# Random Public School Annoyances (minor rant) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 11, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861 "2009-12-11T14:33:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/41 "2009-12-14T06:07:42Z")
I recommend everyone pull ther kids out of public schools. When mine were in, it was deteriorating fast. My son was threatened and the principal said it was his fault for reacting. I was buzzed in at the door, and since they knew me, the times i had to take him out, they had me wait in the office and brought him there. Homeschooling is free, and they give you a computer. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/42 "2009-12-14T06:19:14Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Let me tell you something, jtgain. Disruptions of any kind to the daily norm make the kids antsy for the rest of the day. And this was before the educational day began, this was quite specifically a parent helping their young child get set up in a new classroom on a day when the child was nervous and needed some reassurance. You want to talk about special snowflakes, it’d be a classroom full of kids so precious about every damn thing that a parent of a classmate being around for a couple of minutes before school started would make them antsy for the rest of the day. The presence of a parent _outside of the instructional hours_ is that deleterious to their sense of balance? Really? That terrifies me, frankly. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/43 "2009-12-14T12:20:43Z")
Just because **jtgain** was out of the classroom before the day officially began at 8:00 doesn’t mean he wasn’t disruptive. There’s usually a grace period before school so the kids can put their things away and get settled in so they’re ready to go at 8. And trust me, if that grace period is in any way altered, it screws up the classroom routine, because the teacher has to take attendance and lunch orders and turn both in by the deadline, and there may be morning announcements and the Pledge of Allegiance. At the sprog’s school, the teacher is also responsible for getting the kids to the art or music classrooms immediately after morning announcements. So, yeah, it’s disruptive. Besides, these are elementary school kids. They’re distracted by just about anything. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/44 "2009-12-14T13:41:34Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Well, that pissed me off enough, but then this morning I get a call from the school nurse. My daughter got into a fight on the bus and was bleeding from her neck. No worries; minor injury. As any concerned parent, I asked what happened and was told that another child was grabbing her hair. My daughter punched the other child, and the other child returned the favor by clawing at her neck. > > My next question was, “What punishment will be given to the child for pulling my daughter’s hair?” I was told that school discipline is a confidential matter. > > I asked who the other child was? Confidential. > > What? My child had a battery committed against her on the bus, and you can’t tell me who did it? I’m sure that she will tell me tonight, but this just astounds me. > > Is all of this stuff normal? If so, no wonder why the public schools are going to hell. The only way to get braindead, zero-tolerance bullshit stuff like that eliminated is to sue the school and the school board. Repeatedly. And since most folks can’t afford to do that, it will continue to perpetuate and fester. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/45 "2009-12-14T16:50:30Z")
My husband has to go to the school every so often to help with our daughter’s diabetes. 99% of the time she can handle it herself, but there are times when her pump runs out of insulin and he has to take her some more. This happens maybe twice a year, max. We have to sign in and put on a visitors badge every time we go, but the school staff all know us by name. Most of the teachers do as well, even the ones in other PODs that my children have not had. We have a district nurse, not a school nurse: we live less than a mile from the school, so we choose to handle her diabetes needs ourselves. He has never had a problem or even been looked at funny when he goes in alone. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/46 "2009-12-14T18:19:09Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > because the teacher has to take attendance and lunch orders and turn both in by the deadline […] Lunch orders? Do kids get to choose what the school makes them for lunch these days? My, how things have changed… ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/47 "2009-12-14T18:24:25Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > Lunch orders? Do kids get to choose what the school makes them for lunch these days? My, how things have changed… I think what \*\*MsRobyn \*\*means is that they need to know how many kids are planning on buying lunch. In my district, school lunches are no longer made on-site in the cafeteria. They’re made in bulk at an off-site location and trucked to the schools in time for lunch. Kind of like airplane meals. It’s supposed to be more efficient. ETA: It doesn’t take long (“How many of you are buying lunch today?”), but it is another thing they have to do. If they offer a choice (fish sticks or grilled cheese) , of course they need to know how many of each meal to provide. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/48 "2009-12-14T18:53:08Z")
I can see the OP point, but if some kid was taken from the school, if the school didn’t do exactly what happened in the OP’s story there woud be heck to pay, so to speak No one likes these procedures until something goes amiss. Then they rant “Why weren’t they in place already.” It’s a no win situation and as Petula Clark sings “A Sign Of The Times” ---
**Author:** ![wierdaaron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/eada6e/32.png) [@wierdaaron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wierdaaron)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/49 "2009-12-14T19:16:29Z")
A few years ago, like a year after I graduated high school, I had a free day from college classes so I thought I’d stop by the ol’ high school and say hi to the teachers I didn’t hate (pathetic, I know), and when I got there the place was suddenly a fortress. They used to keep all the doors unlocked during the day, which made it easy to skip classes, but when I got there the only door that wasnt locked was the front door by the office. When I strolled in, I was stopped by the hall monitor staff people and asked what I wanted. I was like 6 months older than the average student there, and I was dressed like a kid, so for all they knew I went there. I said I was visiting a teacher, they asked if I had an appointment. Without one, I’d have to wait until the end of the day. Disgruntled, I left, and then drove from the front parking lot to the side parking lot so I could call some friends and see if I could do something to not have wasted the effort of putting on pants. After a few minutes, one of the hall monitor people drove up next to my car and asked if there was a problem. Turns out they were watching me via the parking lot surveillance cameras and radioing each other back and forth about me. Jeebus, is an 18 year old preppy kid that suspicious around a high school? Luckily, I realized that going back to high school to show off how awesome you are is pathetic, so I didn’t try to go back later. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/50 "2009-12-14T19:27:25Z")
I’m beginning to think I live in another world. My kids go to public schools in Tucson. They highly encourage parents to be present in the classroom as frequently as they can. They are always asking for help in reading with the kids, doing computer research, working on math projects, etc. There is at least one parent in the classroom everyday, helping in some way. And they always say we are free to just come and watch how the classroom is run, as often as we like. I can’t imagine not feeling welcome at my kids’ school. And I don’t think this is unique to one special school. I have kids at 2 different elementaris and a middle school. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/51 "2009-12-14T19:53:52Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > Lunch orders? Do kids get to choose what the school makes them for lunch these days? My, how things have changed… **Bibliocat** has it right. At the elementary level, kids have three options: A hot lunch, a cold lunch, and a bag lunch. The teacher has to read off what’s on the menu for the day, and the kids who are buying lunch have to have some time to choose. The teacher also has to collect lunch money, make sure all of the kids have their ID badges (lunch money in their account and their library books are tied to the ID card), and other administrative tasks before they can even write a single word on the board. The end result is that teachers need those few minutes before class to get themselves and their classes squared away. Any sort of encroachment on that time is not appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/52 "2009-12-14T20:06:36Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > I’m beginning to think I live in another world. > > My kids go to public schools in Tucson. They highly encourage parents to be present in the classroom as frequently as they can. They are always asking for help in reading with the kids, doing computer research, working on math projects, etc. There is at least one parent in the classroom everyday, helping in some way. And they always say we are free to just come and watch how the classroom is run, as often as we like. > > I can’t imagine not feeling welcome at my kids’ school. And I don’t think this is unique to one special school. I have kids at 2 different elementaris and a middle school. Dude, it’s TUSD, “come in and help” is shorthand for “come in and help, Og knows we can’t afford to have anyone else do it.” :p… ☹ > [@wierdaaron](#): > > A few years ago, like a year after I graduated high school, I had a free day from college classes so I thought I’d stop by the ol’ high school and say hi to the teachers I didn’t hate (pathetic, I know), and when I got there the place was suddenly a fortress. > > They used to keep all the doors unlocked during the day, which made it easy to skip classes, but when I got there the only door that wasnt locked was the front door by the office. When I strolled in, I was stopped by the hall monitor staff people and asked what I wanted. I was like 6 months older than the average student there, and I was dressed like a kid, so for all they knew I went there. I said I was visiting a teacher, they asked if I had an appointment. Without one, I’d have to wait until the end of the day. > > Disgruntled, I left, and then drove from the front parking lot to the side parking lot so I could call some friends and see if I could do something to not have wasted the effort of putting on pants. After a few minutes, one of the hall monitor people drove up next to my car and asked if there was a problem. Turns out they were watching me via the parking lot surveillance cameras and radioing each other back and forth about me. Jeebus, is an 18 year old preppy kid that suspicious around a high school? > > Luckily, I realized that going back to high school to show off how awesome you are is pathetic, so I didn’t try to go back later. You’re _clearly_ a drug dealer. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/53 "2009-12-14T20:27:08Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > **Bibliocat** has it right. At the elementary level, kids have three options: A hot lunch, a cold lunch, and a bag lunch. The teacher has to read off what’s on the menu for the day, and the kids who are buying lunch have to have some time to choose. The teacher also has to collect lunch money, make sure all of the kids have their ID badges (lunch money in their account and their library books are tied to the ID card), and other administrative tasks before they can even write a single word on the board. Geez, things really have changed. I used to just go to the cafeteria and buy lunch. And why do kids need ID badges? FTR, I “graduated” from elementary school in 1982, and don’t have kids of my own yet. Please pardon my ignorance. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/54 "2009-12-14T20:32:15Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > Geez, things really have changed. I used to just go to the cafeteria and buy lunch. And why do kids need ID badges? > > FTR, I “graduated” from elementary school in 1982, and don’t have kids of my own yet. Please pardon my ignorance. 🙂 These things seem to vary widely, and people assume that the way it is where they are is the way it is everywhere. At my school, kids don’t have ID badges of any kids. And they have a choice of 2 different lunches (today it’s tortellini or BBQ pork sandwich). But there is a system so parents can put money on a kid’s lunch account. So I could, for example, give the cafeteria $20 and the kid can get lunch until that money runs out. This way you don’t have to worry about the kid losing their lunch money, and it keeps the lunch line moving faster. ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/55 "2009-12-14T20:42:38Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > But there is a system so parents can put money on a kid’s lunch account. So I could, for example, give the cafeteria $20 and the kid can get lunch until that money runs out. This way you don’t have to worry about the kid losing their lunch money, and it keeps the lunch line moving faster. That makes sense. I’ll bet my parents wish such a system was in place when I was in junior high school - they probably would have liked the assurance that I was eating and not spending my lunch money on cigarettes. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/56 "2009-12-14T20:44:08Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > Geez, things really have changed. I used to just go to the cafeteria and buy lunch. And why do kids need ID badges?.. That’s how it worked at my middle & high schools. This was also the first time we could choose between different hot entrees. In elementary school it was between a hot entree, a sandwhich, or a chef salad. You made your choice that morning when teacher took attandence. One teacher would actually keep track of what her students ordered in the morning and they’d get in trouble if she caught them getting something when she had cafetaria duty. Also you needed a doctor’s note to get juice instead of milk for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/57 "2009-12-14T21:03:44Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > These things seem to vary widely, and people assume that the way it is where they are is the way it is everywhere. > > At my school, kids don’t have ID badges of any kids. And they have a choice of 2 different lunches (today it’s tortellini or BBQ pork sandwich). > > But there is a system so parents can put money on a kid’s lunch account. So I could, for example, give the cafeteria $20 and the kid can get lunch until that money runs out. This way you don’t have to worry about the kid losing their lunch money, and it keeps the lunch line moving faster. Are you in TUSD or another district? Maybe it’s only the high schools but not two years ago in high school we had IDs for lunch and stuff. They even tried a stint where we had to wear them on lanyards (we rebelled by rules lawyering, we searched the school code for a provision that prohibited them from making us do it through some vague loophole involving the display of matriculation numbers, in a strange turn of events it worked). Granted at high school it’s a tad different from the regular lunch thing that middle school and below has. We had a Pizza stand, a Hamburger stand, a generic cafeteria stand, and a substandard Cafe that even served things like smoothies. While the standard cafeteria menu varied from day to day the Pizza, Cafe, and Hamburgers were static. This was a public school mind you. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/58 "2009-12-14T21:07:33Z")
TUSD. And my kids aren’t old enough to be in high school yet, just elementary and middle (Dodge). Was that at Tucson High? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/59 "2009-12-14T21:09:13Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > TUSD. And my kids aren’t old enough to be in high school yet, just elementary and middle (Dodge). Was that at Tucson High? University (ETA: That’s University High School, not an actual University, for the rest of you not up on Tuscon high school short-hand casual naming), actually. I was saying that maybe only the high schools started the ID thing. I imagine it was probably more important at UHS anyway because we shared the building with Rincon so for certain things you needed to know who belonged to which school. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861/60 "2009-12-14T21:32:09Z")
Did anyone else get to go off-campus for lunch at their highschool? That was the best… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/random-public-school-annoyances-minor-rant/520861.md?page=4)