If you go to—or went to—a great, well-run school with good infrastructure, offerings, awesome teachers, and peers, consider yourself lucky. It turns out not all American schools are created equal. Often, it’s the students who pay the price. That could be why some students love school. And others hate it.
American youth have been sharing photos of their schools. A few are really sweet and wholesome. Like the one where kids get a special day to ride their tractors to school. Others might really make you question the state of education in the country. Like the school that spent $1.3 million on new turf for a sports team but claims poverty when it comes to fixing the leaking roof of the main building… Then there’s the institution that somehow thought it was perfectly fine to make top students “donate” a percentage of their grades to those who didn’t do as well.
Bored Panda has put together a list of posts that perfectly show just how different one American school is from the next. Tell us all about your own school experience in the comments, and don’t forget to upvote your favorite pics.
#1 My High School Has “Drive Your Tractor To School” Day (Ohio, US)
Image credits: stevenseagulls
#2 I Go To A Predominantly Republican High School In Texas. This Went On All Day Long From The “Non-Partisan” Teachers
Image credits: long_live_king_melon
#3 Chicago Public School Lunch
Image credits: mhern72
Many believe that American education is in shambles. The Covid pandemic highlighted a lot of the flaws in the system. And while some blame the pandemic for the poor state of learning, others say it isn’t so. In a piece published on the Fordham Institute’s website, David Steiner notes that too many people are stuck sending their kids to underperforming schools.
“Despite nearly $200 billion in emergency federal spending on K–12 schooling, students are doing worse than a decade ago, and lower-performing students are today less capable of doing math than they were thirty-five years ago,” writes the education expert.
#4 My School Put Free Pad And Tampon Vending Machines In The Girls’ Bathrooms
Image credits: KabobsterLobster
#5 My School Has Racks In The Front Office For Kids To Put Their Skateboards On During The Day
Twin Oaks High School in San Marcos.
Image credits: reddit.com
#6 Our School Spent 1.3 Million On New Turf For A 2-8 Team… But I Get To Deal With This Every Time It Rains Because They Can’t Afford To Fix The Roof
As much as it sounds like a meme, of course, it’s in Ohio.
Image credits: OShtTheC0PS
Steiner was commenting on what’s known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP. It’s basically “The Nation’s Report Card,” and according to the National Center for Education Statistics website, it’s “a resource—a common measure of student achievement—because it offers a window into the state of our K-12 education system and what our children are learning.”
What stood out in the NAEP results was the fact that Math and reading scores for 13-year-olds have hit their lowest scores in decades. Steiner cautions that the system is failing children from a very young age.
#7 So When Did Public High School Cafeterias Start Looking More Like Mall Food Courts? (Byron Nelson Hs, Tx)
Image credits: rickythepilot
#8 Found In A Dumpster Behind NYC High School. Donating Books Is So Over Rated
Image credits: speckledorphed
#9 My Town Has 100% Electric School Buses
Image credits: 7b21b9
Steiner likens Pre-K to the Wild West… He explains that students are entering kindergarten with large gaps in their readiness to learn. “Children aren’t seriously assessed until they are 8, by which time it’s too late for sustained intervention; the gaps never close,” he wrote.
And from there, it’s a vicious cycle where the kids pay the price. “Curricula, tests, and teacher education programs exist in deep silos, creating a fragmented system where teachers aren’t trained to teach the materials their schools use and tests don’t test students’ mastery of those materials (with a tiny exception in Louisiana).” the expert added.
#10 A Quote Painted Above Lockers At A Houston, Texas Isd Elementary And Middle School
Image credits: lbeckman
#11 My Friend Got In Trouble For “Pda”
Image credits: After-Employer5610
#12 Columns At A School Are Pencils (MN)
Image credits: keliix06
According to education sector marketing company MDR Education, there are a total of 115,171 schools in the United States. This number is made up of K-12 public and private schools, adult education, and career/technical schools. “With the current U.S. population of about 333 million people, that breaks down to one school for every 2,892 people,” notes the MDR site.
#13 The Line At My School To Check Bags (Keep In Mind That Almost All Of Theses People Are Wearing Clear Backpack) (Mundy Mill)
Image credits: deadpoolplayz14
#14 My Little Sister Ended Up Getting The Same Physics Book I Had In High School, 10 Years Later
My guess is that Physics just isn’t a very popular subject. We’re from Kentucky, and people don’t really value the sciences in the south.
Image credits: MrsBoognish
#15 There Is A School At My Local Shopping Mall (North County Mall In Escondido)
Image credits: TheThirdLugia
The country is also facing a severe lack of educators. American schools have high student-to-teacher ratios driven by a massive K-12 teacher shortage, warns education institution Elevate K-12. “Faced with disciplinary problems and low school funding, schools have focused on staffing classrooms at all costs,” reads that site, adding that class sizes have become larger at the expense of quality teaching.
#16 This High School In Pennsylvania Has Signs That Specify Whether You Can Or Cannot Open The Windows That Day
Image credits: Sdormer
#17 My School Locker Can’t Even Fit My Backpack Because Of Those Shelves
Image credits: zucclivan
#18 “My Friend’s Son Came Home From School Thursday With A Stamp On His Arm That Said “Lunch Money” Because His Account Was Low”
Image credits: reddit.com
According to Elevate K-12, the number of under-qualified teaching hires increased by 69% from 2022–2023. “When students have underqualified teachers or full-time substitutes, they’re more likely to experience learning delays, low graduation rates, and test scores below grade level,” notes the site.
It’s often the poor that feel it the most… And the institution warns that the crisis in public education is “widening student achievement gaps, causing a dangerous feedback loop that disproportionately affects Black students, low-income students, and students with special educational needs.”
#19 Oklahoma Public School Textbooks
Image credits: BookerDeWittsCarbine
#20 South Dakota Teachers Competing Against Each Other For Dollar Bills To Fund Their Classrooms
Image credits: rs16
#21 Bathroom Passes In USA School
Image credits: LikeSnowOnTheBeach
Social media isn’t helping when it comes to the poor state of education and the well-being of learners. “American teenagers stare at social media on a screen almost nine hours every day, with one result being surging loneliness and depression,” wrote Steiner.
#22 This Pencil Vending Machine At The Local Middle School
Image credits: wyn13
#23 School Took Off The Locks And Door To The Restroom. My School Took The Doors And Locks To The Stalls, Because Of “Vandalism” They Have Cameras Pointing To The Doors
Image credits: Chichis_Man_Handle
#24 Is This Gap In The Bathroom Too Big? I Went To The Bathroom Stall And I Noticed This Gap. Is This Normal? I Feel Like You Can Practically See Someone Through It When Walking In
Image credits: Ihavenonumberslol
As we have sown, so shall we reap, warns the expert. He believes that learners are losing out thanks to the very people who are meant to nurture them. “The unique sense of achievement that a student experiences when she or he masters a rigorous skill, digs into deep knowledge, creates a piece of writing or art, completes a challenging science assignment or piece of music—this is all being washed away,” writes the expert.
“We are tired of bad news, and our instinct is now to punish, or at least ignore, the messenger. But our students are desperately the worse for the mess we have made of their schooling.”
#25 Oklahoma Elementary School Has Installed Bulletproof Shelters In Its Classrooms
Image credits: TooShiftyForYou
#26 Our School In Ohio Doesn’t Have Bathroom Stall Doors
Image credits: Adam_the_ginger
#27 Faculty Bathroom At A Prestigious Public High School Ranked As 15th Best In The Us
Image credits: reddit.com
#28 Public School In California Teaching Us How To File Our Taxes
Image credits: zkjel125
#29 Locker Art At My School
Image credits: leiko2302
#30 Picture From My Old High School In El Paso, Texas
The school itself is over 90 years old. It is the oldest in Texas
Image credits: orodriguez2009
#31 This Letter I Got From My Son’s School Today About His Earrings
Image credits: kells_17
#32 My High School Lunch, A Beef Poke Bowl (I’m In California)
Image credits: Throwaway82598
#33 This Sign Is About Two Hundred Yards From My Daughter’s School (Ohio)
Image credits: Ralph–Hinkley
#34 This Is A Public School On Tacoma, WA. Stadium High School
Image credits: wiener_schnitzel_
#35 Sign At An Elementary School In Texas
Image credits: schreechingnoisw
#36 Refreshing Signs Posted Outside Some Of My Sons Public Elementary School Classrooms
Image credits: superexcitedok
#37 My Niece Has Coal Propaganda For Homework. (Kentucky Public School)
Image credits: Adam_Barrow
#38 This Happened At My School When They Tried To Stop Huge Gatherings By Closing Off The Commons
Image credits: reddit.com
#39 This Was Painted To The Wall Of My School
Image credits: Potwats
#40 What My School Put Into The Restrooms
Image credits: nathanielx9
#41 Looks Like School Lunches Are Making The Rounds Here Again: United States, Public Middle School
Image credits: bibliophile222
#42 The Shooting Range At My Texas High School
Image credits: B3tta_
#43 Schools Don’t Have Time To Teach Us Life Skills But Have Time To Make It So I Can Buy A Hunting License??? (8th Grade And I Didn’t Ask For This Whatsoever)
Image credits: reddit.com
#44 Vape Sensor Notice For High School Bathrooms
Image credits: URappinAwful
#45 My School Uses Purple Carpet To Indicate The Classroom Doors That Swing Out
Image credits: EricByDefinition
#46 The Fact That My School Thought That 1 Way Hallways Were A Good Idea (I’m Late To Third Period Most Of The Time Now)
Image credits: Eddy5876
#47 Genuinely Cool Thing My School Does. This Bin Has Ice On The Bottom So Any Student That Don’t Want Their Fruit That Is Mandatory To Grab With Lunch Can Be Put Into A Cold Area
Other students who are still hungry can get it. Anything that isn’t taken at the end of the day is put back into rotation the next day, that way there isn’t any untouched fruit wasted.
Image credits: weirdboi3
#48 My Schools Fire Defense, Almost All Of These Are Like This
Image credits: ITZPHE
#49 These Lockers At Our School
Image credits: ShrekD_M8
#50 My School Recently Implemented A Police Alarm. First Time Seeing This
Image credits: Sero2020
#51 Found Microscopes Just Tossed In A Bin In A Room Where All Supplies Go To Die. They All Work Btw. Can’t Help But Think Of All The Schools That Could Benefit From These
Image credits: bunnymamallama
#52 The Random Assortment Of Lights Mixed With The Differently Shaded Ceiling Tiles At My School Make Me Want To End It All
Image credits: Yung-QumKuat
#53 There Is A Section At My School For Books That Have Been Banned In Other Countries
Image credits: greatgap
#54 My Cousin’s Daughter Graduated From My Alma Mater, John Handley High School, This Past Saturday. The Most Visually Stunning High School In Virginia
Image credits: pudwhacker13
#55 My High School Spent $15,000 On A 2×2 TV Just To Show Morning Announcements
Image credits: Moisty_Merks
#56 My Daughter Has A Project At Her Private School. The Negatives Of Living In Rural Texas
Image credits: srmacman
#57 The Back Of My High School Parking Pass Has An Ad For The Army National Guard
Image credits: hms-hecla
#58 My School Disabled Offline Editing And I Can’t Do My Work
Image credits: lazyshadowking
#59 Is My School The Only One That Had These?
Image credits: LilPythonYT_Official
#60 Came Across All Of My Old Family Life Material From Middle/High School
Image credits: reddit.com
#61 My Schools “Full Renovation” Budget. The School Year Has Been Delayed Months Because Of This
Some context: this is a public Highschool, the rest of the building is mostly ok, but not great. Biggest problem I know of is heat that stops working if it gets too cold outside, at like 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit. This is in Minnesota.
Image credits: Lucky-Cars-4524
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