
Egregious acts and unethical practices have happened in schools since they first began.
Not too long ago, the news was filled with stories and commentary on Paris Hilton's YouTube documentary where she opened up about her time in the troubled teen industry.
In Canada, the Indigenous community is bringing home the lost native children that were discovered in unmarked graves in former residential schools. The same reckoning began in the U.S. in 2016.
Though we may not be seeing these extreme examples of unethical actions in public schools today, there are still grievances among our youth. We went to AskReddit to hear about the things we force our students to bear.
Redditor hugscar asked:
"What are unethical practices schools do?"
Some of these will shock you.
Zero tolerance policies.
"Bullied and harassed students having the same repercussions as their bully for defending themselves."- novato1995
"I remember when the zero tolerance policy started being applied to both/all parties, a behaviorist predicted an upswing of violence, plus an increase in violent intensity (from slaps to punches; from punches to stabbings; from stabbings to shootings)."
"If I am remembering right, that prediction is being found accurate."- liquidarc
A lack of consequences.
"I had a bully in middle school grab and twist my thumb hard enough to snap tendon (or whatever is in your thumb. It's been a while) and nothing happened to him since he would have to sit out football if he was punished."- TheLaughingSage
"So for my school I have 2 things."
"They have a no pass list."
"You are only allowed to be out for 5 minutes at most, and no passes first or last 10 minutes of class, no exceptions."
"If you break these rules, or you're just a b*tch/troublemaker in class enough times, you get put on the no pass list for at LEAST a week, so you get 0 passes at ALL."
"It could be for that class for a week, it could be the whole day for the rest of the year.
"I'm sitting at home with a concussion and not at school right now because some kid physically assaulted me."
"She gave me a concussion, two bruises, a red star shaped mark on my head, and 3 different muscle tissue injuries."
"Her doing this has prevented me from performing in front of thousands of people this Friday."
"She has not been punished or talked to at all."
"They have said 'I think you and her just have conflicting ideas and she might have been triggered by things in class and you really don't know each other well'."
" When she came up behind me, grabbed my hair, and yanked me down to the ground by my hair."
"This is bullshit especially because she did this earlier in the year too, and if she does it one more time especially since she is still at school and has not been punished in the slightest, my parents are going to press charges."- cat_lover_21.
Chained fire escapes.
"Our assembly room/gymnasium had the fire escape doors chained shut, and the police department was aware of it."- snarlyelder.
Required textbooks.
"Requiring you to purchase textbooks brand new from the college's bookstore because that's the only way to get the access code to complete the required assignments on the publishers website."- austininlaw
Limiting access to water.
"Less severe but limiting kids access to water, I.e. you can’t have your drink bottle at the table."
"Which sucks when you live in Australia and at summer the temperature gets up to 36c and school is during all the hottest hours of the day."- TeamLarge7729
A "told you so" moment.
"I was a decently misbehaved third grader."
"Told my teacher I had a stomach ache and I needed to go to the nurse."
"I asked a number of times."
"She thought I was just trying to get out of individual reading time."
"My appendix burst on the bus ride home."
"I was never one to ask to go to the nurse."
"Just a hyperactive kid my teacher apparently had enough of."
"Denying medical attention to an 8 year old seems unethical."
"This is not a 'boy who cried wolf' story for all those saying 'I told ya so.'"- jurassicgrif
Bathroom access.
"Not allowing kids to use the restroom."
"As someone who was diagnosed with multiple reproductive issues at an early age, I had some pretty intense periods."
"And this rule made school even worse."
"Got the nickname 'Paint Bottle' because my school was infamous for denying the bathroom."
"they were closed to all students during a set time because of 'misuse') and I literally had no help from anyone at all. Never realized it was as bad for other people too."
- RebelRebelPebble
"Not being allowed to go the toilet."
"You gotta go, you know?"- Averyjackman.
Invasion of privacy.
"This is probably very specific to my home country but period checks."
"I'm from Malaysia and yes sadly this is a thing and I've witnessed it firsthand. Mostly to make sure girls aren't lying about their periods just to get out of prayer activities."- roticanaidraws.
We're failing our students by passing them.
"Passing students that aren't ready for the next grade because they need to pad their passing rates to keep funding."
"It's setting the kids up for failure down the road."- VoijaRisa
Unattainable prerequisites.
"Making classes a graduation requirement then not letting kids take those classes because they’re full since everyone needs to take them."- intense_fingerguns.
Cost Cutting Measures
"More of a University thing but using students as unpaid labor, mostly grad students and 'interns'."
"Also my school used prison labor to make all the dorms and dorm furniture, said that Healthcare for student workers was 'too luxurious' (exact quote!) and canceled it, canceled all shift meals for student workers, and raised our tuition to pay for our president's massive pay increase and to redo the stupid stadium used for Olympic trials for literally no reason."
"Literally I think he's the highest paid uni president in the US by a long shot."
" I know he gets a 400,000 every single YEAR for just his housing."
"You get a cookie if you can guess what uni I went to lol."- 1kingdweebus2
Dress codes.
"No hats or hoods."
"iI don't know if this rule is in another school but it was back then when i was in elementary, but you weren't allowed to bring fast food food."- Slow-Revolution-9617.
No facial hair policies.
"One of my old high schools had mandatory shaving."
"All guys must be clean shaven every day."
"And in the principals office was the cheapest bag of bulk single blade razors you’d ever seen."
"Sometimes they forgot to tell us where the shaving cream was."
"I started shaving in junior high so afternoon classes were 50/50 if they’d make me go shave."- GingerMarquis.
You're all in trouble.
"Collective punishment."
"This is a literal war crime according to Geneva Convention, so if you hate the teacher the gave a collective punishment, you can literally sue them in the international court and if the teacher will be found guilty, they wouldn’t be able to pay fines and fees due to their salary being low and will probably be in prison."
"School uniforms are a violation of human rights too because according to UN convention on the rights of a child a child has freedom of expression."
"Many schools will say it’s a local rule for students to wear uniforms in their school, but international laws are ABOVE the local ones."- fedunya1.
Too much homework.
"Giving a heavy workload in middle school/early high school and saying that it teaches time management. "
"All it does is speedrun burnout."- MoonarLune.
Not meeting compliancy standards.
"Not accommodating for disabilities properly."
"I actually have a story for this."
"I’m not sure if it’s really a disability, but I am legally blind in my right eye."
"We were going to march in a parade in 7th grade."
"I was placed on the far left. "
"The reason why it was a problem is that I am blind in my right eye so I was not able to see people to my right without turning my head."
"We needed to face forward. It made it way harder to know where I needed to be."
"I tried talking to the band teacher about placing me on the right but he didn’t listen and kept me there despite my concerns."
"It made things a lot harder than it needed to be."- The_Fluffy_Riachu.
Children are often given little autonomy or rights when it comes to taking control of a situation.
During the pandemic, some parents are practicing giving their kids more "choices with limits" to bring about well-being for their kids.
Ultimately, the lesson here might be to believe our youth when they feel something isn't right.
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Don't be alarmed: There are some terrible corporations out there (looking at you, Nestle) but there are also some great brands that are selling decent products.
I know, surprising, right? Maybe we've all just gotten used to brands selling things of questionable quality that when we stumble across something worthwhile it stuns us.
Hold on tight when you find a brand deserving of your loyalty!
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor spwf asked the online community,
"What brand(s) do you swear by and why?"
"Their cast iron pans..."
"Lodge. Their cast iron pans are super durable and can last a lifetime."
StillForest989
Not just a lifetime. Your Lodge cast iron will outlive you, if (and even if you don’t) take care of it. Even if they get rusty they can be resurfaced. And damn is it satisfying to resurface a forgotten cast iron pan.
Asics, specifically the Gel-Nimbus series. I've suffered from joint pain and unbearable plantar fasciitis from a relatively young age... These shoes are life savers. Very pricey and I don't love the look of tennis shoes of any type but nevertheless I will praise these shoes to the end of days. Hopefully, I will always be able to afford them once a year.
Glad to hear you've found some much-needed relief!
"Warranty and service..."
"Victorinox. Excellent pocket knives, multi tools and their kitchen knives are probably the best ones you can get under 100 USD. Warranty and service is top notch."
CharacterComb3039
Anyone who cooks, but can't afford or doesn't want to invest in a professional-grade chef's knife should get a Victorinox. They aren't nearly as good as a top tier professional chef's knife, but they are night and day compared with everything else in their price range.
"This one brand..."
"This one brand of granola bars called Sunbelt Bakery. Every other granola bar brand is so dry I can't eat them anymore."
[deleted]
Yes, these are so good! An excellent choice.
"Very comfortable."
"Dickies. High quality pants. They're meant to be work pants so they're pretty durable and breathe well. Very comfortable."
GargantuanCake
"High quality" is right. Those pants last forever.
"It helps clean..."
"Dawn dishsoap. It helps clean dishes and it's great when one of my kids has an accident and I have to wash their clothes. Sometimes leaves a small stain but no smell. It has saved so many outfits."
[deleted]
Fantastic – it sounds like you should be their salesperson.
"They don't use..."
"New Balance. They don't use slave labor to make shoes."
Tink2013
They are comfortable and fit well.
I personally still don't like the aesthetics of many of their shoes, but still recommend them to people who want a good shoe.
"They are a retailer..."
"REI. Stand behind everything in their store. They are a retailer but you can beat something up they sell and they give you a full refund."
bigturkey1738
Many people use them for shoes, for camping gear... all kinds of stuff. They're very reliable.
"I wear my Timberland boots..."
"I wear my Timberland boots almost every day, I’ve had them for almost ten years, and they’re still just about as sturdy as they were the day I bought them."
RedWestern
These shoes tend to last forever. "Durable" is the perfect word.
"One large bottle..."
"Dr. Bronner's Castile soap. One large bottle lasts me about a year and I use it for everything. No toxic BS in them like pretty much every other soap and they smell fantastic."
"Also when I say everything I really mean it. All purpose cleaner, dish soap, body wash, shampoo, carpet extractor wash, dog shampoo, it’s called 18 in 1 for a reason."
drumkid74
If you're interested in the story behind the company, the documentary Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox might be right up your alley.
See? Not all brands are terrible. After reading about some of these, it might be time to change of your buying habits.
Have some suggestions of your own? Tell us more in the comments below!
You know what would be great?
If society could just stop with arbitrary dress codes. If you're not working with the public, why should you have to dress up so much? If you're a police officer, then it makes sense that you'd wear a uniform that identifies you as a police officer. If you're Ted from IT who sits in the backroom all day, I really don't see why you have to come in every day in a suit and tie.
Let's just toss them out, shall we?
People shared their thoughts with us after Redditor Levels2ThisBrush asked the online community,
"What should be socially acceptable but isn't?"
"Leaving the office..."
"Leaving the office whenever you've finished your tasks for the day."
misringuette
This is why I'm so glad remote work is the new office.
"And yet, I get it!"
"Taking off sick from work, WITHOUT giving an invasive reason. I supervise a small team and so I see all the OOO emails, and for gods sake I want people to PLEASE not feel the need to explain in detail what kind of diarrhea is afflicting them, or how bad their period cramps are, or how much bad sushi they ate the night before. Just say “I’m under the weather, I won’t be online today.”"
"And yet, I get it! I do it too! I feel guilty or like I’ll be looked at with suspicion if my reason for taking off isn’t sufficiently debilitating enough!"
"But… we need to stop this. As a manager I don’t care, I don’t THINK the people above me who are also on these emails care… let’s just all agree to take sick days without any details from now on!"
imnotwallaceshawn
I do not miss my retail days where I had to organise someone to cover me and beg on bended knee.
"Cashiers or workers who don’t need to be standing all day not having a stool or chair."
Lavatories
Another thing I do not miss from my retail days. Having to stand for hours and hours only to come home with my feet killing me was not fun.
"Prices on apartments..."
"Prices on apartments and their respectable reasons for such price directly on their websites or advertising without the need for a tour or any secrecy."
Spiceinvader3124
I always assume if I have to ask the price I probably can’t afford it.
"Being quiet..."
"Being quiet/not wanting to engage in conversation all the time."
[deleted]
In Finland, if somebody tries to talk to you, they are probably a tourist.
"Choosing not to..."
"Choosing not to have toxic family members in your life."
[deleted]
It feels very liberating once you accept that you don't have to put up with it.
"Employees..."
"Employees calling customers out in public for being a**holes."
gameboy1001
Absolutely. Many customers get away with treating employees horribly because they know they can do it without any pushback... most of the time.
"The fact that I sometimes..."
"The fact that I sometimes need to take my insulin in public. No, Karen, I am not doing drugs, I need to live."
blubberwinx
You’re getting that sweet sweet insulin high… the high of being not-dead.
"Afternoon naps."
"Afternoon naps. I’m on team nap. Give me 25 minutes to charge up and I’ll give you back 3 hours of high quality work. Everyone wins. Plus I go home with extra energy instead of dead tired."
Governmentwatchlist
Short naps don't work for me. I can't do a 25 min recharge. When I take a nap it needs to be like a solid 2 hours
"Speak up!"
"Salary transparency. For some reason, in the US, there’s a taboo or stigma around discussing one’s salary. This should be done openly and freely, with zero embarrassment or judgment. The only winners from avoiding these conversations are the corporations that are able to pay people differently for the same roles. Speak up!"
Jumping_Bear
The "for some reason" you're referring to is simply propaganda on behalf of corporations.
It's evident that something's got to change around here, and we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!
Have some observations of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!
As much as many of us don't like to disrupt the status quo, there is only so much time a person can tolerate a miserable situation before things become so unbearable that they ultimately have to peace out.
For some people, it takes a while for them to reach a breaking point. Eventually, there comes a time when they realize their self-worth is more important than continuing to please others who don't appreciate them for the sake of keeping up with appearances.
Curious to hear from people whose patience ran thin and made a strong decision, Reddit Prestigious-Order-62 asked:
"What made you say 'f'k this sh*t im out?'"
The unwarranted reprimanding was something that was never mentioned in the initial job description.
Feeling Criminal
"In the late 90’s."
"One time I got pulled into the Security office at a Department store I worked at. They accused me of constantly using the sales day coupons for people that didn’t present one (we always kept an extra copy at each register). I had watched my own department boss do it many times so I assumed it was okay. We didn’t even collect the coupons to be counted for the cash office, we just chucked them after use."
"They claimed I lost the store hundreds of dollars and had been watching me 'for months' do this awful, unforgivable crime for people spending 90 bucks on already bloated price designer jeans. I’m sure the occasional 10% discount was just devastating. 🙄""I got this huge lecture of how I was LITERALLY stealing from the store and they COULD call the police but would give me a chance to work off the damage. I couldn’t believe how criminal I was made to feel over it. The best part when they called my boss in who pretended to have never done it before to save her own a**."
"I asked if they were firing me. They said 'Yes and No. You will be let go, but you can choose to work off the damages so we don’t take you to court.' I told them I will just quit and asked for my last check. They said they will deduct what I owe from my last check. And I said 'Well then you need to show me all the footage and prove that I was stealing.' They wouldn’t produce footage, finally called the cops, and when the cops arrived, they were just as confused and called it an internal problem and advised them that this was overblown. I think they felt sorry for me. So finally upper management came in and just said 'just issue the last check, I will sign it here.' So much drama over so stupid a thing."
"It was sad because that actual day my Mom and daughter had come to the mall to meet me for lunch and I had to explain I just was forced to quit that job and was never allowed in that store again like I was some awful jerk."
"It was nice a few short years later, the entire chain bankrupted."
– Munich11
Power Trip
"A coworker waited until we were in front of a large group of people to start 'disciplining' me for something 'wrong' I did (I took my lunch 15 mins late to help another coworker) when she wasn’t even my supervisor. Applied for a job transfer the next day and couldn’t be happier where I am now."
– _shes_a_jar
Abusive Boss
"I had a piece of sh*t of a boss. He'd praise you in private but berate you in public. In front of coworkers and customers. Always about stuff that didn't matter."
"He'd also happily break company policy to side with customers after you spent an hour telling a customer you can't give them stuff for free, for example. Any time he was around, everything was miserable."
"My only regret is that I wasn't there to see him marched out by corporate when he got fired, because I had gone on to a better job by then."
– redisforever
Human Punching Bag
"I used to work in a Kitchen at a pub, it was grim work, but I had freinds there and had worked there for 3 years, So it wasn't too bad."
"One Christmas season we were being absolutely pumped, full out functions and busy services. My boss at the time was very stressed and fair enough, We were busy, We were all working overtime and full out. He used any excuse to completely blow up and absolutely scream at me for little to no reason, essentially him yelling at me was his stress relief. But fine, whatever, kitchens are rough places, no appolagies or anything, move on."
"I then go away for 3 weeks over the Christmas holidays and spend the time road tripping around the country having an amazing time."
"First shift back, not pleased being back, he makes a snarky comment."
"F'k this, Im out."
– Freddy54323
Even though these employees weren't chewed out in front of co-workers, the low salary without room for negotiation made them not wanting to stick around for much longer.
You Only Get One Job
"They cut my hours so I had to get a second job. 3 days before I was supposed to start said second job, my manager at the main job told me that I couldn't get this second job because I had main job first and I needed to make it my priority. That's when I said f'k you and left. I didn't even give a notice, I literally just sent an email saying I wouldn't be coming in the next day, grabbed my sh*t and went home."
– ginger_princess2009
Meager Wage
"I used to work Retail and after 7 years at the company, I found out I was only making 50 cents more an hour than someone who just started yesterday. I understood if they couldn't pay me more and asked for a good schedule. 7-3 or 8-4 every day and the same two days off every week. I didn't even ask for weekends off."
"I was told that they couldn't give me a good schedule so I quit."
– maybeashly
Situations weren't much different outside the work place. Social dilemmas prompted these Redditors to say, "nope."
Rude Reception
"Went to a pub because a friend kept asking. When I got there, he was with a group of people I didn't know, so I introduced myself and got the next round. As I come back with the tray, I hear them saying something along the lines of 'why is that b*tch still here? I thought she was just supposed to drop off a bicycle?' 'Ya, we don't want her to come to <this other town with more pubs> and now she is drinking with us?' 'She's so dumb' *proceeds to imitate and ridicule me as I was actively listening and nodding when I was having a conversation with my friend."
"Gave the beer to random people and walked right out after saying good evening to my friend and briefly explaining I did not appreciate being tricked into being a bicycle taxi for people who hate me directly after meeting me."
– ILikeLamas678
A Shocking Incident
"I was on my boat fishing for bass. I casted out my line and watched the lure hit the water but the line just floated in the air. Lightning and thunder crashed and the line fell to the water. F'k this sh*t, I'm out."
– fsh4fun051
Femme Fatale
"She lined my bed with broken glass put the blankets over it and I dove on in lol."
"Edit: She was violent/crazy and on drugs, was like the 20th attack I took and that made me really think lol."
– MyLifeForAuir1Ally For The Ex
"I found nudes of his ex (from ten years ago) that I’d previously asked him twice to get rid of tucked in a pair of MY socks. Our couples counselor asked why he’d kept them and he said, 'You know. In case I ever needed to blackmail her.' He said it like it was a perfectly normal and reasonable thing to plan to do. The therapist and I locked eyes and I noped the f'k out of there and moved out."
– Previous_Mood_3251
Most of these Redditors realized leaving their situation was better than dealing with the consequences of sticking around.
The latter is never a good option. Why remain in a scenario you know is already going to consume your soul?
The lesson for today is–Don't be miserable. Your sanity is worth saving.
Besides, you would never know that something better awaits if you just don't get the F out.As we enter into the summer months, people now have to decide whether or not they want their morning coffee to be hot or iced.
Lucky for them, it's delicious either way.
One could make an argument that foods that are equally delicious hot or cold are perhaps the best, or at least the most reliable.
And this can include foods which are not customarily sold both hot and cold (cold pizza anyone?).
Redditor NectarineOther4989 was curious to hear which foods people enjoy either hot or cold, leading them to ask:
"What is something that tastes good both hot and cold?"
Fresh out of the oven, or the next day!
"Cookies."- SuvenPan
Chocolate withstands all temperatrues
"Brownies."- Reasonable-Software2
Can't go wrong with fruit and pastry
"Pie."
"Apple pie."- Hak_Saw5000
This doesn't only apply to food
"Revenge."- pushthestartbutton
Let the flavor develop
"Banana bread."
"2 totally different flavors depending on warm vs cold from fridge."- nonkowledge
So many to choose from!
"Sandwiches."- Designer-Usual1691
A matter of textural preference
"Cheese, ya fools."- eat_dontpray_love
Under a hot greek sun, or during a cold winter's eve.
"Spanakopita."- mrsxpando
While there's no better smell than a batch of chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, those eating them the next day likely aren't missing out either.