School Rules Are Stupid!

Hey!

I have been in the UK education system for 11 years now and, to be honest, it sucks.

 Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy learning. The problem is not the education, it is the way we do it.

 The depressing brick walls, plain brown paint, plastic chairs and stupid rules are the parts of our education system that I don't understand . 

No make-up, no non-natural hair colours, no nail varnish, no non-black shoes, no earrings that cover your ear lobes or dangle, no phones, no chewing gum. It is a load of bullshit. Please explain to me how my nails being purple is going to distract the rest of my school from their education? Or how my white converse are going to damage the schools reputation? How is my dip-dyed hair going to make me fail my GCSE's? 

What gets to me most is our 'no phones' rule. 

When I was in year 8 (aged 13), I got permission to go to the bathroom during period 5 Religious Education. To get into the bathroom in lesson's, you have to get the key from reception. So, I strolled over to reception and ask for the key and, the lovely but slightly dumb, receptionist tells me that there is already a girl in the bathroom with the key. She then tells me to go to the bathroom because, as she said, there is already a girl there. I go to the bathroom and the girl who is in there is in one of the stalls. I go into one of the stalls not making any noise (I don't like using the bathroom with other people it freaks me out (don't ask)). I come back out, wash my hands and then start to look for the key to lock the door on my way out. But I can't find the key. I just assume she is still in one of the stalls and head for the door. But the doors locked. I then check the stalls to see if she is still here (I thought that maybe a teacher could have locked the door or something) but she is not here. Then it dawns on me, I was locked in. I banged on the door for a while after I realised that it was last lesson and the cleaners would not be coming till 6pm to clean the bathroom. Obviously no one heard me banging on the door because everyone was in lessons. Then it dawned on me, I had my phone. I could ring the school office and tell them what happened. They would then send someone to get me out of the bathroom. This was a great plan until I remembered that I did not know the school's telephone number. So I came up with a plan. I rung my mum, told her what happened and asked her to ring the school to tell them what happened and where I was. About 5 minutes after I rung my mum, 2 office members come running up to the door to unlock it. After they unlocked it they started were asking is I was okay and if I needed to sit down and have a drink of water. I swear these bitches thought I was dying. I politely passed and went back to my R.E lesson where I had to explain to my teacher and my class where I was for over half the lesson.

In that situation my phone 'saved' me. If I had not of had my phone I would have been in there till 6pm and then would have had to try and explain to people why my mum had sent out a search party to look for me (my mum is a bit over protective). The fact that school has a 'no phones' rule is stupid to me. I know schools are meant to be 'safe' places but news over the years has shown that sometimes they are not. 

What school rules do/did you think are/were stupid?

-Jess<3