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35 Unethical Practices That Are Surprisingly A Thing In Some Schools, As Pointed Out By Folks Online
Now, school ought to be a place of learning where eager minds would try to soak in every bit of knowledge and experience they can before they hit the real world.
Alas, schools are also a place where certain decisions beg more questions than they could possibly answer and, in some cases, it has reached unethical levels.
People of Reddit have been listing unethical practices that schools do, and nobody is really batting an eye about it. The discussion generated nearly 11,000 comments with over 24,000 upvotes.
Bored Panda has collected the most upvoted responses to this question and compiled a list which you can find below. Vote and comment on the answers that you think are the biggest problems, and why not also share some of your observations in the comment section below!
More Info: Reddit
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#1
Harassing teenage girls for "dressing inappropriately" when a millimeter of their bra strap is showing (or some other bulls**t like that). Telling them it distracts the boys and invites unwanted attention.
When they actually get harassed (or worse) the school does nothing.
Mary Rose Kent 2 years ago
It also perpetuates the notion that girls are responsible for controlling boys’ behavior!
#2
Lowering a school's funding if the SAT scores are low. If the scores are low, there should be more funding to help kids learn!
#3
Bullied and harassed students having the same repercussions as their bully for defending themselves.
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
I've never understood this...even as adults...in our country if someone is trying to kill you and you defend yourself, you can be charged with assault...like what?!?!
#4
How sports programs have way more money than any other programs at the school… because school is a business not education.
Orange Is Aging 2 years ago
Sports are focused on FAR too much at the schools by me. Whenever I drive past there are ALWAYS notices about games and whatever. School should be focused on education, not sports
#5
Awarding “perfect attendance.” Encouraging kids to go to school while sick is pretty unethical if you ask me.
#6
firing lunchroom staff for serving food to poor students whose families can't afford to pay
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago (edited)
We've got school lunches in primary and secondary schools here...which are free and for low income families. A few years back they also instituted breakfast.
#7
Collective punishment; one or two pupils misbehave and the entire class gets punished for it.
#8
Too much homework. Let kids be kids. A little homework is good but god don't drown the kids in it.
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
I hear that...we used to have hours of homework. Sometimes I just want to relax and sleep.
#9
Requiring you to purchase textbooks brand new from the college's bookstore because that's the only way to get the access code to complete the required assignments on the publishers website.
XenoMurph 2 years ago
I remember the problem of buying school books when we were poor. But actually some college books are only purchased by a few dozen people on that particular course, so would not be produced without those purchases. So SOME people purchasing the book is important. However you acquire the book should not be anything to do with the college though.
#10
I was a decently misbehaved third grader. Told my teacher I had a stomach ache and I needed to go to the nurse. I asked a number of times. She thought I was just trying to get out of individual reading time. My appendix burst on the bus ride home.
I was never one to ask to go to the nurse. Just a hyperactive kid my teacher apparently had enough of. Denying medical attention to an 8 year old seems unethical. This is not a "boy who cried wolf" story for all those saying "I told ya so".
Peppy Piplup 2 years ago
I remember one time in digital technology class I developed a splitting pain below my stomach. I think it was trapped gas in my bowels or something. Anyway, I asked my teacher if I could go to the nurse, but she told me no because class was "almost over" and that I have to wait until it was finished before I could go. Except that class was over in an hour, so I had to stay seated in my chair, in agony, for an hour. Did I mention that digital technology was my last class that day? So school was over by the time class ended and I couldn't stay behind because then I'd be late and I can't be late because my mum had to pick up my brothers from their schools as well so I never got to the nurse. And then there was that other time where I nearly fainted in the mandatory religion class and I did have to go to the nurse and while my friend was leaving my schoolbag in the nurse's office, she told me that the substitute teacher was pissed at me for missing class.
#11
Bullied students are told to leave because it's easier to kick out a quiet victim than a loud bully
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
Or when they call the bully and say "bullied kid said you did X" and when they deny it they just leave it there...like thanks for now increasing the bullying that already existed.
#12
This is probably very specific to my home country but period checks
I'm from Malaysia and yes sadly this is a thing and I've witnessed it firsthand. Mostly to make sure girls aren't lying about their periods just to get out of prayer activities.
#13
zero tolerance policies.
Oh that kid hit you for no reason? both suspended zero tolerance!
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
Zero tolerance sometimes meant Zero Effort or Zero Intelligence.
#14
Less severe but limiting kids access to water, I.e. you can’t have your drink bottle at the table. Which sucks when you live in Australia and at summer the temperature gets up to 36c and school is during all the hottest hours of the day.
#15
Tormenting socially awkward /introverted students
Ozacoter 2 years ago
I hinestly believe that some teachers enjoy making their kids suffer. I speak very fast and because of that i stutter if I read out loud. One of my teachers loved making me read all the time and kept smiling while some of the students laughted. Once i got so tired that i shut up and sat in the middle of a sentence and refused to ever read in her classes. Bitch
#16
Passing students that aren't ready for the next grade because they need to pad their passing rates to keep funding. It's setting the kids up for failure down the road.
#17
Treating special needs kids subhumanly because they can’t speak up for themselves…then belittling/reprimanding the staff who do advocate for them.
#18
Giving preference to kids that parents donate money and fratranise with teachers/ headmasters.
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
I've seen this time and time again...the systems is way to broken.
#19
Our assembly room/gymnaisum had the fire escape doors chained shut, and the police department was aware of it.
#20
C9Juice says:
7 am classes
S_thyrsoidea replied:
7am classes in complete disregard for what the science says about adolescent development and sleep schedule, and the effect of early classes on academic success.
Clare Is great 2 years ago
My school: you should sleep at least 9 hours a night Also my school: you must wake up at 6 in the morning
#21
Making hair part of the uniform and dictating what hair styles and colours students are allowed to have. Also letting girls wear short skirts in summer but not letting boys wear shorts. I've seen quite a few schools in the news where the boys have had to protest and wear skirts in the summer because they weren't allowed shorts.
Cactus McCoy 2 years ago
"Also letting girls wear short skirts in summer" while at the same time cry out loud in case of shoulder free top or barely visible bra strap, I presume.
#22
Present opinions as facts.
Harri Ellis 2 years ago
I had a Social Studies asshole teacher/coach who told the class that if a girl is getting raped, she should relax and enjoy it. I got up and walked out. I spoke up, and nothing was done, since he was a coach. I was 14. The good old 70's.
#23
Not care about students's mental health
Hedgielover98 2 years ago
I was bullied and depressed to the point of dropping out for a month. I lived in black because I was fat and it seemed to help distract the bullies. So what happens? My English teacher tells the class she thinks I'm a Satanist.
#24
Convincing kids that a 4-year institution after graduation is the best choice for everyone.
Mary Rose Kent 2 years ago
I think Boomers were the last generation to not be required by society to have a college degree in order to get a job!
#25
Keeping bad teachers in their positions. Not the same as a good teacher with poorly performing students with bad home life etc.
RandomBeing 2 years ago
People talk about students being able to grade and review teachers as a joke but it would actually be a great idea (especially if it can be done anonymously)
#26
Humiliating and/or calling out students in front of the whole class
also saying things like "you'll never pass my class/get into Harvard/get into college" to the entire class for some reason always with a stupid, arrogant smirk on their face... The first two are true stories, the first from my Honors Algebra II teacher to a class of 15/16-year-olds and the second from my HONORS SCHOOL to a class of 14/15-year-olds which was supposed to prepare me for that exact thing!! What makes the second even worse is that the person who said it was... wait for it... THE SCHOOL COUNSELOR!!!
Sosena Hailu 2 years ago
School counselors are actually just stuck up baboons who expect bullies to obey you by telling them to stop. WTF?
#27
Only having one bathroom for open in a high school. There are 1000’s of kids.
#28
The pledge of allegiance, confiscating kid's phones, withholding graduation ceremonies because they've labelled kids troublemakers, zero tolerance policies, ignoring and covering up bullying
Cecily Holland 2 years ago
Ripping off a Kids insulin pump and yanking out the IV line because you are too stupid to see it isn’t a phone
#29
Professors selling their own books for their class
DennyS (denzoren) 2 years ago
For us it's textbooks that have "amendments" every year. Like, why should I trust you if you keep making mistakes. lol
#30
Over the top dresscode making girls feel like s**t because of it
RandomBeing 2 years ago
Dress codes that are really different for boys and girls make no sense
#31
Making kids sell magazines or whatever. Should be 100% illegal and I dunno what kind of parents stand for that bulls**t.
#32
Diagnosing kids who aren't interested in the curriculum with ADHD. Still don't understand how I get diagnosed with ADHD in elementary school just for it to magically disappear halfway through middle school, for it then to reappear freshman year of high school just to disappear again sophomore year.
RandomBeing 2 years ago
And then kids who actually have ADHD get told they're faking it. Misdiagnosis doesn't benefit anyone.
#33
Not letting kids take part in a test because their parents havent paid.
#34
Put make up exams during lunch. I’m running on no food for the past 21 hours because I had to skip lunch to do a makeup exam. Thank god the school day is almost over
Side note, I exercise a lot so I generally eat a lot so this s**t is really annoying
#35
Selling 2x the number of parking passes than spots actually exist for, then imposing steep parking fines.
What do you think ?
Virtually Fabulous 2 years ago
How about NASTY lunches? I know some kids who only eat school lunch (it's free here) and eat hardly any of it bc it is sooo bad and then end up hungry the rest of the day.
Treessimontrees 2 years ago
The funding of schools should be a massive priority, and it should be a massive vote winner for politicians. It isn't and it doesn't, and it completely baffles me. Why would you not pump a sponge like brain with everything you can. Maybe that kid becomes an engineer who solves a massive problem, a scientist who cures the common cold. I just don't know why you wouldn't throw everything at educating kids. School should be free, school lunches should be free, teachers shouldn't have to buy supplies (and they should get paid well), school trips should be free, there should be no fundraisers.... The US defense budget is $715 billion... There's about 50m kids in school. That's $14,300 per student. Imagine what they could do with that.
Treessimontrees 2 years ago
Maybe if kids were educated they wouldn't make the same mistakes the adults keep making as they actually learned history adequately.
Load More Replies...
not your average weirdo 2 years ago
I had a teacher who would verbally abuse kids. One time he showed us an animated porn thingy. Everyone told the teachers, no one believed us. Until some kids got video proof and he was finally fired.
SirLancecornTheFourth 2 years ago
Being a nerd in school, I didn't friends up until seventh grade so I was really quiet and stumbled over words. The biggest bullies always end up being teachers, I only had a handful that took my anxiety issues seriously and eased me into talking in front of the class. The other teachers would punish kids with issues like me and it's absolutely NOT right. A child, even a teen, should not be punished because they're nervous, scared, have impairments, etc. It makes me wonder if any of those teachers were ever kids and not some kind of robot.
Monica Pryts 2 years ago
My kid is in kindergarten and we're already dealing with a class bully. I spoke to the teacher and apparently this girl pesters multiple classmates: hitting, scratching, biting, etc. One time she tried to kiss my son. We're in a freaking pandemic! Teach your kid to keep their slobber to themselves. And the response? Every parent got a message from the teacher reminding us that the kids need to keep their hands to themselves. But we all know the reason behind that message. Makes me wonder about the girl's home life.
Sydney Jackson 2 years ago
“One bad apple ruins the whole bunch”/ collective punishment. My elementary school did this and I bet they were hoping we would forget. It was not just no recess it was you must walk these laps for recess/exercise punishment. I brought it up back then but no one will take a 9 year old seriously. They legit said that it was so “The good kids would pressure the bad ones to be better.” Like … that’s called bullying and isn’t that your job? Tbh my high school does this too with our lunches.
Chrissie Anit 2 years ago
Almost all of these examples seem to occur only in the States. I work at a school and we don't have to deal with most of these problems.
GadgetGirl 2 years ago
They wonder why the obesity rates are so high. And give you 30 minutes for lunch; including the time it takes to walk to the cafeteria and to your next class, and the time taken to stand in line to get your food. Teaching kids to wolf down their meal as quickly as possible will get you overweight adults.
Damon Tripodi 2 years ago
A bunch of these are just reality. Like you need to be prepared for reality.
Damon Tripodi 2 years ago (edited)
If you're at a private, paid, or a religious school then some of these things are expected. And no one's forcing you to go.
Virtually Fabulous 2 years ago
How about NASTY lunches? I know some kids who only eat school lunch (it's free here) and eat hardly any of it bc it is sooo bad and then end up hungry the rest of the day.
Treessimontrees 2 years ago
The funding of schools should be a massive priority, and it should be a massive vote winner for politicians. It isn't and it doesn't, and it completely baffles me. Why would you not pump a sponge like brain with everything you can. Maybe that kid becomes an engineer who solves a massive problem, a scientist who cures the common cold. I just don't know why you wouldn't throw everything at educating kids. School should be free, school lunches should be free, teachers shouldn't have to buy supplies (and they should get paid well), school trips should be free, there should be no fundraisers.... The US defense budget is $715 billion... There's about 50m kids in school. That's $14,300 per student. Imagine what they could do with that.
Treessimontrees 2 years ago
Maybe if kids were educated they wouldn't make the same mistakes the adults keep making as they actually learned history adequately.
Load More Replies... not your average weirdo 2 years ago
I had a teacher who would verbally abuse kids. One time he showed us an animated porn thingy. Everyone told the teachers, no one believed us. Until some kids got video proof and he was finally fired.
SirLancecornTheFourth 2 years ago
Being a nerd in school, I didn't friends up until seventh grade so I was really quiet and stumbled over words. The biggest bullies always end up being teachers, I only had a handful that took my anxiety issues seriously and eased me into talking in front of the class. The other teachers would punish kids with issues like me and it's absolutely NOT right. A child, even a teen, should not be punished because they're nervous, scared, have impairments, etc. It makes me wonder if any of those teachers were ever kids and not some kind of robot.
Monica Pryts 2 years ago
My kid is in kindergarten and we're already dealing with a class bully. I spoke to the teacher and apparently this girl pesters multiple classmates: hitting, scratching, biting, etc. One time she tried to kiss my son. We're in a freaking pandemic! Teach your kid to keep their slobber to themselves. And the response? Every parent got a message from the teacher reminding us that the kids need to keep their hands to themselves. But we all know the reason behind that message. Makes me wonder about the girl's home life.
Sydney Jackson 2 years ago
“One bad apple ruins the whole bunch”/ collective punishment. My elementary school did this and I bet they were hoping we would forget. It was not just no recess it was you must walk these laps for recess/exercise punishment. I brought it up back then but no one will take a 9 year old seriously. They legit said that it was so “The good kids would pressure the bad ones to be better.” Like … that’s called bullying and isn’t that your job? Tbh my high school does this too with our lunches.
Chrissie Anit 2 years ago
Almost all of these examples seem to occur only in the States. I work at a school and we don't have to deal with most of these problems.
GadgetGirl 2 years ago
They wonder why the obesity rates are so high. And give you 30 minutes for lunch; including the time it takes to walk to the cafeteria and to your next class, and the time taken to stand in line to get your food. Teaching kids to wolf down their meal as quickly as possible will get you overweight adults.
Damon Tripodi 2 years ago
A bunch of these are just reality. Like you need to be prepared for reality.
Damon Tripodi 2 years ago (edited)
If you're at a private, paid, or a religious school then some of these things are expected. And no one's forcing you to go.
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