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Unreasonable school rules

The Singing Beard

What were the most unreasonable school rules you can remember from your school-going days?

I was in secondary school from 2003 to 2008, (inclusive).

In my school, the front door was for staff and visitors only, if a teacher caught you going in this door, you had to go back out the front door, around the school and in the back or side door.

Drinking was completely forbidden in classrooms. If you even took a sip from your water bottle in class, the bottle would be seized and not returned until the end of the day.

Wearing any coats other than the €80 school coat was forbidden. If you were even seen by staff on the way to school with it on, they'd find you and take it from you. If if was a cold day, tough.

If you were between classes and had to send a text message some teachers would slither like a serpent and take the phone from you. Even if you were not in a class.

If you were late to school (even if it was the school bus drivers fault / traffic) you still got detention.

Was my school abnormally fascist or did anyone else have similar experiences? It wasn't a Christian Brothers School btw.

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lazygal

Bang_Bang wrote: »

Don't know if this has been posted before, but my kids are not allowed to run in the playground during lunch break. The excuse is that a child my fall and the school will be taken to court for a large money extraction exercise.

When I was in primary over 20 years ago we had the same rule. Nearly impossible to enforce it as I recall.

Chattastrophe!

The students in my secondary school weren't allowed enter the school through the main doors at the front of the school - only the teachers were allowed - we had to walk all the way around the back of the school (a pretty large building) to get in one of the back doors.

We had a one way system - understandable at busy times - but a pain in the arse when you were the only one in the corridor and a teacher would spot you and send you back the whole way around the school.

For PE, we used to have to wear white polo shirts, and were only allowed wear white bras under them.

They were very strict about enforcing the school uniform. I remember a girl in sixth year got pregnant, due just after the leaving cert. A few weeks before she was due, her parents approached the school and asked could she wear a different skirt, or trousers, as the school skirt was too tight and uncomfortable and they couldn't afford €130 for a new one, especially when she'd only be in the school a couple more weeks. The school wouldn't compromise at all - the girl was told she should have considered that problem before she got pregnant! :eek: (As you may have guessed, it was a Catholic school, and the principal was a nun.)

When tamagatchis were in fashion, one particular teacher used to love confiscating them and feeding them just enough to keep them alive, but sick and hungry and unhappy. Funny looking back, but kind of sadistic too!

They tried to introduce a rule that we weren't allowed into town at lunch/after school while wearing our uniforms. This one was never really enforced - I mean, how could they enforce it!

They turned a blind eye to the dozens of girls who'd spend their breaks smoking in the bicycle sheds - on the condition that they weren't seen smoking outside of school grounds while wearing the uniform. Some of the teachers would even join them!

One teacher had a rule that if you didn't do your homework, you had to redo it three times the following night, along with your regular homework. And this woman was terrifying - no one would ever dare not do it! (It was effective - after having to rewrite it three times one night, I never skipped my Irish homework again!)

There were two really old-school teachers, both men, with awful tempers ... when they got pissed off they'd start overturning desks and chairs, and firing markers etc at us. Of course we'd purposely provoke them just to get a reaction.

They had a rule that we weren't allowed get end-of-year presents for the teachers - we found that one hilarious, because it's not like we were ever tempted to!

Egginacup

The Singing Beard wrote: »

What were the most unreasonable school rules you can remember from your school-going days?

I was in secondary school from 2003 to 2008, (inclusive).

In my school, the front door was for staff and visitors only, if a teacher caught you going in this door, you had to go back out the front door, around the school and in the back or side door.

Drinking was completely forbidden in classrooms. If you even took a sip from your water bottle in class, the bottle would be seized and not returned until the end of the day.

Wearing any coats other than the €80 school cost was forbidden. If you were even seen by staff on the way to school with it on, they'd find you and take it from you. If if was a cold day, tough.

If you were between classes and had to send a text message some teachers would slither like a serpent and take the phone from you. DVDs if you were not in a class.

If you were late did school (even if it was the school bus drivers fault / traffic) you still got detention.

Was my school abnormally fascist or did anyone else have similar experiences? It wasn't a Christian Brothers School btw.

DVDs if you were not in class? What?

If you were late did school? What?

Wearing any coats other than the €80 school cost was forbidden? What?

If if was a cold day, tough? What?

Did you graduate from this school?

HurtLocker

Egginacup wrote: »

DVDs if you were not in class? What?

If you were late did school? What?

Wearing any coats other than the €80 school cost was forbidden? What?

If if was a cold day, tough? What?

Did you graduate from this school?

Not sure if this is an English teacher trying to be funny or the typical unoriginal boring as f*ck grammar nazi providing free spell checks to strangers on the internet. Ill go with the latter.

Rough Sleeper

Egginacup wrote: »

DVDs if you were not in class? What?

If you were late did school? What?

Wearing any coats other than the €80 school cost was forbidden? What?

If if was a cold day, tough? What?

Did you graduate from this school?

Not having even the most rudimentary deductive ability? What?

Though I have to admit that I have no idea as to what "DVDs" refer to in this case.

anncoates

The uniform which crushed the unique flower of my individuality under the fascist jackboot of conformity.

I'm writing an Anne Frank style opus based on my memories of it.

[Deleted User]

My old school has the only black shoes allowed rule but I don't think I ever wore a pair. I had my doctor write a note stating that due to issues I was required to wear runners. I used to carry the note around with me as without fail the principal would stop me at lest once a day and ask where my shoes were.

daviecronin

I'm still in school and most of these rules still exist stand for the principal when he comes in as if he's god! And some teachers can be even worse like if you forget your homework once in a blue moon, you've to do it 3 times without question but then some are lovely.

Faux Socialist

My school didn't really have any rules, the school was more akin to a walk in prison where the teachers were resigned to the fact that no one was going to amount to much anyway.

shalalala

I went to some of my years of school in England. We had to wear blazers with the school crest on them. Even in the height of summer (summer holidays in England are only 6 weeks long) we had to wear it around the campus and ask permission to take it off in every class. To this day it is the only thing I know how to say in German.

The Singing Beard

Egginacup wrote: »

DVDs if you were not in class? What?

If you were late did school? What?

Wearing any coats other than the €80 school cost was forbidden? What?

If if was a cold day, tough? What?

Did you graduate from this school?

My sincere apologies, I've edited the OP.
I hope you weren't offended. Autocorrect at its finest.

DEFTLEFTHAND

Love the username OP.

[Deleted User]

We were to wear black court shoes. We were not allowed to wear any other type of shoe even walking to school. I walked 4km to school every morning. Was feckin horrible.

We were only allowed to wear the school coat, which was grand in winter as it was a huge big warm coat. In spring/autumn when the coat was too warm but nothing was too cold, it was tough titty.

That's all really, we had it easy enough rule wise. My sister had worse rules, she was a couple of years ahead of me when the school was run by the nuns. Tbh, we could have done with stricter rules, ones that mattered, because the place got increasingly worse over the years and is now an absolute kip that I wouldn't send a dog to.

onethreefive

Having to pay for a ridiculously expensive PE uniform. Like it was something insane like €100.

Not letting students make calls to parents yet teachers were often going on their phones during class.

Having to sit in assigned seats at break even though you probably never talked to the people before in your life. This one was particularly funny sometimes :pac:

Having to wear a crested uniform.

OneArt

I went to a co-ed Catholic primary school in South Africa. We had to wear ridiculous shorts and a little tie, topped off with a cap (for boys). Girls had to wear a skirt and their underwear had to be either navy blue, white or black. If you went to school and forgot your cap, you'd be sent to the Hall to write lines during lunch.

I remember one day after assembly the principle was giving out about people flaunting the rules. At the end of assembly, one of the female teachers lined up all the girls and checked under their skirts to make sure they were wearing the right colour knickers. She'd go in succession whilst saying, "Good girl, naughty girl. Good girl, naughty girl..." etc. It made me glad I wasn't a girl.

I was only six but even now that memory that still gives me the creeps.

HurtLocker

OneArt wrote: »

I went to a co-ed Catholic primary school in South Africa. We had to wear ridiculous shorts and a little tie, topped off with a cap (for boys). Girls had to wear a skirt and their underwear had to be either navy blue, white or black. If you went to school and forgot your cap, you'd be sent to the Hall to write lines during lunch.

I remember one day after assembly the principle was giving out about people flaunting the rules. At the end of assembly, one of the female teachers lined up all the girls and checked under their skirts to make sure they were wearing the right colour knickers. She'd go in succession whilst saying, "Good girl, naughty girl. Good girl, naughty girl..." etc. It made me glad I wasn't a girl.

I was only six but even now that memory that still gives me the creeps.

I thought my experience was bad. I still remember my uber conservative male Catholic principal declaring white socks and black shoes a "fashion no-no" during a uniform inspection

Also the vice principal used stand outside his office enforcing the rule that you must tuck in your shirt. How? By tugging on the back of your shirt as you walked by. Creepy as I think about it

. This was less than 5 years ago.

Remember going home sick as I forgot my tie as the alternative was a 10 minute lecture and a detention. My old school had weird priorities

cloud493

My english class had a rule where if you weren't in the class when the teacher entered, you didn't go to class. Abused that to skip a whole lot of class.
Weren't allowed to mention evolution or anything about the possibility of god not existing, Atheism, etc. Doing so got you a week of detentions doing lines at every break.

When you were really really bad, there was a large cupboard in the french teachers room they locked you in and only let you out for lunch times. Thinking back that was really dangerous. Wonder if its still there.

Un Croissant

Anyone else have moshes in the corridors between class? I just remembered them now reading this thread but we all had to get to class which very unfortunately led to a large blockage in the corridor. If some first years or a teacher got caught up then that was all the better.

It's probably all one way these days.

Aineoil

This is a very interesting thread.

I went to secondary school from 1979 to 1984 - all girls in the school. There were very few rules. No going up town at lunch time. Only studs for earrings. Which I think were ok rules.

I think these days there are too many rules.

[Deleted User]

Phones weren't an issue for us, no one way systems, ended up wearing tracksuits half the time especially in summer and the navy tracksuit could be replaced with o'neills. They were all the rage
one lad did get in trouble changing into a big yellow coat when leaving school but he was still on premises
no detention or anything

I hear it all got a bit mental after we left though, change of principal then

Aineoil

Weird rules in secondary school don't really prepare people for life whether it's a university, college, an apprentice course etc

Richard

The Singing Beard wrote: »

What's the harm in whipping out a phone in the corridor between classes? Does it disturb a lesson?

It delays you on the way to another lesson. Even if there isn't a lesson, you don't need to check it. You're in school to learn.

miss no stars

The only one that struck me as being genuinely unfair was that you couldn't bring any OTC medication to school (inhalers and insulin only, basically). Which might sound fine, but they were completely inflexible on it even on a case by case basis and I have a disorder that means I tend to be in some degree of pain (anywhere from mild to severe) most of the time and my treatment consisted of ibuprofen (& paracetamol if particularly bad) as required with 4 hours between doses. But because it was a painkiller the school wouldn't let me carry them (fair enough, don't necessarily trust a 12 year old not to accidentally overdose or OD in deperation due to pain), nor would they allow me to store them in the school office and get them as required. Mum queried it when I was in first year and fainted during assembly and was told that if a pupil is sick they're to see the school receptionist (who's not qualified to dispense medication!!). So when I did go to the receptionist looking for painkillers I was basically told "school policy says I can't give you any painkillers". So I had to option of going back to class (in tears from the pain) or going home. So because of a stupid school rule that students can't carry painkillers on them my attendance never went above 75% until I got old enough that I told them where to go with their rule. At which point I was already getting sick with something else. Making a rule preventing access to medication actually strikes me as really cruel, not just unfair.

NSAman

you were not allowed to move were chalk or the duster to be thrown at you, when you made a mistake at the blackboard, and the foreign students were told to smile or get out of the way of the blackboard as that particular teacher claimed not to be able to see them otherwise.

lazygal

Did anyone's parents ever challenge the rules? Mine did, and I admire them for it. I can't imagine letting my child have to suffer because of some I'll conceived rule that makes no sense.

liz lemoncello

I'm feeling quite fortunate that, as a Canadian, I never had to wear a uniform.

miss no stars wrote: »

The only one that struck me as being genuinely unfair was that you couldn't bring any OTC medication to school (inhalers and insulin only, basically).
......
Making a rule preventing access to medication actually strikes me as really cruel, not just unfair.

How did they enforce this? I would have just tried to carry one of those little pill boxes in my pocket.

[Deleted User]

lazygal wrote: »

Did anyone's parents ever challenge the rules? Mine did, and I admire them for it. I can't imagine letting my child have to suffer because of some I'll conceived rule that makes no sense.

Which ones did they challenge

lazygal

bluewolf wrote: »

Which ones did they challenge

Rules about not being able to change to a different teacher. I had a terrible teacher who was incompetent and the principal admitted nothing would be done about her performance due to the unions. They also stood up for us in regard to some religious policies.

corner of hells

No fireworks in the school , 'cos a headbanger sent a rocket down a corridor one Halloween.
My sister taught in a school that had a rule forbidding pupils coming to school on their horses.

miss no stars

liz lemoncello wrote: »

How did they enforce this? I would have just tried to carry one of those little pill boxes in my pocket.

Unfortunately it was kind of a problem that stemmed from foolishly thinking that the school would cooperate with a medically supervised pain management regime. I guess you could say I was marked from early on and was always watched. If I was starting to limp there was usually a year head or vice principal who'd appear and remind me of the school rules :rolleyes: Until 3rd year we were pretty constantly supervised - even at breaks. Tbh trying to sneak around and surreptitiously take medication I had every right to take was less appealing than just going home and crawling back into bed with painkillers and hot water bottles.

When I got that bit older I kinda realised that they'd have an awfully hard time doing anything about it if I did just bring painkillers with me and take them. "School suspends student for taking medication prescribed for her". As if. Dunno wtf they were thinking anyway. Kids who've just turned 12 are really easy to manipulate and scare into submission, though, especially when they're already in pain and wanting to go home. Jesus, reading back on that I'm making it sound really awful. It didn't really seem that horrific to go through, but I just think it was really unfair to put me in a situation where it was "stay in pain or go home".