Top 10 Worst Things About School

School can be a rollercoaster of ups and downs, but let's be real, there are some parts of it that are just plain the worst. Everyone has their own opinion about what makes school tough, and that's what this list is all about. We're not talking about the fun parts like seeing friends or maybe getting a good grade after a ton of hard work. We're focusing on those things that drive you up the wall.

Maybe it's the endless homework that eats up all your free time, or those annoying kids who seem to make every day harder than it has to be. There are the strict teachers who seem to live for handing out punishments, or the bullies who can make school feel like a battlefield. And of course, who could forget that terrible feeling of waking up and realizing, yep, you have to go to school again. These are just a few of the things that can really make school a drag.

The Top Ten

Homework

Complaints about homework may sound like they're only made by narrow-minded little kids, but if you think about it, homework truly does more harm than good. You already learn throughout your school day. Teachers tell you to study to ensure you're ready for tests and quizzes. You occasionally have projects dumped on you, and you think you're already thoroughly stressed out. You'd think schools have given you enough responsibilities, but no - you get an ultimately pointless assignment for homework. Homework does nothing but cause stress and ruins the plans of many students outside of school. I see absolutely no purpose to it.
Bullies

I remember this one girl in sixth grade. Ever since she moved to the same table in English and reading class, she started making fun of me because I was shy. In math, she would shout, "Don't talk to her, she's shy." I hated sitting at the same table as her because she was at a table where it was me and her two friends. They always tried to complain about class and try to use me as their calculator. It sucked, especially because they all were stupid popular girls.
She even was moved next to me in science, and we were lab partners. I remember how she embarrassed me in front of her friend by complaining, "I can't work with her. She's too shy." Finally, I decided to tell my friend. My friend wanted to text her from the girl's Facebook. I was scared because I thought the girl who was bullying me would see the message, get mad, and tell everyone rumors about me or try to hurt me more. Soon after, my friend told me she did message the bully. I was scared, but the girl who was bullying me obviously said she did nothing. Soon after at school, it looked like she was going to talk about the message but decided not to. Since then, she hasn't said anything else to me.
Annoying kids

You know what types of kids at my school really piss me off?
They always play with you and say, "It's just for fun."
Some of them act so annoying.
When your friend becomes petty and acts like a jerk toward you.
When you try to go near your friends or talk to your crush, there's always some idiotic kid in your way saying, "You're not skipping me in line." Then another person walks by, and that same kid lets them go ahead. They are such clingy jerks.
Students in class complain, argue, and insult others over everything, even dumb stuff.
Some students say something offensive about you and then get mad at you for no reason. Like, what did I even do to you?
Mean teachers

The gym teacher said this once:
"Quiet! I do not want to hear a voice other than mine. There will be no more fun in gym. On the walk, 8 of you, yes, 8 of you, ran ahead even though Coach Sulinski and I explicitly told you to stop at the laps. I had a lot of trust in you. But rules are rules. You do not do what you want. You do what I say. I do not want to hear 'why.' Why? Because an adult told you. Now, to all of you who didn't break the rules, sorry. But everyone else, especially you 8, you didn't follow my directions on a walk you did how many times?"
Silence.
"You should know, right?"
Silence. The bell rings, and the kids start twitching.
"Stop! The bell doesn't dismiss you. I do. Now, prepare to have a very different new 6th grade gym class. I don't get mad often, but you have blown my cap. Enough is enough. You 8 the teacher talked to, come to me. Everyone else, leave."
I walked out and secretly overheard yelling behind me.
Returning to school on Mondays

Two-day weekends compared to five days of school is not at all a fair deal! Here's what I would change:
There should be no homework since it isn't necessary. Six to seven hours of education is enough. Before you make the excuse that it makes you smarter, I ask myself this: When I was younger, did I need to be smart to be happy? No.
Three-day weekends - now, the way I'm doing this won't have an effect on timetables or anything, since how I would put it is that each week, the off-day changes. In week one, Monday is the day off. In week two, Tuesday is the day off, and so on. This would mean four days of school vs. three days weekend, and even then, the schools still have the majority.
Schools, please stop being cheapskates and clean up your act! You're capable of it, and there's no proof you aren't!
Realizing you have to go to school upon waking up

Imagine this scenario: You wake up to a beautiful day outside. You can hear the birds chirping and the soft rain dripping on your window. The scent of delicious, flaky waffles cooking downstairs fills the air. You take a deep, long, happy breath. It's such a good day, such a perfect day. You ask yourself, "What should I do today? Should I go over to my friend's house, or should I stay inside?"
After a moment's thought, you decide to go downstairs and watch your favorite TV show. It was going to be a perfect, calm, peaceful day.
And then you hear your mom yell, "Honey, it's time for school!"

I hate this so much! I have to wake up at 6:10 AM just for an "education." When I arrive at that prison, I have to see people I hate. And then, I spend 7 hours stuck in a building, learning lessons that 90% of us won't benefit from in real life.
And then I get sent home with 5-6 more hours of homework! Seriously?! You first make me wake up at the crack of dawn, just to make me sit like a caged animal in a building for 7 hours. Then you extend those hours?! I really despise all the people who made schools a hellhole. I hope they are all rotting in hell!
Boring classes

Science can be interesting when it covers topics like UFOs, space, or the human body. However, we often discuss mundane subjects like rock cycles and cells, which I find sleep-inducing. Social studies seems repetitive. It's always about civilizations clashing, farming, sourcing water, and establishing governments. That's about it.
Math is enjoyable when it's easy and competitive. I recall participating in a fun activity where we solved multiplication problems in the shortest time possible, fostering a sense of competition. However, when math gets tough, it becomes stressful and confusing.
The appeal of reading class largely depends on the novels we're assigned. A good novel makes the class exciting, but a dull one can lead to falling asleep and failing tests. Language Arts is fascinating when we write about interesting topics, making it my favorite subject. However, workbook pages are tedious.
Physical Education (PE) is the most fun, except when we have to run the mile or do push-ups. I also wish there were more art classes.
Tests

Finals do nothing but cause stress. They are not optional, which means at the end of every semester, your mental health is likely to suffer from the stress. Teachers can become very strict during exams too. For example, they don't allow you to leave the classroom, not even to use the bathroom. Even if you finish early, you will still be bored, as teachers don't allow the use of electronics after the exam. The most common reason teachers enforce this is to assess what students have learned. However, there are less stressful alternatives, like projects, to demonstrate students' learning, rather than subjecting them to tests with hundreds of questions.
Math

I wish math were an optional school subject, or a grade that doesn't count. I never get all A's anymore because of it. I know there are jobs that require math skills, but since I don't have any, I won't pursue them. From 7th grade and up, math is practically useless. It's also the only class (usually) where I get homework. They expect you to do things in one hour that could take up to three.
Simple math is essential (money, regular numbers, proportions, etc.). But the math that you learn after that is just not helpful in the slightest. I think the school system ran out of subjects, so math was the last option, and people made up random things they called "math." It also doesn't help having a math teacher who can't explain it well.
Waking up early

I am in university and am writing this during the Coronavirus pandemic. Some of my classes start as early as 8:00 am, whereas in high school, I was fortunate to have classes that began at 9:15 am. Back then, most classes were in person, and I lived close to my high school. This allowed me to wake up at a reasonable time, around 7:00 am, have breakfast, and get to school on time.
Now, I usually wake up at 6:30 am to get ready. After preparing breakfast, I log into Zoom for my classes. Fortunately, my university is offering online courses this year. I can't imagine how challenging it would be to wake up, eat, and catch a train to arrive on campus by 8:00 am.
I'm a deep sleeper, so there are days when I wake up around 7:00 am. Luckily, I've always managed to prepare breakfast and join my Zoom class on time. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Even one of my professors seemed tired while teaching. He has a young baby at home, so he's probably getting even less sleep than usual due to his parenting responsibilities.
In summary, waking up early for school or university classes is a significant challenge for many, including myself and my professors. I'm just grateful I don't have additional responsibilities like taking care of a small baby, as my professor does.

The Newcomers

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Having to go outside to go to school at the coldest hour of the day in the winter

This is why I stopped wearing shorts to bed in the winter on school nights. Even the house is cold at that time in the morning.
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Schools waste money on useless things

I remember when my middle school wasted money by repainting the gym, even though there was nothing wrong with the old paint on the gym floor.

The Contenders

Grades

The thing I don't like about grades is the punishment I get when getting a bad one! You may say, Oh, that's just because you didn't study well, but no, it's due to the fact that the things pointed out in homework are the worst things I've ever seen in life. I can do my LA test and get a 62.5% grade (a D) over ONE QUESTION! I bet if my parents actually knew about the grades I get, they would scream at me until my eardrums bleed, and they aren't even worth like 15% of my grade! Grades are overwhelming, and I hate it.

I get all A's on homework (which is something I also hate). My mom's going through my homework, but then, a wild F appeared.
Mom: NOAH! Why the hell do you have all A's except for this one in Chinese social studies?!?!
Me: But Mom, you're the one who put me in Chinese immersion.
Mom: Don't you talk back to me! (I'm, of course, exaggerating this).
Learning unnecessary topics

Fifty percent is unnecessary, and fifty percent is necessary.
What I think should be subjects are why we have school houses, why we go by surname, why some schools have certain features while others do not, who invented school houses, and which country invented school houses.

You are right. I hate how we learn stuff in school that we won't need. I wish school would only teach kids necessary things, like paying taxes, paying bills, and learning how to look after your house in the future. But no, you also have to learn what 100 plus 250 is, which you will not need in the future. School should only teach important things.
Another stupid school rule is not being allowed to defend yourself from jerks and bullies. No, thanks to some people in today's society, we have to cower into a little ball and let them punch and kick at us until the teacher notices. Like, screw you, teacher. We can defend ourselves. Is self-defense even allowed anymore? Not in today's school rules.
Cafeteria food

In Japan, the students aren't allowed to bring lunch from home, and they have to finish it all, but their cafeteria food is healthier, with more fresh than processed ingredients.

Honestly, the food needs to be healthier. Pizza and corn dogs - seriously, we need to eat healthier. We also need to be more tidy in our schools. In fact, everywhere needs to be tidy.
Sometimes I see food on the floor, and the janitors haven't even cleaned it up. Like, seriously, please add more responsibility in schools! We can't just let somebody do all the cleaning for us. We need to learn how to be more independent because when we are in college, we won't be depending on people to clean our mess. We have to clean up ourselves!
Unfortunately, parents might say "CHILD ABUSE!" because kids are actually cleaning up. Then, when kids throw trash, curse at people, bully people, harass people, and do all the other terrible things, they wonder why they do all of these things. This is why we need to be a little more strict. Not too strict to the point where you can't do some cool things like having fun with your friends, but strict enough so that kids know how to look after themselves, become healthier, and don't leave their trash and stuff everywhere.
Projects

My social studies teacher gave us stupid projects like a state report and a family tree project for our winter break. Like, who would want to know when our family was born, what their names are, and stuff like that?!
Also, my science teacher gave us a science fair project to do over our spring break! It takes time to do it, and we only had a week and three days of our spring break!

What's worse is when it's a team project of two people. Usually, one does everything, and one does nothing. For the one who does everything, it's bad because they know the other one is going to write on the project, so you end up doing everything if you want to get a good mark.
And for the one who does nothing, they either feel bad, just want to help and don't understand why the other doesn't let him do work, or they simply don't care.
Bitchy popular girls

Most of the popular girls in my school are nice, not rude, and not gossipy. There are two popular girls at my school who are smart and get good grades. They are nice to everyone, popular or unpopular, and joke around more than gossip about other people. This is an example of what popular girls should be.

Thank God, there are no girls at my school that use way too much makeup and are rude. The popular girls are actually nice to me. Most of the time, they don't even dress too fancy or are cake-faced. They make great conversations.
Only one or two of them are mean, but the rest are nice.
Gum chewing prohibition

I really don't get this rule. Nowadays, kids don't blow bubbles when chewing gum. They just chew it to focus or just because.
I think schools take it way too seriously for such a minor infraction, especially because they prioritize finding students who chew gum over helping students feel less suicidal and depressed. What has school become?

Yeah, really! It's so annoying! Kids will be chewing gum in my class and not even blowing bubbles, and the teacher will still demand that person to spit it out. Such a dumb rule. Like, if you're just chewing something as small as gum, you can still do your work and focus. Duh.
And some kids want to chew gum as relaxation or for something else. Teachers are evil!
Arrogant rich kids

A kid in my class named Jaye is annoying. He or everyone gets dramatic if they do something to him by accident. He must have drama because he is an arrogant rich kid. Don't believe me? He goes to China or Japan about three times a year.
Oh yeah, he can go to a bunch of other places too, like jet and plane shows. He goes to those seven times a year!

Yeah, one time in drama we played a game where we had to say two truths and a lie. Someone said, I've been to Vegas eight times, California four times, and New York seven times. Then someone guessed California, and she said, Yep, I've been to California six times.
Ineffective bullying policies

Self-defense is most important. If some guy (or girl) throws a punch at me, I will punch them back. End of story.
But unfortunately, teachers invented these "Zero Tolerance" policies. So, they punish everyone involved in the fight rather than using a single brain cell to figure out who the aggressor was. They even punish you for defending yourself. Why?
So what, are you just supposed to stand there, cry, and take every punch and kick until a teacher sees? No. That is ridiculous.
Also, whenever you ask teachers how to deal with bullying, they say, "Just ignore it," which never works.

The victim, for self-defense, is often punished with or without the attacker receiving equal punishment. In law, with sufficient evidence and reason, self-defense is excusable. This makes no sense to me.
Teaching methods

This is an obvious statement here. Anytime I refuse to do a subject or make a reasonable summary about it, the teacher just replies, Do it or else you'll have bad grades or fail, or It's the government's problem. Like, man, I know that, but it's not always the same problem!
Plus, I hate it whenever they consider every single subject important, even though some have no point being described as such.

This is the main issue with Science. I like the subject, but the way they teach us is boring. At least we get to do group experiments now to at least brighten up the dull class.
Mandatory uniforms

It's one of the reasons why being an Asian kid sucks. If you live in the West, except the UK or certain countries, you can wear whatever you want. But if you live in Asian countries, you'll be out of luck. You are not allowed to enter school if you wear anything other than the school uniform.
I think it's unfair because, just like skin color, humans should be unique. They're not minions. It's a myth that uniforms shield you from bullying and help you get better grades. It's so inaccurate. I never got bullied by other classmates when I stayed in tuition classes where they allowed us to wear anything, but I got bullied by some students at school and was called stupid, idiot, etc. I'm also not good at grades either, especially in Sinhala. So, uniforms are not useful!
Being excluded by your crush

I have a crush on a girl in my grade. I started liking her in 5th grade, but it was just small. It got bigger in 6th grade, but I kept it secret. In 7th grade, I was bragging about it a lot. During the summer to 8th grade, I started realizing that this might be embarrassing her, and I realized what I did was wrong. So I toned it down in 8th, and kids liked me for it. They were happy I was being smart about it, and not bringing it up every day.

(Story and crush tips below)
My crush invited his friends and one girl to the amusement park. My bestie and I don't really like this girl because she hogs all the boys' attention and gets mad if other girls talk to the boys she's with. So, they went to the park with rides, and afterward, she started posting pictures of them together. He won't even follow me back on social media. He only did once when I connected with him through video games.
P.S.: To connect with your crush, try video games. If you don't have a console, there might be a mobile or laptop version available.
Detentions

I mean, sometimes it's for a good reason, particularly if you're in mainstream, but if you're in the support unit (like I am), sometimes you get detention for absolutely no reason at all, and there's so much bias too. Like a student can get off scot-free by deliberately pissing me off, but I raise my voice slightly and I get in trouble. It makes no sense.
P.S. Some teachers are actually really cool. I do not know why they're on the list.

Yeah, detention sucks. But you can downvote this comment all you want. Usually, the kids that talk when the teacher is talking and are a distraction and cause trouble kind of deserve it, don't you think? The kids that are late to class don't really deserve it unless they're late a ridiculous number of times. Maybe in your school, it's different, but in my school, the kids that get detention get it for a reason but are too blind to see it. Just think about why you got detention before blaming everyone else. Chewing gum? You're not supposed to do that. They say it a million times. You did it for the thrill, didn't you? I'm not a goodie-goodie but I'm not a little brat that causes trouble just because I can. I'm prepared for the downvotes.
Physical education

I almost died running for a PE exam. I was red and breathing heavily. I felt like my heart was going to explode and my teacher refused to let me sit down. Instead, he encouraged me to keep walking! Because, according to him, sitting after running is bad. Who made that dumb conclusion?

PE makes me think I'm useless. A football has more chance of turning into a unicorn than being kicked by me. And seriously? Five minutes of running without stopping for a sixth grader?
My friend and I would probably get a heart attack if we didn't walk the whole way. And so what if I can't hit a ball with a bat? I can do at least 50 push-ups and sit-ups without a problem, but I can't run for five meters without getting tired. My PE teacher is also so strict. We can't even sit down after we finish running for an hour. At least I'm good at drawing and art.
Teachers

Oh my god, these heartless excuses for human beings are the biggest hypocrites known to man. Say, for example, a teacher is explaining some rules to a bunch of year 8s on the first day of school. They told the students not to shave their hair off, yet the teacher's hair is clearly shaved off for everyone to see.

Special education teachers are worse than regular education teachers. I had special education teachers, and they were all cruel to me. They would drag me through the school's halls, blame me for nothing, and get me in trouble for stupid reasons all the time. Sure, I've had some mean regular education teachers, but most of them were nice to me.
Public speaking

It's so awkward, especially when your crush is in front of you while you're presenting. I mean, who wouldn't get distracted? He is just so cute. And then, even if he knows that my presentation was bad, he'll say it was excellent. It makes me think that he likes me, but too bad, he already has a girlfriend.

Every time I had a public speaking-type project or slideshow, I practiced my lines and felt confident about sharing my words, but as soon as I got in front of the class, my self-consciousness kicked in, and I literally had a breakdown in my head. It made my slideshows awkward. Very, very awkward.