Your child's school rules: the stupid, weird, or just plain annoying

[luvmy3]

We are, also, just going to have to agree to disagree because no matter how you try to explain it...I don't agree with you. I honestly believe that if it inconvenienced you, you wouldn't believe in it and it's consequences. It's easy to support something that you believe has no real negative impact on you or those you love

There are lots of ways to teach personal responsiblity and I, as well as a lot of others, don't believe that this is a reasonable way to teach it. That's really the bottom line here.



And I also that it's unfortunate when someone's personal hot buttons get in the way of participating in a reasoned discussion. The reference to all these people who think they should be excluded from the rules while everyone else should have to follow them? Please point out those posts........ because I don't see that here. I just see people doing a lot of venting about the stupidity of some rules and saying that they should not exist for anyone, period.


ETA: and the fact that someone would so proudly admit to being condescending (and with a thumbsup to boot) is really kind of sad. Behavior to be proud of? Yikes I'd be much more concerned about the child of that parent than the child of the parent who wants to be sure he/she eats lunch.

Read the thread, there have been posters here who have said they have or would break that particular rule.

And what's sad is if I came here and said "I wasn't being condescending, I only meant this but it didn't come out right, or some other excuse. I'm not going to hide behind excuses, I'll stand behind what I say here, especially when I think it deserves to be said. Your previous posts insinuates that its a shame parents don't come out and speak out about a rule because in your mind its just not inconvenient enough for them to care. How could it be that we may agree with the prinicple of the rule when its not something you do? Talk about a condescending attitude

 

[Elmo9607]

Man, after reading this thread, I have come to believe I went to the most lenient high school ever!!

Our parents could drop off anything they wanted to during the day (school work, lunch, ect) and over the course of my 4 years there, I asked her to drop something off exactly once....it was a sports bra I needed for a track meet! She put it in a brown paper bag, but still, talk about awkward!

We could have anything we wanted to drink in almost any class...water, pop, juice, whatever the school sold, we could have it. Heck, you could even grab a coffee on the way in in the morning and have that too!

We could carry backpacks, purses, or whatever during the day if you wanted. We had lockers so most kids didn't, but some did.

We had a very lenient dress code...basically the only things we couldn't wear were tank tops, that went for both guys and girls. That was only during school hours, after the final bell rang you could wear just about whatever.

We were allowed to share lunches, or not eat lunch, or do whatever you wanted in the time allotted for lunch.

We could eat during class, nothing extreme, but a snack was fine. In our Ag classes we often ate pork chop sandwiches if there was some left over after a function over the weekend or something.

Of course, my high school had maybe 400 kids in the whole school, so I can understand the lack of strictness. Everybody knew everyone else's business, half the kids were related, and quite a few teachers had kids in the school (or at least they were related to them!)

 

[pacrosby]

Read the thread, there have been posters here who have said they have or would break that particular rule.

And what's sad is if I came here and said "I wasn't being condescending, I only meant this but it didn't come out right, or some other excuse. I'm not going to hide behind excuses, I'll stand behind what I say here, especially when I think it deserves to be said. Your previous posts insinuates that its a shame parents don't come out and speak out about a rule because in your mind its just not inconvenient enough for them to care. How could it be that we may agree with the prinicple of the rule when its not something you do? Talk about a condescending attitude

I've been away from the boards for a couple of days but am back to respond.....

In reference to the bolded above....that most definately was not condescending. I was simply talking about human nature. It is the way it is, and it's no surprise. People are busy and most simply don't have time, energy or interest to get involved trying to change rules that have no impact on them.

Heck, I wouldn't actively join a fight against a stupid rule that didn't impact me either.... I have more important things to tend to and not even enough hours in the day to get done what absolutely needs to be done. We all pick our battles. Rarely do we pick the ones that don't really matter to us, one way or the other.

And I must add that it was only your assumption that I believed no one could possibly believe in stupid rules. I never actually said that, nor do I believe it. Of course I know that 'some' believe in stupid rules (including those that put them into place to begin with). But IMO, that doesn't make them any less stupid.

Lastly, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but owning the condescension doesn't somehow make it better. What's the message in that? "Yeah, I behaved like an a** and I'm darn proud of it!!". It is very sad, and scary, for the child of a parent who proudly behaves in a such a manner. It's sort of the message board version of the playground bully. Of course, such behavior certainly puts the overall attitude in perspective.

I'm out now. I much prefer to talk 'with' people...not 'at' people. Time to move on...

Cheers

 

[littleblackegg]

I think you just showed us why this rule is stupid.

We were told the clear liquid/clear container rule had to do with health and safety. Kids were coming to school with large water bottles full of milk that couldn't be kept cold during the day, creating a food safety issue. It made sense to me at the time.

 

[brockash]

My oldest started middle school this year and I find some of the rules at his school to be, at minimum, annoying. Two examples:

Students may not use book bags during the school day. Girls may not carry purses. What a pain for the kids to have to haul their notebooks, folders, textbooks, novels, pencils, project supplies, etc. from class to class without being able to just keep them in a book bag. Ugh. I guess girls have to make a special trip to their lockers to get feminine products when needed. Double ugh.

Students may only carry clear water bottles. It's South Carolina, it's hot, the school is not evenly air conditioned, and staying hydrated is probably helpful for learning. The nice stainless steel Kleen Kanteen water bottle I had bought DS to use at school (and when he bikes to school, on the 4.5 mile ride home) - nope, can't carry it (rule was told to students after the school year began). Ugh.

So, do all the rules at your school make sense? Or do you find any of them annoying?

Hmmm...while I totally agree with the backpack one being annoying and a rough transition for students who aren't used to it, I completely understand why and that's how it's been for both middle schools my son has attended. Honestly, both of those rules are pretty much the norm everywhere we've been. - We're military and I work in schools.

 

[jrmasm]

We were told the clear liquid/clear container rule had to do with health and safety. Kids were coming to school with large water bottles full of milk that couldn't be kept cold during the day, creating a food safety issue. It made sense to me at the time.

I'm not searching to see what I said 5 years ago so you win.

 

[Hikergirl]

We were told the clear liquid/clear container rule had to do with health and safety. Kids were coming to school with large water bottles full of milk that couldn't be kept cold during the day, creating a food safety issue. It made sense to me at the time.

Milk, that is so innocent. We had kids bringing in beer and vodka when I went to school

 

[aprilgail]

I did strong arm my way into the office once last year, and the secretary made me feel like garbage for dropping of my DS's forgotten lunch. It only happened one time. I told her there was no way I was letting my kid starve for the day. If he forgot his homework, then he would have to deal with those consequences. But I won't let him go hungry all day.

I would just go - sign my daughter out of school for the lunch period, go out to eat and bring her back after lunch if we had that rule. We can drop off whatever we want at school but once they get to Jr/Sr high they won't call them and tell them something is there for them, you have to text your child and let them know yourself.
Our schools stupid rules are about hair color- now grade school (K-5) doesn't have any hair color rules, my daughter had blue hair in 5th grade- Jr. High NO weird hair cuts or color- high school anything goes, you can have hair like bozo the clown if you want and anything pierced you want. So WHY just ONE school in the district, it never made any sense.

 

[Clifton Tesh]

Schools in Struthers Ohio have rules against unnatural hair color and male students are not allowed to have facial hair.

I think the dumbest rules apply to the faculty though. Like not being able to discipline the students, can't lay a hand on the student even if it's to protect yourself or another student, and other fun stuff like that.

 

[lifesavacation]

At my daughter's middle school, the students are not allowed to wear headbands or scarves.

 

[Aliceacc]

As much as the kids in my school don't want to hear it, every single rule that's been put into place is there for a reason, as a reaction to something.

The rules about bringing in outside beverages are to try to prevent kids from bringing in booze, while still enabling them to stay hydrated; it's a harder balancing act than you might think.

I would imagine the rules on hair color probably have to do with gangs and their colors. The scarves are probably a safety issue-- maybe to prevent strangulation in the event of a fight?? And a scarf over the face is a great way for an attacker to avoid being identified.

As far as dropping off lunch: I've had lunch duty in a cafeteria with over 650 kids in it. (4 lunch periods, a student body of over 2700). And I can promise you: by the time I figure out who he is and where he sits and get that brown paper bag to the kid, he has already borrowed $5 from a friend (or from the school) and is mortified to receive the lunch that mommy has dropped off. Not to mention the fact that pulling me off line duty to deliver that lunch means the kids have carte blanche to cut the line.

One of the many reasons for the no back rule is probably in case of a fire. My school doesn't have that rule, and I can't tell you the number of times I've tripped over a backpack while checking homework. If the fire alarm ever went off, someone WOULD fall and, at the very least, be delayed in exiting the building... at best. And I always say that if we were ever in lockdown, it wouldn't matter how well we hid; any idiot could look in the window, see the backpacks, and know the kids were in the room.

 

[Kriii]

I have not read through the posts, except for the original one. I agree with the no backpacks rule because it is in place for safety. Sadly, in this day and age there may be kids who hide weapons in backpacks. I have no idea why the no water bottle rule is in place but I would suggest asking. There could be a very valid reason.

 

[Kriii]

At my daughter's middle school, the students are not allowed to wear headbands or scarves.

This is likely because the head bands and scarves can signify gang colors.

 

[Kriii]

sorry double post

 

[Kriii]

My oldest started middle school this year and I find some of the rules at his school to be, at minimum, annoying. Two examples:

Students may not use book bags during the school day. Girls may not carry purses. What a pain for the kids to have to haul their notebooks, folders, textbooks, novels, pencils, project supplies, etc. from class to class without being able to just keep them in a book bag. Ugh. I guess girls have to make a special trip to their lockers to get feminine products when needed. Double ugh.

Students may only carry clear water bottles. It's South Carolina, it's hot, the school is not evenly air conditioned, and staying hydrated is probably helpful for learning. The nice stainless steel Kleen Kanteen water bottle I had bought DS to use at school (and when he bikes to school, on the 4.5 mile ride home) - nope, can't carry it (rule was told to students after the school year began). Ugh.

So, do all the rules at your school make sense? Or do you find any of them annoying?

Book bags can hide weapons. Not sure about the water bottle rule but you could ask.

 

[Kriii]

Yeah, I always thought this one was dumb, too. DS' grade school two years ago instituted a baggie rule; girls could carry a gallon-sized ziploc instead of a purse. (As for feminine products, I always tuck one in my bra, just in case, and that's what most of the girls at the school also do.) As to where to put them in class: same place college students do, under their desks.

DS' current school also banned hoodies on the grounds that kids were hiding cell phones in the hoods... which makes zero sense because they can just as easily carry them in their pants pockets.

Weapons are easily hidden in over large hoodies.

 

[anniemae]

Even though this is an interesting discussion, it is a zombie thread from 2011.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Clear bottles: Alcohol problem in the school.

No backpacks or clear/mesh backpacks: Some kind of weapon, alcohol, or drug problem in the school.

 

[Aliceacc]

It's not necessarily an indication of "problems in the school." Every single high school and middle school in this country has kids who drink, kids who do some sort of drugs, kids who are doing things their parents think and hope they're not doing.

And, like all the other parents, I hope and I pray that it's not my kids. But it's happening in schools-- all schools.

Schools do all they can to minimize it, to get help for the kids involved, to make it harder for it to happen in school or before school or at school or to effect the work that's going on in school. That's where the rules come in.

 

[DawnM]

I hate my son's school's dress code.

They do "sweeps" only about once every month, but if you are out of dress code, you are called into the office, can't go back to class until your parent brings your new clothing, and you have after school detention.

My son wore a solid color T-shirt. They are supposed to wear either the school logo Tee or a college teach Tee. He had a zipped up jacket over it and they made him unzip it.

He is an A/B honor roll student in honors classes and a really good kid. They have far bigger issues than my son's T-shirt.

UGH.

But overall, it has been fine.