“I Just Don’t Understand”: 40 Baffling “American School Things”

School systems across the globe operate very differently. The regulations vary from country to country, with children in the Netherlands starting school on their 4th birthday for example. Similarly, there are distinct attributes one would find in US schools. While our idea of American schools has been highly influenced by TV and movies, the reality may be far different to our assumptions. Scroll below to check out a collection of photos that shows an honest perspective on what the true American school experience is like.

#1 Florida Teacher Here. This Is Our School’s “Library” Now

Image source: missmyrajv

Florida passed a law that said no books can be displayed in a school, until they’ve been reviewed and approved by an appointed team. If a teacher shows a book that has not been approved, they could be charged with a felony.

#2 Creepy Surveillance Into The Boys’ Bathroom At My High School

Image source: Alligatorgamer9

There is a window in the boys’ bathroom that has a perfect line of sight with the security office that doubles as a panopticon of the entire commons area. If this was the girls’ bathroom, heads would roll and there would have been a riot outside years ago. I hate it here.

#3 My School Wants Us To Allow This On Our Personal Devices, Just To Use Google Classroom

Image source: reddit.com

#4 My Friend Got In Trouble For “PDA”

Image source: After-Employer5610

#5 Sign On The Nurse’s Door At My School

Image source: Butchah

#6 About Half Of This 50-Gallon Trash Can Is Full Of Perfectly Good Cartons Of Milk, Expiration Date Is In 2 Weeks. Schools Waste A Lot Of Food

Image source: spider_manectric

#7 I’m A Night Custodian At A High School. This Is What The First Day Of School Looks Like

Image source: unwanted-tomatoes

#8 High School Bathrooms Are Really Wild

Image source: willyone225

#9 My School Blocked A Website Because It Was Labeled As Educational

Image source: reddit.com

#10 Our High School Covers Expiration Dates With A Sharpie

Image source: TheBigWedgeOfCheese

#11 What A Sad Country We Live In For My 12-Year-Old To Text Me This

Image source: loserwaste

#12 My School’s Bag Check Line

Image source: JL-Nobody568

#13 This Is What They Gave Us For Lunch Today. I’m A 6’5″ 160 Lbs Track Athlete, With Practice And Weight Training After School. This Did Little To Nothing To My Hunger Level

Image source: Toastedtoastyyy

#14 Honestly, I’d Rather Just Ask For Cash

Image source: aLittleKrunchy

So we have to buy a $60 box of chocolate bars (which I noticed are now only 0.8 oz when they used to be 1.5 oz), sell the whole box, and only $22 of that goes towards an end of year trip? Just no. I’d rather donate cash and save myself and my kid the headache. Or even do a lemonade stand, or sell bracelets. Seems like the least efficient way to do a fundraiser.

#15 School Has A “Minimum Donation” For A Fundraiser

Image source: ThatGothGamerChick

My friend’s kid’s school is having a fundraiser. I was like, yeah sure I’ll donate 5 bucks. Nope. Well now they’re getting no money because 15 is a little too much for me.

#16 Toilet Paper Provided At My School

Image source: MentalBuddy

#17 During The Summer, My School Installed Metal Gates Over The Bathrooms To Keep Us From Going Between Classes

Image source: Lord-Zippy

#18 This Is The Inside Of My Child’s Homework Folder Provided By The School. At What Point Has Consumerism Gone Too Far?

Image source: xtinaxtina18

#19 Our School Spent 1.3 Million On New Turf For A Loosing Team, But I Get To Deal With This Every Time It Rains Because They Can’t Afford To Fix The Roof

Image source: OShtTheC0PS

#20 My School Blocked Google

Image source: NormalBluJay

#21 When Your School Bans Wikipedia, Only To Copy Directly From Wikipedia In Their Own Lesson Resources

Image source: Kisuzume

#22 This Map Is In My School’s Elementary Library. Because All Of Eastern Asia And The Pacific Islands Are Apparently China

Image source: joecosmos

#23 My Children’s School Folders Are Starting To Look Like Internet Pop-Ups

Image source: Kami_Ouija

This is in my wife’s hometown, which is small, so she doesn’t share my anger. She said it was to raise money for the fall festival. Told my buddy from back home about it and he was just as angry as I was, even calling it child labor.

#24 When The School Gives A Big Box To Hide The Size Of The Pizza

Image source: zukofire48

#25 This Survey At My School

Image source: lucky_dog21

#26 They Start The Indoctrination Early At My Florida High School

Image source: DelCidKidv

#27 The School Lunch System Is Disgraceful

Image source: oaz_zam246

From my years in high school I compiled some pictures of the horrible things that got served that no one questioned. It really is ironic given how adamant they all are about eating healthy by including every food group.

#28 My School Banned The Dinosaur Game

Image source: real-Dantepersons

#29 School Board Policy For Lunch In North Carolina

Image source: neko2314

#30 Bathroom Passes. Each Circle Represents One Pass, We Get One Of These Papers Per Semester. To Get More, We Have To Arrange An Appointment With The Administration

Image source: Cheese_is_good1

#31 There Was A Typo In The First Sentence Of My School’s Guide To Careful Writing

Image source: RumHam12

#32 Bathroom “Stalls” At James Rumsey High School

Image source: LeastSuspiciousTowel

#33 My School Doesn’t Have Stall Doors

Image source: Gazers22

There are also huge mirrors directly facing them.

#34 The Absolutely Terrible Design Of My School. This Is The Place Where Every Hallway Intersects

Image source: LuigiSaysKachow

#35 Bathroom Pass In An American School. I Mean, I Get It, Kids Take Advantage, But This Is Too Much

Image source: LikeSnowOnTheBeach

#36 My School Is Fining Students That Take Too Long In The Bathroom

Image source: miketerk21

#37 My Little Brother’s Middle School Schedule. He’s Having Such A Hard Time Remembering When Periods Start And End. Why Are The Times This Specific?

Image source: mad_cherry

#38 My Blind Child Came Home From School Today With This Homework

Image source: zixxty

#39 I Guess My Daughter’s School Administrator Is Trying To Reprimand Me?

Image source: Substantial_Tart9571

I was late a lot through high school, but I’d never been sent home with anything like this. My mother would get a call from the school every now and then, that’s about it. For reference, my daughter’s in 1st grade.

#40 This Milk At My School

Image source: Drizzyhenry13