls schools in the city, their shirt collars were such that they could wear ties with their school plaid. That started as a thing at our school a number of years before I went there. At the tailors where our uniforms were made you could buy a few when you got your uniform. No no, no. The nuns had the shirt collar changed to what was called a Peter Pan collar which you can't wear a tie with. Ties weren't ladylike.
JessG 3 years ago
I went to a similar school with Peter Pan collars, but we were also allowed the other kind, girls didn't want to mess with a tie
Load More Replies...
Carol Emory 3 years ago
During the last two years of high school, our principal was a man that had a Doctorate in Child Psychology. He insisted on being called Dr....not Mr. He would gripe at students that were eating in the hallways during the lunch hour saying he didn't want trash or spills. Fair enough...but it became an obsession almost to the point of harassment. Then came a year when he went from class to class to ask how we could improve the school only to actually use it to boast about how wonderful of a job he did. "We've accomplished a lot this year!" He'd brag. Then a voice from the back of the room said "Yeah..we have clean hallways." With that, he picked up his book and walked out of the room. It took everything the teacher could muster not to burst out laughing before the door closed. Seems the teachers didn't like him much either.
GirlFriday 3 years ago
We had to turn all "medication" into the office upon arrival at school with a note from our parents or doctor on how we could use it. This means that if you had cough drops, tylenol, tums, etc. you had to take it to the head office with a note. Start coughing? You have to get a pass from a teacher, go to the principal's office, explain why you needed a cough drop, have the secretary determine whether or not you need one, open the cabinet, find YOUR box, read your note, call your parents, and then give you one cough drop. Then you could return to class. Now, imagine if you have period cramps and have to do this for some Advil...
JessG 3 years ago
This is an appropriate rule, and probably made for good reason, i.e. some kid/s ruined it for everyone
Load More Replies...
Mifa 3 years ago
My middle school banned water bottles because someone brought in vodka. They lasted a week before the protests got to them. In fifth grade we had to put our backpack up at the beginning of the day and get if everything you needed. (If you forgot something, you were out of luck.) it was supposed to prepare us for middle school. Well *screw* you, in middle school we were allowed to get our stuff in between classes.
Bow, I’m a Slytherin 3 years ago
Our school doesn’t let you dye your hair, but you are aloud to get a fake tan until you literally look like an orange.
Mewton’s Third Paw 3 years ago
Well yeah they can’t police your skin color.
Load More Replies...
Fred Burrows 3 years ago
I had a pocketknife in my pocket since age 9. Got in fights in and out of class . Spit loogeys on the hall ceiling and engaged in the occasional food fight. Mostly I just got a 30 minute detention .
Art Tomboy 3 years ago
For some reason my comments are Bieng upvoted through the roof thanks guys 😊❤️👍🏻
JessG 3 years ago
Rules are in place for reasons. Admittedly, some of these rules are ridiculous, but not all of them. Adults have had rules/laws since the first "civilized" societies emerged. There will always be people that disagree with some rules or laws, thus, face punishment. That's how it is, that's how it's always been. Want to change some? Do something about it, be proactive, that's how civilizations work
Load More Replies... ADHORTATOR 3 years ago
Holy...when I was at school in Germany in the 70s and 80s, almost nothing was forbidden - we had snowball fights in the winter, played ballgames in summer, gathered in groups, most of the boys had swiss army knives in their pockets...
pecan chewy 3 years ago
Throughout secondary school we were made to shower completely naked. We weren't allowed to take towels in or cover ourselves. We were watched going in and had to prove we'd got water on us when we came out. The boys showered in shorts. Not a great experience for girls in different stages of puberty on a weekly basis!
Chloe *Leah* Pheonix 3 years ago
Something tells me the staff are 🎶peeerrveeertsss🎶
Load More Replies... bryguy 3 years ago
These are so weird, but even weirder is how just last month (Apr 2021) Florida lawmakers pass a Bill that legalizes Teen Genital Inspections if they are suspected of being trans. This is to "allow young girls the chance to prove their skills in sports." WTF! A teacher/coach is actually allowed to inspect your childs gentiles and there is nothing legally you can do about it. And we are supposed to just have faith that isn't going to be abused horribly?
BlackPearltheSeaWing/NightWing 3 years ago
The stupidest school rule I've heard is, "YoU cAn'T sHoW yOuR sHoUlDeRs Or BaCk sInCe ThEy DiStRaCt ThE bOyS!" Any boy distracted by normal body parts so much that they can't focus on school should not be allowed around girls
Kat 3 years ago
We weren't allowed outside during breaks. There was a shop across the street from school and they didn't want us to go there. Everyone who went out had to write down his/her name and class when getting in. So half the shool went out on every break and they couldn't handle the amount of people wanting in when the bell started ringing. All of them were extremely late for classes and the teachers started to complain and so it stopped.
Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Back in the 1950s, my dad's high school said all boys had to come to school in a tie and jacket. My dad and his buddies came to school in a tie, a jacket, and their blue jeans, and an undershirt. Three days later, the rule went back to "something clean is fine, thanks".
Kira Okah 3 years ago
Our secondary school had mandated school underwear - white striped with the school colours, unavailable anywhere but the exclusive school shop. This wasn't like vest and shorts type underwear, this was bra and knickers type underwear. The PE teacher (all of ours were female) had to be in the room when we changed and would give detention if we weren't in school underwear. Oh, and the bra sizes didn't go above a 34 band or a C cup, so tough if they were too small for you.
Random Anon 3 years ago
You know it's no wonder there are a lot of people with mental disorders looking back now. Bullying was rampant and the schools did diddly squat. A single bully can terrorize a lot of children.
Tabby_Sohee 3 years ago (edited)
My middle school had rules that girls weren’t allowed to wear leggings, or tank tops. Reasonable enough. But - they definitely should have thought themselves through. My friend asked the assistant prin. why we weren’t allowed to wear tank tops. A grown-a** woman told the 11 year old, “girls’ shoulders are too distracting to boys and it’s unfair for them to have to deal with their hormones because you can’t dress correctly.” Also, when I asked a different assistant prin. about the leggings rule and if it would be okay if we wore sports pants over the leggings: “No, your legs are still highly distinguished and those curves are the reason you have to watch out -“ here he laughed. Yes. He. I was in sixth grade.
Lynne Stark 3 years ago
I went to Seattle Public Schools. Girls were not allowed to wear pants if any kind. If it snowed we wore pants under our dresses to come but had to take them off for school hours. Only in 7th grade, were we allowed to wear pants or jeans
Octavia Hansen 3 years ago
In my school, guys were wearing T shirts of everything . . . beer, marijuana, sexy women promoting cars, bands and drinks. My dad had a sense of humor -- one day gave everyone in the family a shirt of the Playboy bunny head but no words. As a girl wearing it, I was called to the office. Not my brother. Mom was called to the school, no explanation. As I was walking back to class, still wearing the shirt, I could hear mom yelling: "YOU HALTED MY DAUGHTER'S EDUCATION FOR A SHIRT? WHEN YOU BUY HER CLOTHES SHE'LL WEAR WHAT YOU WANT!" Thanks Mom!
MauKini 3 years ago
20 years ago my school banned the homepage of the university of sussex.. because of the word "sex" in it... Smart move.
Axolotl King 3 years ago
Heh. I've seen a high school called Squalicum...
Load More Replies... labaguette🥖️🥖️ 3 years ago
Some of these are weird, but I can understand others. Like the one with the cough drops, I understand the reasoning behind it but I still think it might not be quite right.
denzoren 3 years ago
We had a few strange ones. I went to three different schools: 1. No walking on the grass (I know right) if you did it was a 3 day suspension. 2. No running during recess (this was for kids). 3. We had uniforms so your shirt always had to be tucked in...always (not strange but it was annoying). Bonus: The first job I had made up the rule of "no huddling". We were a department with about 9 persons and during lunch we would all gather in one cubicle and eat together...they thought it promoted "talking about management badly" lol
Memere 3 years ago
I experienced the 'no huddling' at the office too! The head of HR would cruise around the entire 3 story building at lunch hour & check to make sure no one was eating lunch in their cubicle. And when 3 of us from HR started using our lunch break to walk together, he & the HR manager changed our lunch times so we couldn't walk together!
Load More Replies... Anna Banana 3 years ago
Not technically a rule, but I remember teachers going berserk any time somebody yawned, even though it's virutally impossible to supress a yawn. I guess their egos just couldn't take it that their teaching style wasn't the most exciting in the world.
JennyLaRue 3 years ago
In the Uk where uniforms are common, we weren't allowed to take our blazers off without permission. During the summer months you had to keep it on during breaks until the headmaster gave an announcements that people were allowed to remove them - that announcement always seemed to arrive about a month after the weather hit summer temperatures. This is the same headteacher who banned crisp packets and made people decant their crisps into tupperware so they could bring their snacks to school.
JessG 3 years ago
I understand those rules, however, they really should have been more aware of the warm temps for the jacket thing
Load More Replies... Don't Look 3 years ago
Too many of these are about defiance. Also, it's now extremely clear why American children don't get decent education. The schools don't have time or the ability to teach anything. Kids would rather run around trying to be as belligerent as they can without dire consequences.
Angela Jester 3 years ago
80's in South Georgia - Girls weren't allowed to wear shorts. We could wear clam diggers, which stopped just past the knee. We spend most of the year above 80*F and 80% humidity. We had to layer tank tops, we couldn't wear just one. By the time my daughter went to the same school, you could wear shorts that went past your fingertips, but no tank tops and no leggings, even with a tunic top. She's got a full hourglass figure, and she was told not to wear shorts that were within the rules because they were still distracting to the boys on her.
Alethia Nyx 3 years ago
My school developed a zero tolerance for any sort of pushing, not just fighting, but any sort of pushing or silly teenage play fighting. But it wasn't out of the blue, it was after a couple of boys were half play fighting half really fighting, and one boy tipped backwards his head hitting a lock sticking out. He was in an induced coma for I think 2 months and had to learn to walk, talk, and write again. It wasn't for no reason but was way over the top.
Definitely_Nate 3 years ago
My old school when I was in 4th grade made sit down eat and shut up for 20 minutes straight giving us 10 F*CKING MINUTES TO EAT
Sarah Grape 3 years ago
my elementry school said 'no running on the playground bark, run in the field' then said 'you can only use the field for soccer and walking laps' they had a literal paved path around the edge of the field and administration would count your laps with a bar code as you walked during recess. you also couldn't enter the school grounds before 8:00. the bell rang at 8:15. I knew a family who lived nearby that would host kids in their house if their parents worked early
Tacocat 3 years ago
My weird school rule was no leggings. Because sometimes they are see-through. If you choose to wear them, your shirt better come down to your fingertips, just like the requirement for shorts, skirts, and dresses. We were also banned from figit spinners, because they were "distracting and could be used as weapons".
Bernd Herbert 3 years ago
During my school days some 20 years there were none of those! In Germany that is
IlovemydogShilo 3 years ago (edited)
I wet to a primary school in the early eighties where the principal banned leg warmers and crimping our hair.
Chloe *Leah* Pheonix 3 years ago
My school banned finger guns so people didnt get hurt, cause ya you can fire real bullets with ya fingie. They also have a late start on mondays so u can sleep in but then they dont serve breakfast because you had 2 extra hours to eat at home when those 2 extra hours are supposed to be spent sleeping so Monday is just full of starving kids raving for lunch
Axolotl King 3 years ago
Oh in elementary school we had a book event thingy and they were giving out Dr Seuss books. So there was this one specific Dr Suess book I wanted to get so I got in line and when I got to the front of the line they said, "Oh these books are only for 5th graders sorry" I was in kindergarten at the time. The book was "Oh the Places You'll Go" btw. Long story short I got the book :) And I read it by myself :)
Tracey Sharp 3 years ago
I once got punished in Primary School for jumping in puddles without gumboots..
A. Jones 3 years ago
Pretty much all my schools (k-12) I went to had skirts and shorts had to be at about to knee length. They were all public schools, never wore skirts just jean trousers. Modesty was a big thing, but the 2nd part gets weirder. Weirdly they were very relaxed on hair styles and piercings. Seen a few peeps with Mohawks, dyed hair, and piercings.
Jocelyn 3 years ago
you're not allowed to kill yourself on school grounds. and every school shirt(not the uniform ones) were required to be black, yellow, gray, or white. also if you leave during the day you can't return
Terry Tobias 3 years ago
What did they do to you if you killed yourself? Suspension?
Load More Replies... Broken Angel 3 years ago
If someone beat you up, and you fought back, you were the one who got in trouble. If you just sat there and didn't fight back, you would get in trouble. Basically, if you started the fight, you would be fine, but if you were the one getting attacked, it was an instant detention... seems reasonable.
Satirical Duchess 3 years ago
honestly I think any school uniform is absolutely ridiculous. my school every student is issued a POM card (stands for "Pride of _______" the blank is my school name though so I won't include that obv) if you lose it and your parents don't approve it it's instant dt if you get three points it's instant dt. but the things are so insane. yrs 7-9: no make up; 10-11: light make up (foundation, pale eye shadow); skirt on the knee, not above not far below; socks below knee and certain colour (boys ankle socks only and no make up); tie a certain length and right house colour; top button not showing; one earring per ear; no other jewellery unless religious and very specific rules for watches and shoes. there's probably other things just on uniform alone I could talk about so if you want to know more then just ask :)
Ambar 3 years ago
i just found out today that my school banned google hangouts so, we couldn't send invites anymore. but hey, we got gmail but still!
Susan Trevaskis-Owen 3 years ago
In Jr High: No going to your locker during your lunch break, except for during the first 5 minutes of said break. No idea what the reasoning behind that was. In high school, bandannas were banned because I dunno too gangish even though we had no gangs? The ban was announced on a Thursday, most of us wore bandannas in protest on Friday, the principal announced it was "Bandanna Day" and by Monday it was largely forgotten. Oh! And not a ban or rule exactly, but in 7th grade the principal saw me reading a Stephen King novel & made me bring a note from home showing I had parental permission to read it. My mom & I both thought that was ridiculous--she had never even once told me that I couldn't read whatever I wanted to read--but she did give me the note.
Xylle Flora 3 years ago
My school's computer room had a stupid rule where the bathrooms were only for teachers. That was already a bit stupid but then the closest bathroom was about ten minutes away.
Reyes 3 years ago
My school also had a couple of weird rules, first of all. When I was 10, I was talking with one of my friends, I was making a joke. and like *any* sane person he laughed and bumped me in the shoulder, then one of my teachers started giving me a lecture about how violence and bullying is not ok. There is also another rule when I was 13. I wanted to apply for boy's volleyball, and to my surprise, I only found a girl's volleyball, I asked why there was no Volleyball for boys and it turns out my school won't be doing BOYS (not girls!) volleyball. As much as many other boys were disappointed. Turns out my school is a little bit sexist if you ask me.
3 years ago
The weirdest rules I remember are from my old school. We weren't allowed to wear spaghetti straps or flip flops. This was because it was in Phoenix, Arizona and the hallways were outside. Rattlesnakes and scorpions frequently got on campus.
Miss Frankfurter 3 years ago (edited)
Catholic girls school. At all other Catholic girls schools in the city, their shirt collars were such that they could wear ties with their school plaid. That started as a thing at our school a number of years before I went there. At the tailors where our uniforms were made you could buy a few when you got your uniform. No no, no. The nuns had the shirt collar changed to what was called a Peter Pan collar which you can't wear a tie with. Ties weren't ladylike.
JessG 3 years ago
I went to a similar school with Peter Pan collars, but we were also allowed the other kind, girls didn't want to mess with a tie
Load More Replies... Carol Emory 3 years ago
During the last two years of high school, our principal was a man that had a Doctorate in Child Psychology. He insisted on being called Dr....not Mr. He would gripe at students that were eating in the hallways during the lunch hour saying he didn't want trash or spills. Fair enough...but it became an obsession almost to the point of harassment. Then came a year when he went from class to class to ask how we could improve the school only to actually use it to boast about how wonderful of a job he did. "We've accomplished a lot this year!" He'd brag. Then a voice from the back of the room said "Yeah..we have clean hallways." With that, he picked up his book and walked out of the room. It took everything the teacher could muster not to burst out laughing before the door closed. Seems the teachers didn't like him much either.
GirlFriday 3 years ago
We had to turn all "medication" into the office upon arrival at school with a note from our parents or doctor on how we could use it. This means that if you had cough drops, tylenol, tums, etc. you had to take it to the head office with a note. Start coughing? You have to get a pass from a teacher, go to the principal's office, explain why you needed a cough drop, have the secretary determine whether or not you need one, open the cabinet, find YOUR box, read your note, call your parents, and then give you one cough drop. Then you could return to class. Now, imagine if you have period cramps and have to do this for some Advil...
JessG 3 years ago
This is an appropriate rule, and probably made for good reason, i.e. some kid/s ruined it for everyone
Load More Replies... Mifa 3 years ago
My middle school banned water bottles because someone brought in vodka. They lasted a week before the protests got to them. In fifth grade we had to put our backpack up at the beginning of the day and get if everything you needed. (If you forgot something, you were out of luck.) it was supposed to prepare us for middle school. Well *screw* you, in middle school we were allowed to get our stuff in between classes.
Bow, I’m a Slytherin 3 years ago
Our school doesn’t let you dye your hair, but you are aloud to get a fake tan until you literally look like an orange.
Mewton’s Third Paw 3 years ago
Well yeah they can’t police your skin color.
Load More Replies... Fred Burrows 3 years ago
I had a pocketknife in my pocket since age 9. Got in fights in and out of class . Spit loogeys on the hall ceiling and engaged in the occasional food fight. Mostly I just got a 30 minute detention .
Art Tomboy 3 years ago
For some reason my comments are Bieng upvoted through the roof thanks guys 😊❤️👍🏻
JessG 3 years ago
Rules are in place for reasons. Admittedly, some of these rules are ridiculous, but not all of them. Adults have had rules/laws since the first "civilized" societies emerged. There will always be people that disagree with some rules or laws, thus, face punishment. That's how it is, that's how it's always been. Want to change some? Do something about it, be proactive, that's how civilizations work
Load More Replies... You May Like 30 Horrifying Things From American Schools That Foreigners Find Shockingly Weird 50 Hilarious Advertising Fails You Might Find Hard To Believe Were Actually Approved (New Pics) 30 Times People Asked Siri Stupid Questions And Got The Stupid Answers They Deserved
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