Top 10 Most Pointless Rules in School

The Top Ten
1 Uniforms required

Allow students to wear what they want as long as their clothes don't say anything inappropriate and as long as they cover up their private parts. So stop wasting money on producing uniforms.

Holy crap I feel bad for those kids who go to schools where they have to wear uniforms...
I'm lucky I don't go to a uniform school, because I like to express myself, I like to wear hoodies, jeans, pants, etc. and I DO NOT like to wear skirts (poor girls who have to wear skirts because it's part of their uniform...), also, I only wear dresses when it's a special occasion. School uniforms limit self expression. You can't really express yourself with school uniforms, and in some schools, even if you modify a teeny-tiny bit of your uniform, the teachers will yell at you for not "dressing properly". Oh yeah, also, I heard some schools only limit their students to wearing 3 colors only. That just sucks because I have a LOT of colorful clothes in my closet, and like I said, I like to express myself. I agree, school uniforms are pointless and limit self expression.

2 No bathroom breaks

The reason this one gets implemented often is because of kids skipping class in public schools by asking to go to the bathroom and then just sitting inside a stall, looking at their phone for over 20 minutes. Nowadays, they use electronic hall passes or the tag thing, but even with those, there are other things that come up, and then more excuses get made.

Normally, though, you are allowed bathroom breaks during transition periods and class time, though it depends on the school and how ridiculous school security is.

This is by far the stupidest rule I've ever heard. Even a couple of times when I've gone to the bathroom before class ( and during the break) so I don't have to go during class they still get upset at me for not telling them that I went to the bathroom during the BREAK. And we only get like less than five minutes to get from one side of the school to the next (depending on where your classroom is). And it's literally a break between classes, which is a time to change classrooms, stretch your legs, get a drink of water and go to the bathroom. So why do they get so upset when I don't tell them where I was when I come into the classroom? Its obvious that I either didn't have enough time to walk from one class to the next( since my school is big) before the bell rang or I went to the bathroom BEFORE class started so I didn't "disrupt" the class by asking to go DURING the lesson.

3 No self-defence against bullies

I heard about this stupid school in a newspaper. The story was about a 10-year-old kid or something who came up to a smaller kid, pushed him to the ground, and hit him. So, the little kid said, Don't push me, and kicked the bully. Then, the idiot teachers made him apologize to the bully, and they both stayed after school. Then they told the mom that her son was in a fight, and when she found out what actually happened, she was really mad. It's just so stupid that some schools tell you to tell a teacher or roll up into a ball or something dumb. What if you're cornered by like 3 kids? You can't exactly tell a teacher then. My grandpa said that he was bullied by a kid in school, so he just punched the kid and he didn't bother him anymore. I wish you were allowed to do that now. It's the best way to stop bullying.

This rule should be the highest on this list because it's wrong to criminalize people for defending themselves and others against bullies. People who punish those defending themselves against bullies ought to be punished along with the bullies. Besides, I've had it with the existence of bullying so much that I really want it gone forever, never replaced, and with absolutely zero consequences for not bullying.

4 If the student doesn't have enough lunch money in their accounts, the school has the right to deny them food

In my county, if you have money, then you get a choice of which foods you want on the menu. If not, you would just get the combo. Why? Because here, law states that schools must give at least three food items to children during lunch. However, I do not know if it is the same in other places. They should really change it if the rule above applies. Parents will really complain.

So what used to happen at certain schools is you would get a sandwich if you didn't have money for lunch. Nothing gross, you would just get a sandwich of your choice and whatever sides you wanted. I thought this rule was a decent one.

Not at my school, hehe. There is a rule at my school that if you don't have money, they have to give you food. If they know your parents are unemployed, you get it for free. If they are employed, you just have to pay for it sometime in the near future. The same goes with printing in the library.

5 No eating in class

My dad had this problem in school. He had low blood sugar, but back in the 50s, they didn't know that, and there was no snack time. He was so poor, he barely had any food to eat. So, instead of passing out, he would sneak some sweet potatoes that the kindly school lady would give to him, and he would eat when no one was looking.

It's a good thing these days they have a snack break for the younger grades.

This rule always gets me. I don't understand why some teachers don't let students eat in class. It's not like they make a huge mess.
I know for a fact that some people at my school don't even get lunch so not letting students eat sounds pretty cruel if you ask me.

Look, seriously, we get ONE lunch break. The lunch portions are not very big, and we are growing. If we're not leaving messes, then there is no reason we can't have something to eat. It is also a sensory thing.

6 No hats or beanies

I find it completely pointless. I mean, like, what the heck? Kids should be allowed to wear hats in the building. What is it with teachers not liking kids wearing hats?

This is just plain stupid. Some schools are apparently hypocritical enough to allow individuals to wear their fursuits, including the head, while others can't cover up the nastiest haircut of all time.

The staff at my school have a hate fetish for hats! There are students playing with condoms, doing drugs, and making out in the hallway, and all they worry about is hats!? We always hear "remember not to wear hats!" every other day. Never "Don't do drugs," "Don't be making out in the hallway!" or "Stop bringing condoms to school!" It's always "Remember not to wear hats!"

7 Do homework

Of course homework is supposed to help your brain grow, but sometimes they give you things that don't make sense or you just don't want to do it. Also kids with certain special needs might not be able to do it, so mostly I say it's unfair.

I have probably been forced to do more hours of work both in school and at home than the number of hours I've spent doing things I actually enjoy in my entire life. Being a full-time student is probably one of the most psychologically demanding things you go through in your lifetime. What's more, my school is considering eliminating electives altogether and having the school day simply consist of three 2-hour long core classes (humanities, science and math), and the only respite we would have would be lunch. This does so much more harm than good.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I always thought school equals work and no work equals rest. If school is not a place to sleep, then home shouldn't be a place to do schoolwork.

8 No talking

During class, this is understandable when some students are trying to focus on what the teacher is saying. However, banning it in the halls or during lunch is just plainly cruel.

Not even, bro. They be like, "Why do I hear talking?" or "I'll wait," and then expect us to stop talking out of respect. Maybe you can hear me because you have ears. And if you say you're going to wait, then just wait. Teachers can't even keep their own word these days!

Some of my teachers are so strict with this rule that they give out detentions to the whole class if one person talks.

9 No electronics

This one time in class, I was wearing my Fitbit Versa! Because it looks so much like an Apple Watch, that's what the teacher thought it was. Anyway, the teacher had broken her foot so she couldn't move to the whiteboard, so we all assembled around her desk. I and a few other kids were shoved to the back. The teacher was explaining something, and I tapped my watch to see the time. Unfortunately, the teacher looked up at this specific moment. She saw me "playing" (her words, not mine) on my watch, and she confiscated it. I didn't get it back until Friday (it was Tuesday), and she told me never to wear it to school again. I did, by the way! Stuff the rules! All I wanted was the time!

Hello? What if there's a very important emergency going on at home? What if your parents died? If something like that happened you'd need an electronic to get an
emergency call

We have this school system that divides class sections into the Honors, the Semi-Honors, the General Section and the Regulars. The honors are revered as goody-goodies up until now...but no one even takes a second glance at the empty box used to store the honors students' phones (which is a good thing, so during break hours we huddle in the bathroom and play stupid mobile games )

10 Must take P.E.

Yes, I understand some kids truly enjoy PE and playing soccer and basketball and being on teams. But not me. For an introvert like me and many others, it's hard enough to be on a group without it being in GYM where you're constantly being judged by your teachers and peers on your skills. Life in middle and high school nowadays is stressful enough without worrying about the newest gym unit that you're terrible at. Even, worse, you're on a team with all the athletic kids that are great at that sport, and you are terrible at it.

My PE classes involved these: a group of sport freaks, the overly feminine girls who always want to be on the same team and cry when they're not, the quiet and decent kids, the couple of kids who don't play and just set stuff up, and the few kids who couldn't care less for the sport and who don't like the class. In the games, the sports freaks throw tantrums when they lose the game, the overly feminine girls gossip, the set-up kids just have fun, the quiet kids play the game, and the ones who don't care just tell everyone to shut up. Yeah, PE sucks.

The Newcomers

? No shoestrings of more than one color
The Contenders
11 No chewing gum

I get that people might stick gum on your seat and it may get stuck to your pants, but there's a simple solution without banning gum: No sticking gum on seats! I chew gum in class basically every day, and the teachers get super mad when you get busted. I've always seen this rule as completely pointless because gum not only gives you fresh breath but can also act as a stress reliever. And you're at school, so you're going to need a stress reliever.

It is pointless! Gum can help you concentrate, and when I was in 3rd grade, I was chewing gum and then the teacher sent me to the principal's office!

I get why teachers would have a reason for this but honestly I hate this rule.

12 No "unnatural" hair colors

So this one is hard, yes unnatural hair is distracting for a few people, but it's your choice what color hair you have, nobody else's.

I guess it's a bit distracting but if it's just highlights or something then it shouldn't matter.

We're allowed to have it, but as long as it's not all of the hair (e.g., streaks, half dyes, etc.).

13 Not allowed to choose own seats

So I like to sit in the front of the classroom so the tall people don't obstruct my view of the board, but I generally get seated in the back because they know I'm a good student. Good students should be able to choose.

I don't understand why it's not allowed to choose my own seat. This rule seems too pointless for me to follow.

My Geography teacher seems to love seating me right in front of her... Why can't I just sit at the back where I can mind my own business? I'm a good student anyway...

14 Must participate in plays

My teacher says it's "fun" and "educational," but I have no idea why. She says we have to understand what the character feels and how emotional they sound. Sure, but don't force me to stand up there and read the part of Goldilocks when she says "This porridge is just right *gobble gobble gobble*." Plus, sometimes people pause and refuse to say anymore even when everyone is literally screaming at that person to keep on reading because then we will miss half of break. Then they think everyone hates them and start to cry. It's all the teachers' fault.

See, I'm in year 4, and I'm supposed to be learning about scripts because the year 3s and 4s have to learn how to "express" emotions. I just don't know what's up with teachers these days. They make it so embarrassing, and when they say "I hope you like your new roles in this play, because you can't switch!" Like, seriously? Also, they FORCE you to do a part even when you say you are being pulled right out of your comfort zone. If there's not enough roles, they just make up random characters.

For example, in the Seussical play that I did last year, we were split into two groups on different nights so that we had enough parts, but then they made up the jungle citizens, mini clowns, extra bird girls and boys, and many more. For the elephant bird, they had a stuffed toy which was actually Dumbo, the flying elephant! I mean, you could've just made that fictional and take away the elephant bird instead of paying so much money for a school play!

15 Keep your hands to yourself

And no going within 4 inches of each other. In a small school with 1,000 students and over 40 kids per class. How?

Why does this rule still exist can we even put our hands on our own siblings at school? What in the world

I've never understood this rule.

16 Shorts and leggings must be arm length

This is stupid! What if you have shorts but your arms are really long? It's just stupid altogether. Just boycott. Everyone come to school wearing shorts that are not arm length.

This is unfair because my arms are really long and other people's don't go past their waist so they can wear whatever they want!

What the hell? So these short girls that have short arms can be walking around school with their bottoms hanging out and they can't say anything about it because it's still arm length. What are they going to do then?

17 Not allowed to choose the song in a play

Ok, my school hasn't done a play in a while. And I'm a boy in year 6, I'm going to be backstage. I believe year 6 productions have better songs.

But for assemblies:
Teachers: Super happy and positive songs!
Year 6 Students: Songs with explicit lyrics

I literally have never watched or participated in a school play that was remotely entertaining.

Why do we have to sing babyish songs? Sixth graders should be able to sing Tokyo Narita and Wasting Time!

18 No throwing snowballs

Just in case...JUST in case...one of the kids hides a loaded pistol, a grenade, five ninja stars and a jar of cyanide in one.

Unless you're 5, this rule is pointless, throwing snow doesn't hurt at all.

Yeah, they act like the snow is full of knives.

19 No groups of friends over 5

So if you have 6 friends (including you), one of them has to leave? And be lonely? Not many people are good with making new friends. Let them have the people they feel safe with or mostly trust.

I luckily never had this issue. Maybe they think a group over five is a gang, even if it's just Christian church kids like me.

This is downright stupid! I always prefer an even number of friends so we don't have to fight over who sits with whom.

20 Must wear black shoes

In my school, you can wear any shoe except steel toed boots and anything that exposes your toe. And I always wear black shoes, so this wouldn't affect me. Doesn't mean I agree with it.

Not everyone likes school shoes, especially black shoes, since some of them are as hard as wearing rocks tied to your feet. Black is also a dark, depressing color. Not to be rude to anyone who likes the color black, I like it too.

Ours have to be completely black with no patterns. Guess what? I'm wearing my new shoes (with leopard print) to school tomorrow. Who cares?

21 No hard balls

My school doesn't have this rule, but everyone brings dodgeballs to class. My school is weird.

Wait, this sounds wrong... I meant hard footballs.

Well, how are you supposed to kick or throw them?

22 No crazy hair

Apparently, any color that is "unnatural" and "a distraction" or something like that. I don't know about anyone else, but for me, weird hair is as much of a distraction as the posters on the walls.

My current school only allows us to dye our hair with natural hair colors, while the high schools don't give a flip about what color you dye your hair.

My friend permanently dyed her hair lilac, and the teacher was fine. I temporarily dye mine red and get suspended for 2 weeks?!

23 No long hair

This is so pointless. My high school doesn't have this rule at all, sorry if yours does. My hair goes down to my knees and everyone stares at me with a smile, especially the boys.

Most of our lives (girls and boys and non-binary people) people might want to grow their hair, but then you just force them to cut it? Let them do them!

This is a rule at some places? Oh no! My hair almost goes down my whole back and I would never cut it, I would just get detention! Yay!

24 No couples

Never had this problem. However anything over a quick kiss will get you detention.

A lot of people from my school would get suspended.

Wait a sec...

Some schools don't allow couples?

25 Only water in water bottles

That's why I just bring a metal water bottle. I could be drinking water, tea, juice, or even soda and my teachers wouldn't have a single clue.

I bring coffee to school in my water bottle, and the PE teacher gets mad at me. Like, what?

Why would it matter. People still get sugary drinks from the canteen every day.

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