I think this is pretty standard, at least in all the schools I’ve even known.
In Catholic middle school (mid '90s), we had indoor hallways but had to go outside instead of using them to walk to different classes (and this is Seattle, lots of rain). We also weren’t allowed to talk during this journey. It’s not that it was a big deal in itself, just indicative of their complete lack of concern for us as people.
Students were forbidden to hug one another.
We ate lunch in our classrooms and had to sit at our normal assigned seats during lunch.
A coffee shop was nice enough to give the student crossing guards free hot chocolate or coffee on cold winter days, until the school inexplicably made a rule against that.
Of course we had to wear uniforms, and our “reward” for pretty much anything was a “free dress day.” How economical for the school.
I’m sure there were a bunch more silly, petty rules that I’m not thinking of. I hate Catholic schools.
Oh yeah, at a different Catholic school in elementary school, our teacher would tell us when to take off our sweaters. The only write-up I ever got was for once not taking off my sweater when told, because I wasn’t too hot.
At the Catholic high school that I thankfully did not have to attend, girls were expelled for having abortions. I’m serious! I don’t know how the school figured they would even KNOW if a girl had an abortion anyway, but making a damn bit of sense has never been Catholicism’s strong point.
The last I knew of this policy being in place was around 2000, but I’d be surprised if it wasn’t still policy today.
at my high school all boys’ shirts had to be tucked in. After your daily warning, if you were caught by the principal again with an untucked shirt, you got paddled. With a wooden paddle. On the ass. Probably while bending over and grabbing your ankles.
Catholic Boys high school, early 1970s.
Freshman year, can’t wear blue jeans
Sophomore year, no blue jeans policy become controversial as some elementary schools have allowed blue jeans
Junior year, “non-faded”, “non-holey” blue jeans allowed. Dean of Students [head disciplinarian- not principal], has denim swatch for comparison. If jeans are lighter than swatch, wearer earns detention.
This didn’t happen at my school, but some Catholic schools only allowed students to have politically correct first names i.e. saints names. So a Nikki, who was named after her father Nicholas, was called Catherine.
Some of my school’s stranger policies have already been touched upon. I graduated from a small NW Ohio public high school in 1987.
Any boy participating in sports had to have hair higher than his ears on the sides and higher than his collar in back.
No shorts except for gym class.
No calculators except for ACT and SAT testing days.
The one that really sticks out, though, is the monthly Campus Life assembly. For those who don’t know, Campus Life is an evangelical indoctrination program aimed at high school kids. Every month the regional Campus Life organization would bring in a band or a speaker to give a presentation or performance about how cool Jesus was.
Those who didn’t want to attend had the option of going to study hall, but the stigma associated with ducking out on hearing The Word was pretty intense, from the teachers, not the students. Although the students who were already active CL members would make a point to pull you aside and ask you, with genuine concern for your soul, why you chose study hall instead of their super fun assembly.
I was in high school from 1969-72. My first year, girls were not allowed to wear pants. Period. Ever. When it was really, really cold and snowy one day, we could wear pants if we brought a note from home.
The next year, the dress code was modified so that girls could wear pants if they were part of a pant suit. Jeans - hah! Not allowed. Period. Even for the boys.
Ah, the good old days…
High school, circa 1967 - 1971, there was no smoking at all on the school grounds. Smoking incurred a five dollar fine. I was caught in the rest room, smoking. I handed the teacher five bucks and tried to finish my cigarette. This earned me an in house suspension for insolence. You just gotta love the Catholic School system…
There was a big to do in the Fairfax County (VA) public school system circa 1994/1995 about a new revision to the school policies. There was a policy manual named “Code of Conduct” that prescribed penalties for parents. That’s right, the school thought they could punish parents. I do believe that the policies basically stated that if a student misbehaved, the parent could be punished, probably by a fine, though I can’t exactly remember. I don’t think they had gotten so far as to think they could give detention to parents. I’m not sure of the legal theory behind that (e.g. whether they made it a municipal offense to be a parent of a misbehaving child and the fine was your sentence), but there was such a stink about that.
The sprog’s school does this, at least after recess and after lunch. It makes a lot of sense because the queues can be set up to improve traffic flow so you don’t have a lot of kids milling around in the common areas.
It also makes sense to have all of the kids together in one place. There are only so many staff who can watch children during non-class time, and children have to be supervised, at least to some degree. It also discourages older kids from sneaking off to cause trouble.
The girls’ bathroom stalls in our high school were short. If you stood up, they came up to somewhere between your shoulders and chest. If you walked close by, you could see over them without even trying. You had to maintain a squat the entire time you were in there, because you wouldn’t want anyone to see you. As far as I can remember, the boys bathroom was not like that, just the girls. The official reason was to prevent smoking, but I never thought that made much sense. Any idea why they did that to us?
Not to mention, classroom groups (lines) make it easier to count noses or check off names or whatever to make sure all the little ducklings are accounted for and not hiding out under the twirly slide. Also, a mass rush for the entry doors is an invitation for some not-so-gentle shoving and other physical unpleasantness. Any time you can make a huge group of elementary school-aged kids procede in orderly groups, it is much safer for them.
Re the OP: My high school had an invisible one-way barrier between the cafeteria/gym/auditorium area and the rest of the school. It was guarded very strictly by one severely underpaid aide. You could stroll in at any time but you could only get out if you were bleeding or puking. Or if the bell rang.
My high school, same time as yours, forbade smoking as well, and forbade leaving the school grounds to smoke, but if you got parental permission, you could go to the rifle range in the basement and smoke during lunch period… It was so packed that the smoke was thick in the air.