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63 Hilarious And Absurd Things Schools Have Done, According To Parents
Interview With Expert
School days often bring back fond memories for students—like recess, favorite teachers, or the excitement of annual celebrations. But for parents, school memories can look quite different. They're the ones dealing with fees, report cards, and the occasional unexpected teacher’s note.
That’s why, when a Redditor asked, "As a parent, what did your child's school do that made you say 'you can't be serious'?", the replies came pouring in. Parents shared some of the most bizarre and surprising school experiences, from head-scratching rules to truly unexpected decisions. Keep reading to uncover these jaw-dropping stories. And don’t miss our insightful interview with Minakshi Pravin Walke, an award-winning ex-principal from the Indian Education Society’s school, who shares her take on modern education policies and challenges!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Hah, my grade school principal tried to convince me not to call my mother when I'd broken my arm on the monkey bars.
She was... upset about that.
Edit: Quote from my mom to my principal: "It infuriates me that you breathe the same air as I do.".
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 8 hours ago
So... The child was supposed to go home later with two mysteriously broken arms?
RELATED:
#2
Girls were no longer allowed to wear tight leggings because it was distracting to male teachers.
Yes.
#3
Not a parent, but my younger sisters’ elementary school banned the Nike “Just Do It” shirts because they were “suggestive.”
Suggestive about what and to whom??
When you enroll in a school, there's a mix of excitement and anticipation about the new experiences awaiting you. But every school also comes with its own set of rules and regulations. As students, we may love or dislike them, but have you ever wondered what goes into creating these policies? We spoke to Minakshi, a principal from a government-aided school in Maharashtra, to get an insider’s perspective.
Minakshi, who has decades of experience, told Bored Panda, “The competition is fierce now.” She reflects on how times have changed. “Back in the day, families had at least two kids, and schools were thriving with large student populations. But today, there are fewer students compared to the number of schools available. And with so many options, including state boards, CBSE, and ICSE, the policies have to adapt to the competition.”
#5
Argued with me about sun safety.
More specifically my son wanted to wear long pants when he was supposed to wear shorts.
I let him wear them. They were the same as the shorts required, just long.
The vice principal called me to take me to task and told me that he couldn’t possibly get sun damage on his legs because the kids don’t stop moving.
I told her to cut it out, and that she knew that was b******t.
I live in Australia.
#6
After we asked them to keep his diagnosis confidential, his teacher announced his illness to his entire class. We hadn't even told him yet.
She points out how exam patterns need constant updates. “For example, CBSE has incorporated objectives, oral exams, and internal assessments, which push state boards to evolve their methods as well. It’s about staying relevant and ensuring students are well-prepared for their future.”
Minakshi also touches on the changing dynamics between parents, teachers, and students. “Earlier, parents had immense trust in teachers and their discipline methods. But now, parents tend to interfere a lot. Even when the child is clearly in the wrong, we must exercise an extraordinary amount of patience. While some of these changes are for the better, excessive interference can hinder a child’s overall development.”
#7
My son was being physically bullied by another kid who apparently had issues. He informed the teachers and *nothing* happened. He came home very upset after a week of this and finally told me. That weekend I taught my son the basics of self defense and told him he had my full permission to flatten the bully if he tried it again.
Monday morning I went into the school with my son and told them that he will now be defending himself from assault as permitted by law. The school had a no hitting policy that apparently applied even if you were being hit by someone else. I warned them that this was actually illegal and against our countries legislation and that regardless of their policies my son would exercise his legal right to defend himself by punching the little creep in the face as hard as he could if the creep tried to start something.
Miraculously they were suddenly able to keep the bully under control and there were no further problems.
Edda Kamphues 1 hour ago
I've been hit by a flying portable desk, thrown by a Yr1 student who then proceeded to tell me and a colleague (we were trying to restrain him before he could injure other children) "I'm going to kill you all".
#8
There was set to be a really good solar eclipse in 2015 and despite the children all having safety viewing glasses, the school intended to keep the children in the hall to watch on TV instead. The eclipse was expected at 0930, so I asked could I take him to watch the eclipse and return him to school immediately after and they said no, it would be recorded as an unauthorised absence if I did. So, I did anyway. It was a once in a childhood educational opportunity that the school planned for them to miss. I took him to a nearby beach, where we were plunged into darkness. It was awesome. I took him to school straight afterwards and have not an ounce of regret. We've not had an eclipse like it since.
Michael Largey 7 hours ago
The school is legally responsible for a student's whereabouts during the entire school day. If the student is taken off school grounds, it needs to record who authorized the departure.
#9
In preschool, my kid had a toilet accident and managed to convince the teachers I wanted the poo.
"He said you'd want it!"
"AND YOU BELIEVED HIM??!".
She recalls a time when misbehaving students were sent to stand outside the class for reflection. “This helped them understand their actions. But now, parents often perceive this as a waste of time. This generational shift is evident not just in schools but also in how parents limit the involvement of grandparents in raising children,” she adds.
Minakshi’s tenure as a principal in a vernacular medium school highlighted other challenges. “We noticed a sharp decline in enrollment because parents were eager to send their children to English-medium schools, believing it would ensure better career prospects.” She conducted surveys to understand the mindset of parents and students. “Their focus was clear: they wanted their children to learn English to secure a brighter future.”
#10
Gave my brother an award for having a black parent....
#11
My kids' elementary school issued a policy that the kid who, in an argument, delivered the last hit/blow would be punished. However, they did absolutely nothing about bullying, so often the kid "hitting" was a kid hitting back or defending themselves. So If someone punched my kid and my kid hit back, my kid would be punished.
Once a little girl in first grade was attacked by a much older boy. She was very much into martial arts and dislocated his shoulder in the fight. They called in her parents and wanted to start some disciplinarian action against the girl. The mother very clearly told them to cut the c**p, and if they failed to protect her daughter, she would make sure the girl could defend herself.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 7 hours ago
Bullying in schools has existed forever, how have no schools learnt to deal with it properly yet?
#12
They told me that her having head lice wasn’t a reason to keep her out of school……. And then I understood how she freaking got them.
To address this, she introduced an elective foreign language option in the vernacular school. “We wanted to give students access to a global language, which would enhance their opportunities. But it wasn’t easy. Parents resisted the idea, insisting on sticking to Sanskrit or Hindi.”
#13
My older daughter came home from elementary school frustrated because an answer on her quiz was marked as incorrect. She had answered that a tomato is a fruit. Which it is.
I wrote a note to her teacher to explain that, as it has seeds and grows from a flower, a tomato is actually a fruit.
Said teacher wrote a response that said something like, “While a tomato technically meets the definition of a fruit, because it is used like a vegetable, we are teaching the students that a tomato is a vegetable.”
We happened to be at the school a couple of weeks later for an unrelated function and I bumped into that teacher. “So,” I said, “what other complete falsehoods are you teaching my daughter?”
That teacher and I did not get along.
Mommy Panda 5 hours ago
They do the same thing in my daughters school. The tomato and cucumber toys were supposed to be put in the vegetables section because it would be "easier" for the kids to understand. My daughter corrected the teacher on this, as I taught her they are fruits, not vegetables. I spoke to the teacher and got the same response as this mom....
#14
Teacher sent back a spelling test. My kid had spelled it "invsiable" in red pen beside it was "invisiable". I emailed the teacher and asked what word they were attempting to spell, "invisible".
#15
That children weren't allowed to have a best friend.
If two kids got along too well, the teachers would intentionally separate them by switching desks, put them in different groups, not let them be partners on projects,.etc.
They would even mess with their recess and let one kid out on time and the second a minute or so late, hoping the first would start playing with other kids before the best friend came out.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 8 hours ago
But as soon as you start making friends with someone else, you will get separated, so you end up not making any friends?
One particularly vocal parent even argued against the foreign language initiative. “I had to sit him down and explain the benefits,” Minakshi recalls. “It was a challenge, but I believed it was crucial to prepare students for a competitive world.”
#16
They made my husband leave work 40 mins away to put disinfectant spray and a bandaid on our 8yo son’s slightly scraped knee that absolutely didn’t require neither and he could’ve done himself cause “they’re not allowed to administer medicine”🙄🙄🙄.
#17
My daughter had 102 + fever but also had a choir concert that evening. Her choir teacher said if she didn’t attend at least half a day of school and the concert that night she would have to write a six page research paper. I called the principal to protest when I couldn’t change the teachers mind. The principal didn’t want to undermine her teachers rules. So, if you’re wondering why students keep getting sick it is because of stupid policies like this. My daughter attended half a day of school with a high fever and the concert that evening. My daughter was miserable. I hate her choir teacher (I don’t believe any teacher who lacks empathy and compassion should be a teacher). My daughter doesn’t want to give up choir so I bite my tongue. However, I despise her choir teacher.
#18
They were upset we opted out of d**g education. My kid came home and told us that they were teaching them that if you ever take a pill that isn't prescribed to you, you'll get addicted. Because prescription d***s are expensive, you'll eventually turn to heroin because it's cheaper.
I went into the school and examined the curriculum and I kid you not, that is what it said. This was a charter school for K-12 and he was in middle school. They did not have a handle on it at all.
The kicker was that two weeks before that we'd attended the gut wrenching funeral of his close friend's uncle who had overdosed. Seeing the grief of the family was more d**g education than either of us needed.
The same school taught him that abstinence was the safest form of safe sex but failed to define abstinence. He later asked me where in the d**g store you find it. 🙄 At that point we got a proper nurse/educator to intervene and reteach health. .
Determined to offer the best for her students, Minakshi researched courses in foreign languages. “At the time, Chinese language courses weren’t widely available. So, I found a German institute that provided qualified teachers for our school. Convincing the school management and the state board wasn’t easy, but I knew it was worth it.”
#19
Called me in to talk about my child "swearing". Turns out he'd said that Frozen was "c**p".
#20
Closed the girls' toilets(secondary school) because they might be putting makeup on.
Same school banned girls from wearing tight trousers as this might 'distract' the male teachers.
#21
My kid caught a virus and was really sick. We ended up going to the er twice because we couldn't get his fever under control.. and then he developed spots that looked an awful lot like measles. The dr said it was a virus of "unknown origin" and told us to keep him home for at least two weeks as he was highly contagious. Immediately called the school and let them know. They said as long as we had his paperwork, it was fine. Kid finally got better and with a note from his pediatrician we were able to send him back after nearly 3 weeks. The school insisted on a note from the pediatrician showing he was no longer contagious before he could return to school, which made sense.
Fast forward to the end of the year, got a note that my 1st grader was being written up as truant and we had to go to a meeting with the school board, possibly face fines for not going to school and a threat to send the police to our home if we didn't go. We went to the meeting, armed with the paperwork. Showed them where the er and the pediatrician had both highlighted that my kid was highly contagious and needed to be kept home. The case manager told us that we should have sent him to school anyway. I was in complete disbelief and blurted out "you would rather i send my very sick, very contagious kid to school and get everyone else sick, than him stay home and get better?" Woman looked me straight in the eyes and said "Yes"
In the waiting room before the meeting we met another mom who was also there because her kid was being labeled truant and being threatened with fines. The child had been receiving once a week breathing treatments for severe asthma.. which was an ongoing condition the school was made aware of when the kid was enrolled and told her that as long as they had paperwork from the doctor, it wasn't an issue. Mom had the paperwork. The school board tried to fine her $250 and wanted her to go to a special meeting about how truant children are likely to fail in life.
It came out later the school board was accepting bribes for having high attendance rates so they would get more grants. Like.. these people were getting 100 grand a year for threatening families who had kids with legitimate health issues in elementary school. .
Her perseverance paid off. “The institute offered ten of our students the chance to participate in a cultural exchange program in Germany at the Anne-Frank-Realschule in Stuttgart. This exchange program continues to this day, boosting students’ confidence and broadening their horizons.”
#22
At the local high school dance, the assistant principal lifted female students skirts to ensure that their panties were not too skimpy. Because you know - thongs are immodest!
#23
They punished my son for being bored and looking out the window by canceling his math instruction. He was in first grade and very advanced in math. He was always multiple grades ahead of his class. So he got special one on one math lessons. During normal math time with his class he would race through the work then look out the window. The teacher did not like this so she punished him one week with no special math instruction. Sent his county provided tutor home each day. He came home crying after no math for a week. Imagine a school punishing a student for being too smart. We had him in a new school for the rest of his education. He now has two chemistry degrees so things worked out.
#24
Real story - Kids aged 8 and 10 came home with a note, freaking out that the school was going to force them to allow doctors to look at their privates. Everyone in class was stressed over this. Upon reading the note I had to sign, it said curvature of the spine exam, and boys and girls will be screened in private areas.
Minakshi’s efforts earned her recognition, including a state award in 2012-13. She concludes, “Sometimes it’s hard to make parents see the long-term benefits of our decisions, but we never lose hope. Ultimately, we want what’s best for the students.”
#25
My kid went on an overnight school trip. I got multiple messages and emails from the principal saying he had snuck out in the middle of the night and jumped off a dock into the lake.
When he got home, we asked him about it. He started laughing. He thought we were messing with him because he had no idea what we were talking about. My kid can be a turd so I emailed the principal and a couple teacher chaperones to get more information. The teachers told me they had no idea what I was talking about, it was the first they were hearing about any incident at camp, etc, etc…principal went silent. Dodged my emails and calls. A week later, she apologized to my son by saying “sorry, I must have mistaken some wild life for. Tell your mom you’re all good.” Never heard from her directly and a year later, he’s still going on field trips and there was no follow-up. Such an unnecessary heavy accusation. Never really regained confidence in the school leadership 💁🏻♀️.
#26
During the protests in Hong Kong kindergarten told us not to allow the kid to wear a face mask or risk being detained by police or mistaken for a "rioter". Kid was 6 at the time. Very dangerous age.
#27
A friends son goes to a school that has banned all physical contact, including in sport. They can get suspended for any contact whatsoever.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 7 hours ago
Let's have a game of non physical psychic tag. Tag your it!
While some policies are clearly designed to benefit students, there are others, like the one mentioned in this post, that make you stop and question their purpose. Are they truly helpful, or do they create unnecessary hurdles? Which one of these posts resonated with you the most—or left you scratching your head? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
#28
Stream students in such a way that it was impossible for my son to earn a higher grade than a C, no matter how well he worked. Only the kids in the "high achieving" class could get As and Bs. Naturally that severely impacted his incentive to even try, especially as streams were set by teachers and could not be appealed.
#29
School wouldn’t let my son carry his own ventolin inhaler for asthma; instead he needed to go to the administration office and ask for it (he was pretty good at knowing when he needed it).
Head office lady called and said his frequency of visits was increasing, that perhaps he was forming a habit and “should she still give it to him?”
Stunned silence…
“He needs it to breathe…so yes, please still give it to him” 😢.
#30
My 6yo daughter was followed by a classmate on her bus (he's not usually in that bus). He pulled her hair, punched her in her belly, punched and pinched her vulva and put his hand in her underwear to try to put his fingers inside of her. I went absolutely FERAL. I called EVERYONE. When I reached the school, after I explained what happened, barely containing my rage asking WHAT WAS GOING TO BE DONE NEXT and HOW DID THIS BOY GET ON MY DAUGHTER'S BUS, all the director could think to ask me was : well where is the boy now?! He's not on his bus?! RESPECTUFULLY. I DO NOT KNOW. I DO NOT CARE. I called our equivalent of CPS and everyone I could think of, made multiple complaints. He was transferred to another class and that's pretty much it. That little boy needs help, that's not normal. And little girls need to be better protected from him and others like him.
ETA: WOW this blew up. Thanks to everyone who offered advice or support. I brushed over the event, it happened over the course of about two weeks. At first I really pushed to get help for my daughter and she was evaluated regarding all this. It turns out, she didn't view it as SA and was more traumatized by the punch than the abuse. She liked the little boy prior to this, and my poor sweet girl never experienced this kind of violence before. The boy was sent in another class, which made her happy, and she spent a day at home with us. Then, we all went to the school to talk with the principal and she told us she was eager to go back in class. She loves school. I had called our equivalent of CPS and was appalled to learn the didn't go through with anything. When I was told that, I did threaten to both go to the medias and leak the story to other moms. I told them that I was sorry for that boy, as he CLEARLY needs help (no kid does something like that, at that age, without a deeper reason), but that if they refused to follow through I would make sure no other child went through what my daughter went through (I never told anyone in the end, but I really wanted them to do something both for him and potential future victims). Upon hearing this, they told me that they could not release more information, but that if they didn't follow through, it meant that the parent or someone else had done something they saw as enough for the boy. We needed to keep filling complaints with different people but eventually, someone told me she was also mother, and she knew my pain, and she vowed on everything dear to her the boy was seeing someone. Which was later confirmed by my own daughter when she came back from school and told me the boy had asked her if she had been seeing doctors as well. In the end, we really did everything we could and for our mental health and our daughter's, we decided to take a step back. Seeing us angry and crying over this story when she was just a bit scared that she had been hit was confusing for her and she was moving on perfectly fine. She did see someone one last time who agreed that she was fine with what happened. I did call the principal again to tell him that the boy had gone to talk to my daughter, and he took care of it. Our community also rallied around my daughter. Our community center offered a free meal once a month after the bus ride home, a pizza night where everyone on the bus socialized, which reduced bullying, forged friendship and made sure that the kids knew who was supposed to be on the bus, meaning they will spot an intruder next time. We are so grateful for this initiative. We also contacted the bus company to know how this could have happened, but never got anywhere with them. Regardless of everything, my daughter is fine and it made me realize that I need to deal with my own trauma regarding SA in order to be a better mother in case something ever happens again, as schools are NOT helpful. Also, we never knew his parents. We had just started school and we only moved here a couple of months ago. They told us they were cooperative. Maybe they didn't even know the boy had been (probably) abused. Maybe it was an uncle or grand-parent or neighbour. Maybe it really did help him. I hope so. I hope one good think came out of this, at least, but I will never know. And I did try to file a report, but since he's under 11, it's useless here. He cannot be accused of sexual assault here under 11.
Also I was so happy I always encouraged my daughter to confide when something weights on her mind and always gave her the tools to recognize when something feels wrong. She has a beautiful emotional intelligence. She knows her body parts and which should be private. She felt safe enough to tell us as soon as it happened. She is such a gem. And sorry for my english, I speak french 😂.
#31
During the summer holidays one year we dyed the last 6in of my daughter's long hair reddish purple. It had faded a fair bit by the time school started again, but we still braided it and put it up in a neat bun so no colour could be seen. One day it started to fall down after a PE lesson, so instead of simply helping her tuck it back up the teacher CALLED ME to tell me off for allowing her to have coloured hair. I was incredulous, and let the teacher know exactly what I thought of her decision to drag a 10 second tidy up job into a disciplinary issue involving a phone call. That bloody woman was a pill.
#32
Kept calling me to pick up my kid after lunch recess because kid “had a fever”. They were playing outside in 100°+ weather on a concrete playground with zero shade. Of f*****g course their temp was elevated. Give them some cold water and let them cool off inside, dipshits.
Kid’s temp was elevated (usually between 99.0°-99.9°), but was never in fever range. I kept having to explain what temps qualified as a fever to the school nurse and later learned that she wasn’t an actual nurse. I finally got so frustrated with this nonsense that I told them not to call unless my kid was barfing, bleeding, or had a temp over 100.4°.
Arizona schools are something else, man.
#33
I was a teaching assistant in a preschool special education, primarily with kids with autism on all ends of the spectrum. They had a policy of us not being allowed to use the word "no" and in steady saying "not a choice" and instead offering choices. Okay, brilliant.
But there was an incident where a child wanted a toy another child was playing with. He started hitting him in the face and pushing him and trying to take the toy, and he was much bigger. I rushed over and said "No, stop!" I caught his hand and said "not a choice!" And redirected him to other toys.
The teacher scolded me for telling him no and getting hands on by catching his hands. I told her there is a time and place for the word no, and attacking another child needs immediate intervention. I am not going to reason and hope it works. I stood my ground on that one, but I spoke to both parents personally and they both thanked me for intervening.
#34
Didn’t give my son an ice pack to put on an injured knee until they could speak to me and get permission (I was at work and so couldn’t respond immediately and they didn’t bother calling anyone else on the list) because according to them it is a medical procedure so they need parental permission. I don’t even really care about the ice, it was a very minor injury. But I was baffled by their reasoning.
#35
That kids had to invite their whole year to their birthday party. The whole year consisted of like 40-60 kids depending on what year you were in.
If you weren’t rich enough to rent a venue? Just don’t have a birthday party 😃
My sister wanted to invite like 7 people in her class and have a small birthday party in our living room. And the school said that was exclusion. My mom said “So 8 people are excluding 32 people?“.
#36
My daughter was in the school play in 3rd grade. She was one of about 40 kids in the ensemble, they just stood/sat in place on the risers for the entire show and sang. She had no individual role/lines at any point. There were 3 shows, one of which overlapped a girl scout event that has been previously scheduled to take place at our house. When I told her she would have to miss one of the shows she just shrugged and said ok. She then went to school and told her teacher this and he proceeded to give her a long lecture on how she would be letting down the entire cast and it would ruin the whole show for her to miss it. He told her she was obligated to skip girl scouts because she was committed to the play. Never mind that she was committed to the girl scout event long before the school even mentioned there was going to be a play, and we would have to cancel the whole event since we can't exactly host while also being at the school with her. We did end up having to reschedule anyway because a few others couldn't make it, but I'm still not happy with her teacher over it and she did not join the play this year.
#37
My son got suspended for punching a kid that spat on him. The spitter didn't get in any trouble.
#38
Not a parent. But my I went to pick up my sister because she wasn't feeling well. they'd tried to call my dad (who's deaf) and finally got to my mom who sent me to pick her up.
It wasn't until after that my sister told me that the nurse didn't believe our dad was deaf. She told my sister "he'll pick up if it's an emergency" and gave my sister a suspension for "lying" about it.
#39
My daughter and her friend told us that their woodworking teacher was being a creep hugging, touching and being inappropriate with the girls (students aged around 8-12) and that several girls were really uncomfortable during his classes. The teacher was telling the girls to ask him to stop touching them if they didn't want him to but when they dared to speak up he called them silly and melodramatic. Even the boys, who usually were really s****y to the girls, reacted to how differently this teacher acted around the girls compared to them and felt like something was seriously off.
The school counselor was supportive of the girls' claims and had been aware of the issue for some time but the principal called it a "he said she said" situation and that the teacher's explanation was that he was a physical and touchy person and COULDN'T HELP HIMSELF. Instead of dealing with the source of her discomfort the principal offered my daughter to switch to needlework leaving other girls not brave enough to speak up to fend for themselves in his classroom.
Needless to say we did not accept this "solution" and kept pressing the matter with higher ups and police and while my daughter has moved on to junior high now I'm happy to say the teacher is not teaching at that school anymore.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 7 hours ago
Don't mind Mr Smith the woodworking teacher, he is just a creepy paedophile! He means no harm!
#40
I went to a very "well-respected" primary school. All the rich kids went there. I have no idea how i ended up there, since we were not rich. Probably something along the lines of living close enough, i guess. We had a very basic uniform - make sure to wear a white tshirt. Which i always did. Some of ny classmates never did. Girls had makeup, shorts so short you could actually see their butt cheeks, guys had white tshirts with obscene writing. I just had plain white tshirts. We were 12 by the way. The principal was a chemistry teacher. She would walk in class and make us all stand up to inspect our uniforms. And she always picked only on me. Make me stand in front of the class while she would call out my emo hairstyle ( bangs pinned to the side...), how my white shirt is too tight, how it is not white, how it has some stains. And if i would retaliate, and mention how i am respecting the rules, she would continue berating me in front of the class for being a horrible and undisciplined kid. Again, this while some of my classmates looked 10 years above their age and dressed completely inappropriate. After a while, i finally told my mom, who went beserk. She went to see the principal all fired up but came out almost crying. Turns out, the principal was singling me out because my mom was one of the few parents who did not bribe at that school. And in the meeting, the principal made my mom feel like the lowest of the low for not having enough money to bribe and ensure a good future for her daughter. After calming down, my mom made a bunch of calls and complaints and got that principal removed. .
#41
Kids get three passes during the semester to use the bathroom. What are they supposed to do when they've used them up?
Mind you this is 5th grade when a lot of girls are starting their periods at inopportune times. Are they supposed to sit there bleeding?
I told my kids, get up and walk out if you really need to use the bathroom-and I'll deal with it later.
#43
When I was in high school I went into my math class. Two girls I knew told me they thought they saw one of our classmates with a knife hidden in his waistband. I asked if they were going to tell the teacher. They said no because "he sits on the other side of the classroom, so it's not like we would be stabbed." I went to tell the teacher. The teacher made a phone call, and a few minutes later, the student was called to the office. Next class period I get called to the office. The administrators grilled me aggressively about it as if I did something wrong or was in on it with the other student, they also searched my bag. When they found nothing suspicious on me, they showed me the 10 inch hunting knife they took off the student. They told me that he said he brought it to scare some kids who were picking on him, but he never intended to use it. This was 2 years post Columbine and the school had a "zero tolerance" policy. The student was sent back to class and his father was called to come pick up the knife. There was no other punishment. The next day the whole school was gossiping about the situation, and they all knew it was me who turned him in. The two girls who originally told me they saw the knife were pissed at me for telling because now everyone knew they were also involved and feared retribution from the knife guy.
#44
After I complained about a teacher, that teacher retaliated by putting my 10-year-old on lunchtime detention for sketching during lunchtime.
My child is now starting their third year of a university design degree and their work has twice been chosen by lecturers to showcase to visitors and to future students as exemplars. The teacher now helps out in a health food co-op.
#45
Little blokes primary school nine times out of ten would f**k something up, usually not giving enough notice, eg missus and I missed quite a few awards he got because they’d email us the day before for a Friday presentation.
TL;DR little blokes school couldn’t organise a p**s up in brewery to save their lives.
#46
I was the kid, for heritage week, I was told to “pick something else” because I didn’t “look [my race/ethnicity] enough.” So I was assigned to a group whose heritage was from another continent.
#47
The school decided to close down the after-school care facility (which included before school care) to turn the space into an additional classroom. Note: this was not a free service - we paid through the nose for it. A whole bunch of parents turned up to the next P&C meeting to debate this issue. The principal asked “why can’t all you parents make the time to attend all the P&C meetings?”. My response was “because we WORK!” (in my head adding “you imbecile”). He insisted that the school is not a babysitting service - kids go there to learn - yeah I get that, but out of school hours there’s this massive asset owned by the taxpayers sitting there doing nothing. We asked why a couple of the classrooms can’t be dual function - apparently that would be too much work for the teachers etc. I mean, it was a heated debate, but his comment about all the working parents not usually turning up for a 4.00 pm meeting when most of us don’t knock off until 5.00 sure got me saying “are you effing serious?”.
The school no longer offers out of school care. The people who ran the out of school service lost their jobs.
#48
My daughter's school banned water bottles because some kid made a TikTok about turning water into fake wine. They seriously expected 800 kids to share three water fountains during a heat wave. I showed up to the next PTA meeting with studies on dehydration and child development. Guess what's allowed again?
#49
Not a patent but my school banned the use of any type of ball during recess, nobody was allowed to use the field and you couldn't run on the tarmac. We could basically sit around and talk, read or draw . It was hell considering I was like 12 at the time.
Brittania Kelli 34 minutes ago
It's like having a parrot. 'Squawk, it's progressive, progressive, progressive, progressive.' Synonyms for progressive; evolving, advancing, continuing, increasing, improving, developing. Note how all the synonyms are positive. Synonyms for troll; demon, goblin, monster, hobgoblin, gremlin, bogeyman.
#50
Teacher here - all of my students’ parents had to sign paperwork so that I can give them a bandaid.
#51
Private school: decided to go to year-round silent lunch for elementary students. They had already cut them back to a single 15 minute recess but at least they had lunch for downtime. So this was a weird choice. It wasn't in response to an incident or anything like that. The Principal just decided that his teachers needed a "break" during lunch. And I guess hiring lunch monitors to oversee lunch was a no go because it cost them money? (That's my guess anyway.) It was such a weird reasoning like requiring that teachers be the silence police for a bunch of elementary schoolers is somehow a better assignment for them during lunch.
Getting a call that my kid was in trouble for talking during lunch actually infuriated me. I have a great kid with ADHD who never gets in trouble, but 37 minutes of silence while sitting next to his friends is like his own personal nightmare. Sure, write my kid up if he's throwing food, out of his seat, or even yelling at lunch, but talking? I showed up to that meeting with a whole pile of updated research and data about appropriate expectations for self control for children, the need for downtimes in the child's school day, and why socialization at lunch is important. The Principal sighed and eye rolled and lots of how I couldn't possibly understand. I pulled my kid after that year.
#52
Kids were allowed real ear piercings, but my daughter wasn't allowed stick on ones. Apparently because kids could take them off and play with them. When I pointed out that real ones could get ripped out though they just looked at me clueless. I told them it was the most ridiculous rule I'd ever heard and let her continue to wear them.
#53
They allowed the kid who called in a bomb threat to finish out the school year in person after a very brief suspension, and still go to prom and graduate on stage like nothing happened.
#54
Ooh I just remembered when my son's primary school forbade any contact in the playground! So no hugging, holding hands, linking arms etc. This was before Covid so it wasn't a germ issue. I believe the resulting outcry made the national press (slow news day) and the rule was quickly rescinded.
#55
They tried to suspend my daughter for hitting a kid and giving him a nosebleed in grade 2. Makes sense, right?
Only, as it turns out the tearful story we got was that the boy had been grabbing butts and fronts of girls for WEEKS, was finally stopped, then went to do it again so my daughter clocked him.
“Is there a punishment for the boy?”
“no, he was talked too”
“Well, thats sexual assault and Ill be calling the police”
“Well hold on now…”
“So now we are negotiating?” Nothing happened to my daughter. The boy was suspended.
Nathaniel He/Him Cis-Het 7 hours ago
Boys just being boys, it just mean he fancies you! Sexual assault is fine! As long as it is just a boy grabbing at girls! FFS.
#56
I’m going to get the exact phrasing wrong but about 6 years ago the homework had:
“What were some of the benefits of the residential school system?”
Yeah that was a fun week, they also have “updated” the material.
#57
My younger daughter was harassed and bullied by a recent immigrant who didn’t speak English. Because of his inability to communicate in English and the political climate in my area the teacher thought it would be ok to give the boy a pass and facilitate the bullying.
I had to teach my 5 year old how to fight. Dirty.
She’s not being bullied anymore and the teacher got moved out of kinder. Needless to say my daughter was the one who got punished for defending herself and the vice principal had the armed campus security guard in our parent teacher meeting. He looked more scared than my daughter.
#58
My 7 year old son came home from school and informed me that Banksy was not an artist and drawing on other people’s things was vandalism. This had come from the same teacher who a couple of weeks earlier had praised my child to the skies for his inquisitive nature and enjoyment of discussing the topics they were learning.
These were well off kids in a private school, and when presented with an opportunity to introduce an age appropriate conversation about the nature of art and a whole host of social issues, she went with vandalism.
I am not one of life’s troublemakers but I made a fuss that day. And made my long suffering partner accompany me and our son on a trip to the seaside to look at a Banksy mural.
I don’t even like Banksy that much.
#59
We are in one of those dumb districts that’s overly obsessed with children’s genitals. So they had a policy that they had to tell parents if the student chose to go by a different name or pronoun. This policy was against the law and finally repealed. Didn’t stop the teacher from refusing to call my son by his nickname without my permission. And this isn’t like a “girl” name. Think Dan instead of Daniel. Literally part of his name. My kid struggles to stand up for himself and actually asked her to call him Dan and she refused. When she asked my permission I said “I thought that policy is illegal, why are you asking me?” And she had some dumb line about respecting parents rights.
Soon as this school year ends I’m filing a complaint.
Chefette67 14 minutes ago
Harry, are you a parrot? 🦜 Because you keep squawking the same words repetitively
#60
My daughter took a standardized test and had problems with one of the sections. At the parent teacher conference I brought this up to the teacher. She said "Don't worry. She just might have problems taking tests. After all I only got a 600 on the SATs."
For some context, the SAT is graded from 0 to 1600. But you get 200 for putting your name right on the English part and 200 for putting your name right on the Math part.
I lost a little faith in our school system that day.
LavenderHippoInAJar 6 hours ago
Wait a 600 OVERALL? I read that as a 600 on one of the sections...
#61
They're a "healthy snacks only" school.... that serves sugary muffins and cereal in the morning along with chocolate milk, pizza, processed s**t for lunch. But heaven forbid we try to send kids with chips. No no.. it's gotta be cheeze its or goldfish or even a chocolate covered sugary granola bar that might as well be a candy bar. bc they're so much more healthy.
#62
I was expelled for having a butter knife in my lunchbox. Zero tolerance policy on "weapons" is zero tolerance.
My mom was not impressed, but I wish she had gone to bat for me like some commenters had. She didn't even try to enroll me in a different school because it meant she would have to arrange rides.
#63
With two days notice, they announced a Curious George Day and encouraged us to send our kids dressed in Curious George inspired outfits with a banana flavored snack. Smh. I laughed until I cried when I saw that one. I'm one spirit day away from a nervous breakdown over here, lol.
What do you think ?
Ellinor 7 hours ago
I was bullied in school, and the day I finally told the PEA, she said quite : "Ellinor, no one is mean to other people for no reason. Think really hard, I'm sure there was something you did to upset them first." And yes there was, I was a girl who liked girls, I was half-black, I had an afro and I was good in class.
Sonia J-Coffee 4 hours ago
Now ,the other side of the coin... let the teachers talk about parents....
Ellinor 7 hours ago
I was bullied in school, and the day I finally told the PEA, she said quite : "Ellinor, no one is mean to other people for no reason. Think really hard, I'm sure there was something you did to upset them first." And yes there was, I was a girl who liked girls, I was half-black, I had an afro and I was good in class.
Sonia J-Coffee 4 hours ago
Now ,the other side of the coin... let the teachers talk about parents....
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