People love giving unsolicited advice to high school students, even if that advice is unfounded, misguided, and totally unproductive. For instance, the concept that these four years will determine how you end up spending the rest of your life is not only incredibly false but also potentially damaging to a teenager. Most of these nuggets of so-called “advice” likely stem from adults who have complex relationships with their own high school experiences. Perhaps they regret their approach to their…

Sometimes, there is no point in pretending you know the answer on a test. Perhaps you didn't study or perhaps you're just drawing a blank. For whatever reason, you have absolutely no idea what to say and you can't even venture an educated guess. At this point, you know you're not getting any points on this question (and maybe even on the whole test). So, what does one do in this situation? Do you leave the question blank? Do you waste time trying to fabricate an educated guess despite the fact…

Every school has a niche, strange rule that makes absolutely no sense to the outside eye. There is something simultaneously hilarious and horrifying about reflecting on your school experience and why certain regulations were implemented. For instance, when I was in middle school, I went to an all-boys institution that somehow did not scar me for life (thankfully, I was properly socialized at an all-gender high school in subsequent years). However, my school had this extremely antiquated idea of…

Teaching takes more self-restraint than most jobs. As a former tutor of high school kids and the child of a teacher, I can attest to the fact that there are a million thoughts your teachers have about you and your classmates, and it takes absolutely every bit of their brain power to stop themselves from saying the things that they probably shouldn't. Some of these thoughts include hot takes about students with bad body odor, students who have obvious crushes on their other classmates, and stude…

Everyone has at least ten cringe memories from high school and perhaps a few wholesome ones too. For me, it's mostly cringe but every so often I remember that one time I knocked my Halloween costume out of the park or when I got a big solo in chorus. For the most part, though, I'm just like everyone else. I was known for something, and that was being in the school plays. I was largely protected from ridicule, though, because my theater kid status meant I did have some cooler, older friends. But…

Who knew that a round of golf would be the key to getting even with a domineering high school teacher? Look, we all had that one teacher who was unnecessarily strict, stubborn, and rude. That teacher who wouldn't let students have their moment of freedom. In this case, that moment of freedom was the Senior Skip Day tradition. This Redditor shared a tale of r/MaliciousCompliance about her Dad back when he was a high school senior. Every teacher seemed to understand that Senior Skip Day was a tra…