Unreasonable school rules

I'm after remembering the time when the teachers refused to monitor lunch time and others, mainly trainee teachers and farmers were brought in. One of those who got the job in my old secondary school was a failed English teacher whom had never completed his degree but ended up being kept on to tech the lower level English and monitor free classes. Like many of his ilk he had delusions of grandeur and took every opportunity presented to lord it over students.

I had him one free and as it was the third of the day I hadn't much to do and instead opted to read for the 40 or so minutes. Spent 10 blissful minutes engrossed in Less Than Zero before someone grabbed the book out of my hand and asked who the fuck did I think I was. I told him my name and was greeted with the old "don't be smart with me" retort before he tossed my book toward the bin. I'm assuming that in his mind he saw it sailing gracefully through the air and landing smack bang in the bin but being real life it instead fall off a good five foot short of the bin and three to the left. I asked im to retrieve my book and he informed me that in his class people did as he said and he never gave anyone permission to read in his class, especially not the trash I had been reading. I explained that having and abundance of frees that day I had homework down and it was the choice between taking a nap or reading and I settled on the latter.

He launched into one of those long winded speeches that some favor and included a few insults directed my way and ended it by asking why I didn't respect my betters. Much like I've told plenty of people in the years since I told him that "respect is earned." He grabbed me by jumped and started screaming that "you must respect teachers" as they were my "betters." "Fine" I replied, "I'll respect teachers but not those who fail to get their degrees and turn into lil Nazis as soon as they gain a tiny bit of power." He went ballistic, screaming and stomping around the place and seemed to get lost in his own little world so I stood up, retrieved my book and packed my bag as it was evident what was coming next.

As he finished his rant and as those around him were wiping his spit off them he trundled over to where I was sitting and grabbed my chair telling me to report to the principals office and that he would see me down there soon. I grabbed my bag and headed down to reception where I explained what had happened and was told to wait. He arrived down awhile later and just before he got there the final bell of the day rang and I figured "fuck this" and headed for the door. He shouted after me to wait but being emboldened by the past 15 minutes gave him the middle finger and headed for the best.

Next day he was waiting for me inside the school and told me "that he'd make me pay" and how I'd better say goodbye to everyone as he was having me expelled. I got called into the principal's office and the entire ordeal was dragged out and from his telling of it you'd think I had burnt down an orphanage full of children. He made a big deal of the filth I was reading and how it didn't belong in print, never mind in a school.

When I was asked what I had to say I didn't bother explaining what had happened as this was a school where no matter how right you war, if a teacher said otherwise you were wrong. Instead I told both that I was owed 11.99 for a new copy of Less Than Zero as the pages had came loose from the spine thanks to being thrown across the room. I was told to get out of the office and that I'd a months worth of detention and extra homework to look forward to. Again I thought, fuck this and informed the principal that if that was the case then I wanted to make a complaint against failed teacher for abuse given how he grabbed my by my jumper. Again I was told not to be smart and told to leave but it was the last I ever heard of it. Never did get a replacement copy of my book but I did take great enjoyment in sitting in every free class I had that he supervised reading whatever book I'd brought with me that day.

DazMarz

I remember once I was in school and I was bursting for a pee. I mean bursting. But, of course, the resident messers had all been out and back to the jacks about 10 times since the class began. I was never and out-and-out messer, but I wasn't an angel either. So, naturally, when I asked to go to the toilet, I was refused. Grand, only 20 minutes or so until the end of class... hoooooold it... hooooooooooooooold it...

Nope, not happening. I ask again. Nope. I beg this time. Nope. Heartless cúnt.

So I did what anyone else would do, just stood up and legged it to the toilet. I think it sounded something like the time Homer Simpson finally got to pee in the episode "The City Of New York Vs. Homer Simpson". Just agonised, relieved moans and sighs.

Of course, cue getting into trouble for leaving class without permission. I got detention for my very calm response: "Well, it was obey the rules or piss myself. Which would you do?"



I also went to an all-Irish secondary school, where you would get detention if caught speaking English. It was silly, because we all spoke English to each other anyway, and most teachers would play ball and translate most of the class into English anyway. It just got us a few extra points on the Leaving.

But some teachers took it upon themselves to be like the Gaeilge Gestapo. They would sneak around trying to catch you speaking English. I will never to this day know how I avoided detention for this one. Playing football at lunch one time, and a player on my team made an awful mistake. Cue "You useless motherfúcker! What the fúck are you doing? You stupid cúnt. For fúck sake. Fúcking useless..." etc. Turn around and there is the vice principal glaring out the window at me, having heard the whole lot. A sheepish smile and a pathetic wave and I ran off to play football. Amazingly, I got away with it.


The school was also very strict on being on time. However, my commute to school meant I had to go through an area with loads and loads of roadworks and so on. This was when I was in first year. I was always getting into trouble for being late, my protestations that it was not my fault due to roadworks falling on deaf ears. Finally, one teacher with a bit of cop on, wrote a note for me and a load of others who had to come from the same direction explaining that it was not our fault if we were late. The pressure eased off. Stupid, though, that these guys who are teachers (degree holders, educated and allegedly sensible) couldn't fathom getting stuck in traffic.


The school uniform rules in my school were stunningly lax. I got away with never wearing the school tie, wearing jeans, wearing runners and so on. Caught a bit of flak in the early days, but I think they gave up on me. Was class. I cannot get over how strict some places were about the uniform. My big gripe with school trousers was that they were awful, uncomfortable yokes; no protection from the cold in the winter and insufferably sweaty in the summer. So I switched to jeans which were much better. And got away with it!


In fairness, my school was very easy-going and lax. You got away with most shít that would get you detention or suspended in other places. It was never that bad. The teachers were usually fairly tuned in. But like everywhere, there are always gobshítes. We had a few prize pricks in our school, but most had enough cop on to not be totally harsh.

I think a light-touch is needed sometimes. Teachers don't seem to realise that pupils are, by and large, sadistic and hormonal little shítes. Pupils love seeing a teacher get wound up and try to go all medieval. Whereas, a teacher who has a lighter touch usually gets better respect and more control. Well, that was my experience of it anyway. We tried to make life a living hell for the strict idiots, whereas the ones who treated you like a human being were equally treated with respect.

It's a two-way street, and while yes, teachers do have advantages and all that, they need to realise that their pupils will respond better to a bit of respect and so on, rather than treating them like plebs.

DazMarz

Deleted User wrote: »

Darko sticks it to a Nazi teacher

Class!!!

EGriff

I've never heard of this €100 school jacket lark before, uniform is fair enough but a jacket/coat as well?

Is it a case of the principles brother in law owning the local drapery and having the things made in China for a fiver each?

NormalBob Ubiquitypants

EGriff wrote: »

I've never heard of this €100 school jacket lark before, uniform is fair enough but a jacket/coat as well?

Is it a case of the principles brother in law owning the local drapery and having the things made in China for a fiver each?

Drapery! Someone was in private school. :pac:

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

EGriff wrote: »

I've never heard of this €100 school jacket lark before, uniform is fair enough but a jacket/coat as well?

Is it a case of the principles brother in law owning the local drapery and having the things made in China for a fiver each?

Something along those lines is the popular opinion.

You also have said drapery stores scaremongering to the public about mass unruly behaviour being only preventable by the school forcing you to pay for expensive school uniforms that only they can provide.

If you insert the words "defense contractors" "terrorism" "government" and "drone missiles" you get the same thing on a slightly larger scale.

megadodge

Dayum wrote: »

Because the model of public schooling is built on our dated view of the Industrial Revolution. I.e - massive factories (schools) churning out products (children) on a conveyor belt having thrown every individual child (with different wants, needs, desires, interests and passions) under one group to be separated into categories based upon some abstract grading system. There have been countless studies done that clearly shows as a child progresses through public schooling his or her creativity, curiosity and individuality diminishes and eventually, inevitably disappears.

I have friends that have taught in public schools for the best part of 15 years and they can attest to the fact that the children are bored, but not as bored as the teachers. It's cruelty that we lock these kids up for 6-8 hours, 5 days a week for 18 years to learn something they have no need for in life nor something they wish to learn and then decide their life for them by telling them they're just not good enough, not smart enough, not worthy enough when they get their grades.

It's not that these kids are some sub-species of human - it's a broken, outdated system that has destroyed their hopes, dreams and desires. Why should a child on the verge of understanding decimals and fractions be told to put down that arithmetic textbook and take out their poetry book?! Why should a child with curiosity in computers be punished and roared at for scribbling in their notebook because they're bored learning about Irish?!

The Department of Education has a lot to answer for. The Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development has stated that a massive percentage of Irish males are functionally illiterate and we spend more time (with the exception of Israel) learning about religion in class with biology, physics, chemistry and the sciences given a backseat.

And then if you wish to see your child receive a real education, along comes the government (who apparently know better than you as a parent) to punish you for not sending your child to be indoctrinated, to be told he/she is not good enough, to kill any creativity and individuality your child has. Why is it that a child that has self-educated about the human body be told they cannot study medicine because they had no interest in history or art?

What an absolute joke.

Our education system is built, and designed, to the benefit of the unions - not the children that is, ironically, claims to help.

That there is one of the finest posts I have ever read.

You have articulated much better than I ever could exactly what I have thought since I was a teenager at school.

Thank you.

EGriff

NormalBob Ubiquitypants wrote: »

Drapery! Someone was in private school. :pac:

I was not, I went to a CBS.

I say drapery because that's the dusty old shop that sells clothes for old women and school kids.

FloatingVoter

EGriff wrote: »

I was not, I went to a CBS.

I say drapery because that's the dusty old shop that sells clothes for old women and school kids.

Yup, down the country, the drapers was the nearest to a tailors you could get. And they could do magic with cloth for half nothing. If the school got above itself and introduced crests as a moneymaking racket to pay off the principals ex-wife (:rolleyes:) the draper could fake it for you.
They're a dying breed now but you'll still find them in any midsized town.

karaokeman

Wearing uniforms.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

We had one prick of a teacher who insisted on everyone wearing full uniform no matter what the weather. Now this was grand during the winter when it was cold, but in the summer when it started to heat up it was torture. Small class room full of 16 year old lads who had to wear heavy woolen jumpers even when it was 20 degrees + outside. Course the prat of a teacher ponced around in a short sleeved shirt while we melted. God he was a grade A cuntbag.

SpaceTime

DazMarz wrote: »

Sharing razors between people is a great way to spread blood-borne diseases (such as AIDS). Fúcking idiots for having a "communal" razor. Fúcking hell.

Fair play to you for not using it!

You really wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of a law suit over someone getting Hep C, HIV or any of a range of blood-to-blood transmissible infections.

I'd have phoned the HSE.

SpaceTime

NormalBob Ubiquitypants wrote: »

I drove to school for some of 5th and all of 6th year. Beginning of 6th year I got called into the principal's office over my attitude in school. Literally the second day in September at this point. He said he had a "few choice words" for me and proceeded to rant at me for 10 mins, the vice for the same before I finally found out the problem. I had reversed into a car parking spot so the car was pointed out towards the exit. This showed my unwillingness to be there and my eagerness to leave. Seriously. I thought I was being practical.
At the debs I had a few choice words for them, mostly involving 4 and 5 letter words.

I'd leave him a card for a good psychologist!

If you did that in a business context HR would have you off for counselling!

Skatedude

Not be allowed to go to hospital when the Christian brothers break your fingers using a yard stick

SpaceTime

I have to say though my experience of Irish primary school and lower levels of secondary wasn't good.

I was mostly schooled in France and the US and it was a huge culture shock here really.
I just used to get shouted at and shouted at a day by several teachers. I actually couldn't understand one of them. She was from Kerry and I wasn't used to the accent / dialect. She used to go completely nuts at me and then mock my voice when I didn't understand her.

Took me months to figure out WTF she was saying.

I also remember being held upside down over a trash can / bin when I was over here for a year in senior infants.

In general though those kinds of Irish schools made me really self-conscious, stressed and nervous. I used to constantly lobby to get my parent to leave the country, that's how much I loved the school system lol

The school I did my last stint of Irish education was great tho. Very chilled.

FloatingVoter

^ Being made to sit in the rubbish bin was standard crap at primary school. But not very educational.
The idiot teacher who got the chief class clown to bring his desk up front and sit it facing the class was a moron. This was meant as a punishment for him. We then had her doing Irish grammar rubbish and mini-me sitting beside her distracting the room.
Closely followed by the idiot who taught making you sit beside the girls if you weren't paying attention was a punishment. We were 13. Getting within an inch of a girl is a bloody lottery win.

The_Valeyard

SpaceTime wrote: »

I have to say though my experience of Irish primary school and lower levels of secondary wasn't good.

I was mostly schooled in France and the US and it was a huge culture shock here really.
I just used to get shouted at and shouted at a day by several teachers. I actually couldn't understand one of them. She was from Kerry and I wasn't used to the accent / dialect. She used to go completely nuts at me and then mock my voice when I didn't understand her.

Took me months to figure out WTF she was saying.

I also remember being held upside down over a trash can / bin when I was over here for a year in senior infants.

In general though those kinds of Irish schools made me really self-conscious, stressed and nervous. I used to constantly lobby to get my parent to leave the country, that's how much I loved the school system lol

The school I did my last stint of Irish education was great tho. Very chilled.

From what Ive heard of French public schools, you had a lucky escape here.

EyeSight

Princess Consuela Bananahammock wrote: »

Something along those lines is the popular opinion.

You also have said drapery stores scaremongering to the public about mass unruly behaviour being only preventable by the school forcing you to pay for expensive school uniforms that only they can provide.

If you insert the words "defense contractors" "terrorism" "government" and "drone missiles" you get the same thing on a slightly larger scale.

I went to some rough schools where everyone was a target. Not once did anyone get bullied for the jacket that they wore. It's 100% scaremongering.
I've no idea why the jackets have to be so expensive. Also why do the uniforms have to be so stiff and uncomfortable? Why not some comfy slacks and a tshirt?

My school started on those school jackets for 150 euro when i was in 6th year. We didn't need to buy them as we only had 8 months left(maybe less at this point). But they decided the ban on all other jackets/hoodies should still stand for us.... Even if people were getting bullied cause of their jackets, you think a bunch of 18 year olds would be ok with it for a few months

languagenerd

The more I think about it, the more I question what the point of being so strict with the uniform was. I already posted in this thread about not being allowed wear school coat/scarf inside the building or the school tracksuit outside it, but my school were ridiculously over the top with uniform-related discipline in general.

You were allowed a necklace, by the rules, but it had to be tucked under your shirt collar collar. I remember teachers walking around the room telling you to tuck your necklace in if it had come loose (not talking about big yokes either, mostly small chains). Only one ring and one pair of small earrings - you'd be told to take extra ones off - and there were certain teachers who'd send students to their office for wipes to clean off any make-up they were wearing. As if that affected our education in any way...

We also had to have plain back shoes - so I wore plain black neat canvas shoes for while (flat, black laces, black soles), until they decided overnight that they had to be leather. So I bought a super-ugly pair of black leather granny shoes and adorned them with horrendous brightly-patterned laces. Apparently they were neater and more acceptable than the plain tidy canvas ones... :rolleyes:

Just accepted it at the time, but seriously, what was all that in aid of? What were they trying to achieve?!

ianobrien

My secondary school wasn't too bad. There was one stickler for rules and he got it into his head to clear out the official unofficial student smoking room. The room was small, dark and quite popular. One day he entered the room, ranted about smoking being banned and the principal wanted the smoking room closed. By all accounts, the silence was broken by the principal saying "Cop on! I never said that". The principal was having a quick fag with some students, and discussing last weekends soccer results.

The rest of the teachers were alright. Some knew all the students nicknames and used them. They generally treated us as adults and spoke rather than shouted so never really had discipline issues. The place is closed now.

cloud493

When I was in boarding school (it was a protestant school, but I didn't give a crap since I was 15 at the time) but they were really shocked when my mum mentioned to them one day I was catholic. I was then banned from prayers ( which was prayers and morning announcements) and the prayers in the evening, and religion classes. Bet they thought it was a terrible punishment, but it meant I got a load of free periods :cool:

ivytwine

Deleted User wrote: »

...Never did get a replacement copy of my book but I did take great enjoyment in sitting in every free class I had that he supervised reading whatever book I'd brought with me that day.

I remember we had a replacement principal in 5th year- she was a right little Hitler. Anyway, her thing was anytime you got a free class, you had to study the subject you were supposed to be having at that time. Anyway, one week to our summer exams, and our Maths teacher was out sick. Some HDipper came into supervise. I pulled out my Irish book (Irish was my shakiest Honours subject) and she started giving out to me.

I patiently explained to her that I was not going to start doing a pass subject that I felt fairly ok about when I could actually be studying an honours one I didn't. I wasn't much of a hard woman in school but I refused to back down on it. Such nonsense, actually discouraging someone from studying. Anyway I won, she gave up :P

This thread is bringing back sooo many memories. Those substitute lads when the teachers' strike was on were great craic. We used to torment them! :P

In my weaker moments, I almost pity them. Then I just remind myself, they're trying to teach- Bart Simpson

Tin Foil Hat

languagenerd wrote: »

The more I think about it, the more I question what the point of being so strict with the uniform was. I already posted in this thread about not being allowed wear school coat/scarf inside the building or the school tracksuit outside it, but my school were ridiculously over the top with uniform-related discipline in general.

You were allowed a necklace, by the rules, but it had to be tucked under your shirt collar collar. I remember teachers walking around the room telling you to tuck your necklace in if it had come loose (not talking about big yokes either, mostly small chains). Only one ring and one pair of small earrings - you'd be told to take extra ones off - and there were certain teachers who'd send students to their office for wipes to clean off any make-up they were wearing. As if that affected our education in any way...

We also had to have plain back shoes - so I wore plain black neat canvas shoes for while (flat, black laces, black soles), until they decided overnight that they had to be leather. So I bought a super-ugly pair of black leather granny shoes and adorned them with horrendous brightly-patterned laces. Apparently they were neater and more acceptable than the plain tidy canvas ones... :rolleyes:

Just accepted it at the time, but seriously, what was all that in aid of? What were they trying to achieve?!

Nothing. It's control for the sake of control. Believe it or not, some people get a kick out of acting like little tin pot tyrants.

Remmy

cloud493 wrote: »

When I was in boarding school (it was a protestant school, but I didn't give a crap since I was 15 at the time) but they were really shocked when my mum mentioned to them one day I was catholic. I was then banned from prayers ( which was prayers and morning announcements) and the prayers in the evening, and religion classes. Bet they thought it was a terrible punishment, but it meant I got a load of free periods :cool:

that's weird. I didn't think protestants had a problem with catholics attending prayer services. Maybe it's a private school thing.

zcorpian88

Wasn't really any strict rules in my secondary school, it was a vocational school that was famous for having students that ran amuck in the place.

If you got detention, students just didn't go and if anything was said about it the student would just doss school for days on end until it was forgoten about.

Some didn't wear uniforms and got away with wearing normal clothes which annoyed me to no end.

Basically if you were one of the arsehole rough students, ya'd get away with murder.

Only rules I hated is that if there was classes I thought were irrelevant I wasn't allowed to skip them, I wasn't a fan of PE or religion, hated sport, not due to being unfit, I am actually fairly fit, I just hated football which all the lads loved playing. If I got caught dossing it I'd have got detention. I seemed to get away with it though, for a long time we had PE first thing in the morning, so I'd have a lay in and walk into school and be there for regular classes at 10:20. One day I got caught, I arrived in like a minute early and got caught while the PE teacher was bringing the lads in off the pitch, bulls**ted her and told her "I had a dentist appointment and I left my note in my mam's purse, I'll bring it tomorrow" next day came and when I seen her on the corridoor I had to duck in somewhere and hide. Ever since I always timed my arrivals well so I'd be in class the second the bell went off, never got caught.

As for religion, that subject went out the window when I was like 12 or 13. There was no exam for it then so for me that was home early time, and I'd be doing "Mission Impossible" trying to escape out the door at 3:20 rather than 4:00. I seemed to get away with dossing those classes because I was somewhat liked compared to the other students that spent most of their school lives raising hell. That would have been about 95% of the students. The place made headlines during and after my time at that place, a complete hole!

Digital Solitude

Wow my school is so lax compared to some of these stories, my school trousers are a pair of black chinos and I wear a hoody in a stay in my shirt during the school day...

Timekeeping is very strict though, we get cards if we're late for a class, 5 in a term result in a suspension, regardless of why you were late. If we're late for school we're locked outside until the principal let's us in

The Adversary

In my school the people who were quiet and put the head down were always punished more severely if they broke a rule than the wasters who would get away with everything because the teachers had basically given up.

It used to bother me so much until I complained and it was sorted out :P

is mise spartacus

The Adversary wrote: »

In my school the people who were quiet and put the head down were always punished more severely if they broke a rule than the wasters who would get away with everything because the teachers had basically given up.

It used to bother me so much.

Same in my school

ozmo

On radio today - 25 kids were taken from a school (not sure where - outside Dublin I think) by their parents and put into another...
.
Must have been something very Unreasonable with that school going on there - missed the whole piece - anyone know the story behind it?

djflawless

Got a week suspension for a bit of a musical hole in 2007
To be fair, it was 1 of them surprise attack, crouching tiger hidden skidmark thing

The_Valeyard

ozmo wrote: »

On radio today - 25 kids were taken from a school (not sure where - outside Dublin I think) by their parents and put into another...
.
Must have been something very Unreasonable with that school going on there - missed the whole piece - anyone know the story behind it?

Any more on this?

who the fug

The sister boarding school banning tipex thinner but not nail varnish remover