Everything changes. From tone-deaf jokes in once-adored TV shows like 'Seinfeld' or 'Married... with Children' to now heavily scrutinized 'crunch culture' in a corporate environment, it seems that everything has an expiration date.
High school, then, serves as a captivating and amusing example of how the passage of time shapes our perception. Remember the days when we had to plead with teachers for permission to use the restroom? It's either this or whatever yummy yet weird meal cafeterias had served in the past that makes us sigh whenever we think of it. Bored Panda has compiled a collection of the most memorable and outrageous aspects of school life that make us cringe, providing a delightful opportunity for those who haven't lived it to take a closer look at the current cultural quirks of school life.
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Super strict dress codes. Being sent to detention. Begging for toilet privileges. All of this might sound weird, sure. But as a VICE journalist once put it: "It’s hard to imagine things being any different, if only because we put up with it for so long. [...] It feels off for schools to still implement these kinds of rules now, as perceptions on discipline, education, gender, and individuality have evolved."
Looking back on it now, there's one bizarre rule that was recently revived due to the times we live in: mock air raids. Of course, depending on which part of the world you live in - particularly if you're situated in Ukraine - ducking for shelter under your desk might still be part of a student's routine. But if you live in America, you're likely aware of its active invader drills which force teens to participate in terrifying simulations.
The United States is not alone in having questionable school norms, as other countries also exhibit their own peculiar practices. In Japan, for instance, students with non-black or non-straight hair are often required to provide evidence of their hair's natural color or texture. On the other hand, in many Indian schools, there are specific restrictions imposed on the interaction between male and female students.
Another questionable norm that ceased to exist (at least to our knowledge) is barring latecomers from entering the classroom. You know, being late by 1 minute and not being allowed to join the class, everyone's eyes saying "uh-oh." And while it's understandable that dealing with consistent lateness can be annoying, especially for teachers who face disruptions because of unmotivated students - what good does making a kid sit in the cafeteria playing their Gameboy bring to their overall education?
While bullying was considered to be a rite-of-passage of your average school student, influencing countless jocks in coming-of-age dramas and comedies, it seems like the rate of bullying has significantly dropped. In 2013, a nationwide survey in the US found that 20% of high school students were bullied on school property in the past year. Meanwhile, another, more recent study published in the journal Pediatrics, discovered that instances of bullying, including perpetrating and witnessing it, have decreased.
I have to say I actually do like knowing that mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell and that Athens and Sparta fought the Peloponnesian War and that the square root of 144 is 12. Yeah none of this helps me in my day to day life but school introduced me to many ideas and facts that I'm very happy to know.
Speaking of the bygone school practices that seem outrageous by today's norms, we should mention the dunce cap seen in cartoons (like The Simpsons) and vintage films. A student who struggled with their studies would be made to wear this cone-shaped hat, marking them as the "class idiot" for all to see. Today, we shudder at the thought of publicly shaming students, realizing that such practices only perpetuate low self-esteem and discourage learning. Thankfully, the dunce cap now resides in the realm of history, where it belongs.
This. The pledge is so dumb. I never, ever stand for it. Had several teachers yell at me for it, but you just get numb to it after awhile. America is taking my rights and you want me to worship it?? Hell naw
Speaking about the inevitable evolution of societal norms - whether in school or the open world - Catherine Sanderson, the Manwell Family Professor in Life Sciences at Amherst College and the author of 'Why We Act', thinks some of the most bewildering things that were appropriate at the time didn't raise any eyebrows precisely because it was something that people were used to. "The example that I often give is: when I was in 7th and 8th grade, right before high school, I had a wonderful teacher who smoked cigarettes throughout the entire day in the classroom," she told Bored Panda in an email. "When I say that now to somebody, they're like 'What?'"
At 57, still is... but then swearing and cussing about stupid things 'co'workers do which mess up my job.
Omg not the f*****g barkers. They're the same ones who'll grab each others' asses while still somehow being homophobic
Of course, in the '80s and '90s, smoking in public spaces seemed as harmless to bystanders as vaping does today. People would smoke on airplanes, in cinemas, and in restaurants without much concern. However, in the late '90s, schools began considering banning smoking due to scientific evidence of its harm. A New York Times article from 1990 stated: "Report had recommended in part that schools ban smoking because of indoor pollution and the influence the districts carry with young children and teenagers."
Mile Monday's were a horrible invention. My friends and I would just walk around the track while talking and ignoring the PE teacher who was yelling at us to run.
Scientific evidence, Sanderson argues, is one of the most important things in fighting norms that are deeply rooted. "What we know is that calling out specific norms and saying, 'Hey, this is not going to work,' is really important. I will also say that's coupled with science." She gave an example of her mother, exactly how in the 1960s there would be 'Duck and Cover' drills in classrooms which urged students to comically hide under their desks - as if that would save anyone. And that's exactly why they ceased to exist. As UnitedStates.org explains: "Civilians soon became aware of the fact that a thin wooden school desk would offer very little if any real protection against a high-yield nuclear bomb."
Married to High School Sweetheart. Going on 22 years together. We actually had middle school 6th grade class together and choir but i dont rmbr him then. Whoops sorry Love.
"One of the challenges is that, in some cases, people privately think that one thing should be the norm, but they think other people feel differently," Sanderson argued. Remember how you wanted to ask something during class and after you glanced at your peers, none of them were raising their hands? It's awkward and embarrassing. Most likely then you lowered your knowledge-hungry hand, fearing the possibility of appearing like a bookworm. "So there's a case in which the public norm is: 'Don't raise your hand' - even if every single person does have a question."
In my school you had a shower after, it was just a big shower block with no curtains and all the girls had to shower in there, I would of rather been sweating and stinky all day than having to go through that as a teenager, it was so degrading.
Bragging about how you hurt your bodies is something to be neither ashamed nor proud of. I frankly think that most teenagers' sleep cycles and school timing are utterly incompatible, like I cannot imagine wanting to do Math at 7 am. On top of that, excessive homework, assignments, and exams to study for that takes up a lot of time along with other activities. With that being said, please recognize that sleep is important for you no matter your age. You're not tough for being able to survive on four hours, it's not funny just because it's a relatable experience, and you're actually being less productive and not more because sleep deficiency impedes your cognitive abilities along with many other side-effects. Start small, aim for consistency rather than an instant fix. Your body works day and night to help you survive, please give it the rest it deserves.
I went to a Catholic school in Spain. 1980, I remember one kid being dragged out of clase by a priest teacher, desk and all and being kicked like a football. Priests drags the kid away screaming , comes back, puts the desk in back in its place and carried on. Never saw the kid again. I'd only been in Spain for a few months and spoke little Spanish so I never found out what's he said or what happened to him.
Why tho? School in the UK starts at 9:30-ish. Were you finishing at lunchtime?!
9:30?! That would have been wonderful. I remember mine was 7:30 to 2:45. And after-school activities started at 3:15. I can't believe I actually remember that. I graduated 17 years ago.
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For me, it was 7:45 am to 3:15-ish pm. 20 minutes for lunch staggered in three groups because the school was huge
When I was in high school (early 90's, USA) we started at 7:30 am and ended at 2:45 pm. Which meant I had to catch the school bus at 6:30 am. I frequently slept through quite a few classes.
Yeah, my high school classes started at 07:15 and if you had a full schedule ended at 14:45. We had :45min staggered lunch periods (big school). After, the extracurricular activities started at 15:00, went until they were done. Depended. Last two years were more flexible to allow for jobs, college AP off campus classes, industrial arts/shop ojt internships, just depended. Having a personal car was pretty much taken for granted for 10th-12th graders, as were jobs. I didn't sleep for seven hours straight from 8th grade until my enlistment, but I was young, healthy, and had all the time in the world. I don't recognize that beat up old man in my mirror, I'm still 17, yes,?
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I gotta be at my school at 6 AM! Morning classes start before the sun comes up!
My schools used to start at 7am, you had 15 minutes tops to get in
I was at school every day at 7am. I was one of those overly enthusiastic extracurricular kids
Caught the bus and then realized I was still wearing my bedroom slippers - fuzzy teddybears.
When I was a kid, school started at 7:20am so I had to be on the school bus at 6:15am or so. It ran to 2:45pm. Lunch was at 11am. My kids both get on the bus at just after 7am. None of it makes sense at all. It never has, it never will.
School started at 7:30 for us. Bus picked my sister and I up a little after 6.
Early hours had a lot to do with bus routes in the US. If your kid went on a bus, that same bus had to pick up elementary kids (early), then middle school and then high schoolers. 3 schedules. Really stupid. Alternately, our high school had 3 different schedules because we probably didn't have enough teachers. You could start at 7 AM, 8 AM or 9 AM and go until 1 PM, 2 PM or 3 PM.
7:25 am. I am a natural night owl. May have picked the wrong career for that reason alone. . .
Italy here, school (high school) starts at 8 and ends between 1pm and 2 pm, 6 days a week (Saturdays included)
7am-230pm where I'm from. Hears they will changing it to a little later. Hope they do.
Schedule for me in high school: 7:30-14:30 school, 15:00-19:00 work, 20:00-22:00 homework, eat, etc. 23:00-6:00 sleep. Repeat. Sometimes I had marching band practice (in the fall) and track practice (spring). This was the 1990s though
For Christmas they used to stuff the entire school into the gym and force us to sing songs or get detention.. ``\0.0/``
At one point in my life my older sister worked at Chick-Fil-A, and she said that they are mostly home school (like herself).
That's because the other football team had a player that did the same thing and God had to make a choice
Had something similar in my high school. Learned to eat and talk really fast. BTW 25 minutes.
Lol I’m in high school I’ve never cared about being popular or “fitting in”. If I really wanted to I could, because the popular girls asked me to sit with them once and they’re pretty nice to me, but I just want to have a drama free social life
Having big bubbly handwriting had a perk until we started typing every page counted paper
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The cane being a legal form of punishment in UK state schools until 1987.
High school in the USA is a wild experience, I guess. Nobody I know actually gave a c**p about being popular. We just wanted to pass and get over that s**t.
I wish I got to actually go to high school. To anyone considering homeschooling your kids or teenagers, PLEASE DON'T unless they explicitly ask to be. Before I started, I would cry to my parents becuase I hated the idea so much and just wanted to be able to interact with other people my age and find friends with similar interests, but apparently that was the worst part for them, so I was the only kid graduating that year from our small primary school who would not be attending the local high school with everyone else.
I remember girls wearing pants tucked into their socks, oversized men's sweatshirts, sweaters that went down to their knees and hiking boots. No makeup but lots of hairspray.
Oh the hairspray girls! That section of the main hall, there was a cloud of sticky hairspray hanging by the lockers that you had to cut through to get to art class!
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I went to an English state secondary school from 1981-1985 (11-16yo). A good proportion of the teachers would never be allowed anywhere near a classroom now. The usual assortment of pervs, sadists ,and alcoholics. At the time, it seemed perfectly normal, but looking back now? Yeah ,I can't really argue or disagree with you.
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Our music class room in high school had keyboards, that could be set to various sounds. One key was a man saying “dictionary”. So of course, the boys would press it multiple times to make him say “dic-dic-dic-dic-dictionary”. I still think about it a lot.
The cane being a legal form of punishment in UK state schools until 1987.
High school in the USA is a wild experience, I guess. Nobody I know actually gave a c**p about being popular. We just wanted to pass and get over that s**t.
I wish I got to actually go to high school. To anyone considering homeschooling your kids or teenagers, PLEASE DON'T unless they explicitly ask to be. Before I started, I would cry to my parents becuase I hated the idea so much and just wanted to be able to interact with other people my age and find friends with similar interests, but apparently that was the worst part for them, so I was the only kid graduating that year from our small primary school who would not be attending the local high school with everyone else.
I remember girls wearing pants tucked into their socks, oversized men's sweatshirts, sweaters that went down to their knees and hiking boots. No makeup but lots of hairspray.
Oh the hairspray girls! That section of the main hall, there was a cloud of sticky hairspray hanging by the lockers that you had to cut through to get to art class!
Load More Replies... I went to an English state secondary school from 1981-1985 (11-16yo). A good proportion of the teachers would never be allowed anywhere near a classroom now. The usual assortment of pervs, sadists ,and alcoholics. At the time, it seemed perfectly normal, but looking back now? Yeah ,I can't really argue or disagree with you.
Load More Replies... Our music class room in high school had keyboards, that could be set to various sounds. One key was a man saying “dictionary”. So of course, the boys would press it multiple times to make him say “dic-dic-dic-dic-dictionary”. I still think about it a lot.
