Would you be in more trouble or less trouble if you went to school today than when you went?

[Irberthegerber]

If you applied your DC’s school rules to when you went to school, would you be in more trouble or less trouble than you were? What decade was it? I would definitely be in more trouble, despite behaving well. Your behaviour has to be identical, so no adapting to current rules. E.g. on in between weather days, we would chat outside with our jumpers tied around our waists, which was considered totally normal. (I still consider it normal, but maybe I’m a dinosaur).

This was in the 90s, that blissful (rose-tinted perhaps) era in between corporal punishment and zero tolerance.

My children attend better schools than I did. Ofsted would have closed them down anytime.
Can't compare.

I went in the 80s and 90s, and it'd be the same for me. I had a very strict upbringing and schooling, and you were pretty much only allowed to stay home when you had chicken pox.

Neurodiversity wasn't recognised. It was an automatic "bad behaviour" thing. There were two brothers who were absolutely destructive in primary school. They'd throw chairs at the headmistress, beat other kids up, stand there just screaming so loudly. They were also incredibly racist, and all this aged 8 and 9. It would take multiple adults to restrain them. I sometimes think about them. I wonder how schools today would have handled that.

I have the worst, most heavy periods (about to have a hysterectomy) which started as soon as they arrived when I was 11, and I was still made to jump around in gymnastics, with blood gushing down my legs. The teacher told me to suck it up and stop being a baby. No lie. Today she'd probably be in prison for that 😂.

Hard to answer because I would behave differently within the current system I think!

but if I persisted in keeping my blazer in my bag I wouldn’t even get to my form room in the morning never mind anything else.

I didn’t get into much trouble, but it would be far less now.

I was at Secondary in the 80s and my boys went to the same school. They considered it too strict, but it was a bike ride compared to when I was there.

95% of the teachers that were there in the 80s were psychos and enjoyed it.

I was a really good kid at school, but I think I’d be in more trouble now, or at least harbouring more disgruntled and rebellious feelings towards my teachers! Also a 90s kid, also really would not have liked some of the very petty uniform rules of today.

If I behaved as I did in the 90s I’d be more in trouble. I wasn’t naughty but would forget homework, pencil case, PE kit, cooking stuff regularly. I also went to the toilet in lessons at least once a day just to get a break and have a wander around.

Hard to say because I moved abroad, but I think my DC's school is more laid back than mine was.

We had to have phones switched off in our bags all day. They seem to be allowed to have them on silent. We of course didn't have smartphones anyway.

We had to ask permission to remove blazer. My DC's school has no uniform. We were expected to remain on site unless having note from parent. DC's school lets them free roam from the age of 10.

Only thing is perhaps when I went to college, I used to smoke on site and I don't think that's allowed any more, but I did used to do it within the designated smoking areas. If you are being overly literal about identical behaviour, then I'd be spending most of my time in an area which has been off-limits for the last 3 years in my old school because it was being treated for asbestos and RAAC removal! But that was about 80% of the school where I was there. It's got loads of new buildings now.

I’d behave differently too, but I still think I’d be in more trouble overall even if I tried hard to follow all the rules. There weren’t blazers, but I don’t know if that was unusual. Children were sent home with nits, conjunctivitis

@LondonLass2026@LateNightOnethat sounds severe. I thought it was easier to expel for violent behaviour previously? It seemed common for PE teachers to think mind over matter about periods and GP help was dismal for those girls. I had heavy periods, but nowhere near as bad as yours. I flood now, but at school I’d only have a couple of days a month where I’d need to change my sanpro hourly. I could go to the toilet between lessons or during a lesson if need be, whereas now I would get negative points/detention or perhaps have to have a temporary pass.

The ease of how things spread hasn’t changed, whether that’s nits or hfm, but schools prioritised the school community above attendance.

@Raiderofthelostbattenburgdisgruntled towards teachers - yes I would! It would have nagged at me and demotivated me. The rules made sense (apart from most PE teachers then and the one or two sadistic teachers that many schools have).

@HelpMeGetThroughin what way?

I think I'd have been ok at primary at least from what I've seen from my DCs school. I don't think that I would have coped well at one of those secondaries that punish for things like looking at the clock during lessons.

I was rarely in trouble at school in the 1980s. I think I might struggle with modern schools' insistence on people wearing or not wearing blazers, jumpers etc. according to an edict rather than body temperature as my body temperature always seems off-kilter with everyone else's, I'm peeling off layers when others are shivering or pulling on cardigans when everyone else is sweating.

Also 'lunch box policing' which I believe happens now - none of our 80s lunchboxes would have passed muster - typical content - sandwich of leftover Sunday roast, small bag of crisps, two-finger KitKat and Panda fizzy drink. Now I understand they have to take fruit and stuff - I wouldn't - still wouldn't - want fruit that had been in my bag all day, I only like it straight out of the fridge.

I highly doubt if I were a child now that my parents as they were then would let me have a smart-phone, so I'd have been OK on that score.

I saw a thread on here about children having to evidence their out--of-school reading by using e-books; that would have pissed me off as I've always preferred paper books. I constantly had my head in a book when I was a child, but often ancient books from charity shops or things I found on the shelves of my bibliophile parents at home - not always age-appropriate, I remember reading a copy of 'Forever Amber' when I was about 11 as it had been mentioned in a Chalet School book, which was an eye-opener! So I would not have been happy at having my reading prescribed, especially if the content was modern children's books, which I don't think are a patch on those of 40+ years ago.

There was a brief stage when I was about 12 where your parents were supposed to sign your homework diary to say you'd spent an hour reading or something ludicrous like that but I simply forged my dad's signature because I didn't want my parents nosing into what I was reading, and it was never questioned because I was known to be a bookish child.

I had abusive parents. I was the kid that turned up to school hungry, occasional suspicious marks and very often late/wrong uniform/forgotten books.

I’d either have been in the same position with a lovely school who tried to help, or I’d be in a school that punished me for having shit parents by getting me more grief at home by giving trouble for wrong uniform etc.

I’m also not sure any HT would take the step mine did after getting so frustrated her repeated attempts to get SS involved came to nothing. She called my grandparents, discussed with them how it was worsening and effectively assisted them in taking us.

in many schools now I’d be in a much worse position and constantly in trouble. Which makes me sad for other kids like me.

I’d be in more trouble . I went to senior school in 1970s. We had teachers who actively hit children in front of the class for grammar mistakes in French. The head kept a cane in his office and people were caned as punishment. For inattention in class you could be smacked on the head with a board rubber. Detentions for incorrect uniform or removing your blazer. School dinners for everyone and it was monitored you ate everything on your plate. I never saw a parent come into school to complain to the staff.
My mum was in hospital for weeks at a time, and dad had to go to work as he was self employed so my sister and I basically looked after ourselves, the house, and our dad. We had no understanding or support whatsoever from school.
Needless to say there was no bad behaviour. I think I’d take my chances more with today’s rules and risk stepping out of line!

@JustAnotherWhinger I’m sorry. What a lifechanging H/T. I’d hope that there would be avenues where a school would help now.

They would take great pleasure in finding ways to hurt you.

Woodwork teacher would lob wood at you and deliberately hit you with it. Metalwork teacher was always a steel ruler.

Sports teacher would join in and kick you “accidentally” if you pissed them off.

The others would randomly lob blackboard rubbers at you and make them hit.

Deranged lunatics the lot of them.

I would probably be worse, and I was not well behaved then! But, it was the 80s and teachers could still regularly fling a wooden board rubber at us. I remember the Deputy Head throwing a metal stool at a pupil too, different times.

And for me, I wasn't badly behaved for no reason, but after years of bullying I gave up caring as I realised at the time, no one cared about me.

I was very rarely in trouble at school, occasionally for not hearing properly, as an adult diagnosed with auditory processing disorder. I would probably be in trouble for interrupting, losing things, forgetting homework these days. 70s/80s school days.

Oh and uniform, home knitted jumpers, colour conformity but not uniform from the official list. DM/ DGM went for cheapest option, not what school prescribed.

If I were at school today, my neurodiversity would probably be recognised, which might help.

Id forgotten school dinners...so jam sandwich, yogurt and fruit was my lunch. Occasionally I had school dinners( cooked on site by dinner lady cooks),

I never got into trouble when I was in school. Myself and dd had/have grammar school education. I think the rules and expectations at her school are pretty exactly the same as they were in the mid- late 90’s. I would say that pastoral care is much better now.

I was undiagnosed at school (ADHD) but I was very well behaved at school and the strict routines and behaviour expectations suited me perfectly. I was at an all girls' school in the 1970s and I was very rule-bound and not having to contend with other pupils' misbehaving meant that it was a calm and quiet environment. It was absolute zero tolerance for bad behaviour of any kind.

My last child left school ten years ago but from their stories I wouldn't have lasted five minutes. The first person hauling off would have had me so unsettled I'd never have learned anything.

It would be hard to be less trouble. I got a single demerit in 5 years for forgetting my Maths book. I was a real spoff and I still am now.

Great thread idea! I went to a really good state school and have sent my oldest to the same one (youngest will start next year, assuming she gets in). It's still really similar and very consistent. Gets good academic results but through strict rules and a fairly positive culture of hard work. What I would say has changed is my own attitudes! They have always been really petty about uniform being absolutely impeccable - picking on even the colour of girls' hair ties or length of socks. I used to be terrified of breaking the rules when I was there, but when I read the emails as a parent I'm rolling my eyes and thinking 'does this stuff really matter?!'

In common with all schools in the 90s (when I went) autism basically didn't exist back then and I do look back and wonder how many of the 'naughty' kids were actually neurodivergent, especially since my youngest is now diagnosed. I'm nervous about her going into secondary as she is high functioning & masking but PDA and has meltdowns at home for me, while behaving elsewhere. But we shall see.