Young Writers Society

I know nothing of school.... and I'm writing a story where the characters go to school... SURPRISE!!!! Anyway, all I have to go on is movies... and we all know how accurate those are.

1) How much time do you have between classes?

2) What can you get away with?/What can you NOT get away with?

3) What's the deal with all the drama? Is it really as bad as they say?

4) Anything else you think I should know? Cause I really don't know! XD

The answer to the first question depends on where you go to school, for example we have a lot of double periods, two in the morning, two after recess and then two at the end of the day, or two singles at the end of the day. But that's in Australia (and it's different at a lot of schools even here) and unless you're setting it here that probably doesn't help.

Question two, it also depends on whether the school is strict or not. Some schools you can get away with a lot, at others very little. My school has a uniform, but even at schools without them there are usually dress codes. For example, my friend went on exchange to the US and she got in trouble for wearing yoga pants because it was against the dress code.

3 - Not really, depends on the kind of people you're around. Exams can cause a little bit of stress, but on the whole, school tends to be pretty dull and uneventful.

Basically, end of story is that every school's different, so if you take a few guesses you'll probably be okay. Good luck with your story!

Are you homeschooled? :O

1. It depends, honestly. I'm American, so we have differing schedules from, say, the British schooling system. If we're talking about a seven-period schedule, then each period would be roughly forty minutes to an hour. Give a one hour lunch, plus ten minutes of brunch and five minutes for in-between classes, I'd say it's roughly eight hours at school, from 8:10-3:20. That's how it is at my school. Well, we have a thing called block schedules, but that's too complex to explain.

2. Well, you can't get away with a lot. You can't text during class, you can't get into fights, you can't steal, basic things.

3. The drama depends on who your friends are and who you are. It's hard to explain. Girls can be catty and fight over boys. Boys can be stupid and break girls hearts. People do drugs and have sex and have babies and it's a lot to explain. It just depends on who you associate with


4. Good luck.

Hm... thanks @TriSARAHtops and @Iggy! ( Yes, I'm homeschooled ) I just was starting to second guess, and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't completely wacko. XD
Good to know!

I'm American, but my high school experience was somewhat atypical since it was three high schools on one campus with over 6,000 students.

1. My school went from 7:15-2:10, with 6 fifty minute classes and a 40 minute lunch after either 3rd or 4th period. We had a ten minute passing time between classes because our school was so big. I think five minutes may be more typical. I also didn't use my locker since I moved around so much, but I feel like normal students have to since they're not supposed to take coats/backpacks around with them.

2. What you can get away with depends on not just the school, but the individual teacher. When I went, we technically had a no cell phone policy and you'd get suspended immediately if they saw it, but I don't think that was ever enforced and it has since been relaxed (Iggy, I think she meant what you can get away with, not what the rules are ). Eating/drinking outside of the cafeteria can also be a big deal, especially with all the food allergies people have. This was sometimes enforcedd, sometimes not. Tardiness depended on the teacher. Some were nice about it, especially given how long it took to get from building to building, and some would threaten detention away.

We had a very loose dresscode, but again, it wasn't always strictly enforced. One time in my last class of the day, a teacher made a student turn his shirt inside out because of an inappropriate phrase. Apparently none of his other teachers noticed or cared.

I've also heard rumors about people getting away with *ahem* "having relations* in the bathrooms, but I have no firsthand experience with that, nor do I see the appeal.

What will really get you in trouble pretty much anywhere are harming people, destroying property, and making threats about bombings/shootings. After I graduated, the school got locked down multiple times due to such threats. A long time ago, a physics teacher got sanctioned for bringing in a BB gun for a demo. School officials do not screw around with such threats.

3. In my close group of friends, the drama got much worse after high school. Again, I think this would depend a lot on the size of the school. Since mine was so big, you don't really know everyone well enough to have gossip like you might in a smaller school. Everyone mostly associated with their groups/clubs/teams.

4. If you have any high-achieving characters in your story (say, the kind who want to go to Harvard or Stanford), they are going to be stretched to the limits. In the US, they will need (at least) 3-4 AP Classes per year, near perfect SAT/ACT scores, be active in multiple clubs and/or sports, be on the executive board of one of those clubs, and volunteer. These people also tend to fight their teachers for every last point (a 97 is not good enough).

If your character's in marching band, they're probably not doing much else (it is a huge time commitment, especially from June to November).

If sports are involved in your story at all, it might be good to look up the relevant seasons so your timing makes sense (your football team isn't going to have a big game in March).

For public schools, every state has different required courses and districts may have additional. It might be good to look up a nearby school district (or one near where you want to set the story in) and see what classes are required and what electives are available. Generally there's little wiggle room in the first two years but more space for electives in the last couple years (an artsy character would still have to take 3 years of science before loading up on art classes).

Sorry I rambled so much. Guess I'm getting old enough now to actually like talking about high school.

My school went from 8:35 - 3:15.
On a normal day we had five periods. Two in the morning, a short break, one, lunch break, then two in the afternoon. Apart from the breaks there are no gaps between glasses, you just walk straight to your next class.
For the more involved people there would be extracurricular activities after school, for example, I had orchestra until 5 pm.
Our school has an irregular Friday with two extra periods so you could fit your entire scheduled into one day to balance it out.

My school highly encouraged the use of technological devices for research during class, and I know that several years below me had to compulsorily bring a net-capable device.

We had uniforms, and as much downput they get, I absolutely loved them. the freedom of not having to choose what to wear in the morning and not having to worry was so liberating.
Those in the final year of school, wore a unique uniform different to the lower-class, which made them look more formal and superior.

I went to school in quite a high-class area, and although I know I am quite oblivious and naive, nothing bad, like drugs, went on in school unlike how it can be portrayed in the media.
In contrary to what many of the people above have been saying, there was a very positive educational experience. (However that may lay in the fact that I'm not american.)

I went to an Irish boarding school but hey, perspectives!

1) How much time do you have between classes?

None, just enough to walk from one classroom to another, we had a big campus with classrooms in different buildings. We had breakfast at 7-8, chapel at 8.15, three classes between 8.45 and 11, a break from 11 to 11.30, two more classes, then lunch for about an hour and a quarter. Then depending on the time of year, we either had two more classes and then sport, or sport then two more classes (because it gets so dark so early here in the winter months that hockey/rugby aren't going to happen). Then we had supper at 5.30 and at 6.30 we had prep/supervised study which went on for different times depending on how old you were - ie first years had an hour and a half, sixth years had nearly three hours (plus an extra forty five minutes between 10 and 10.45 if you wanted as exams got closer).

2) What can you get away with?/What can you NOT get away with?

There were three cardinal sins in my school: 1) smoking, 2) drinking, 3) being out of house after in-house time/curfew. Those would all result in "restriction" which was like an amalgamation of all the punishments, or, if you were really bad, suspension. We had an incredibly strict uniform, top buttons had to be done up for boys, girls' skirts couldn't be too short, your shoes had to be polished. No nail polish and if you wore too much make up you'd be sent out of class by some teachers to go wash your face. Also not too many bracelets or rings, but other jewellery they were mainly okay with. As you got older, you could get away with more, for instance a second year in a boarding house of the opposite sex would be in big trouble, but a fifth year mightn't be (unless you weren't doing something illicit!)

3) What's the deal with all the drama? Is it really as bad as they say?

Drama is drama wherever you go. It's definitely higher in school because you're all going through puberty, and it's a strange combination of people. Like in college, you usually find people just like you, in school you're just stuck with the people who are there. Girls can be catty, but boys are just as nasty and often worse. There aren't really defined cliques like there are in movies, and no one really cares if you're good at sport or whatever. Some of the girls act stupid to get boys but not all of them. Sometimes people are horrible in a group but good on their own. There was always drama after a party, no matter what.

4) Anything else you think I should know? Cause I really don't know! XD

Our school we had an amazing relationship with our teachers, and you should remember that teachers can play a big part in your lives!

I’m from Northern Ireland and I go to a relatively big secondary school. Every day we have assembly at 08:45 and classes begin at 9:05. We have six lessons in total all of which are 55 minuets long. Oh and it’s an all girls catholic school with the uniform and everything.

1)How much time do you have between classes?
Not a lot of time really, we go from one class to another with no break until lunch at 12:25. Although being sixth year you do get a short break at 10:05 if you have no lesson.

2) What can you get away with? /What can you NOT get away with?
Makeup and phones are a big no no where I go. (Ha I unintentionally rhymed) Personally I don’t wear makeup because icky, my phone I cannot live without but if you get caught the school keep it for a whole day. So if you get caught on a Friday then you have no phone all weekend. We have a lot of computers but all of the content is blocked unless it’s educational. So we don’t really have anything we can get away with sadly.

3) What's the deal with all the drama? Is it really as bad as they say?
It depends what you count as drama. In my school you hear about different fights and stuff but usually its snide remarks to each other and staring to make the person feel very uncomfortable. Don’t say anything you will regret that’s the only advice I’d have.

4) Anything else you think I should know? Cause I really don't know! XD
School is really tiring and from what I’ve experienced lessons can feel like lifetimes if you hate them enough. Double periods are a nightmare when you are exhausted and having three hours of the same class is the reason someone will be stabbed in the future. (I kid)
Girl’s don’t physically fight as much as boys but they have claws and shit they say hurts, I wish we had boys though, it could calm some people down I think (Don’t ask why I have weird personal opinions)

Wow. This is really interesting, and helpful. Thanks guys!

I just thought of more questions...

5) What's with bullying? Is that something that mostly happens to everyone?

6) From what I've heard, cafeteria food isn't too good. Is that true? Do many people eat there?

I can't think of anything else...

1) How much time do you have between classes?

After...
First class: 11 minutes.

Second: 11 minutes.

Third: 35 minutes(?)

Fourth: 11 minutes.

2) What can you get away with?/What can you NOT get away with?

Well I don't have that many examples, but in Norway we get adverse remarks, I do not know if you have that in the States(Or any other places).
If you get too many adverse remarks you get your behaviour and order grades lowered.

Sometimes if you get too late for the class, you can get away with an adverse remark if it's not too late. You can get away with things like forgetting books and stuff, as long as you get them fast. They are not too strict about everything, but it depends on the teacher.

3) What's the deal with all the drama? Is it really as bad as they say?

Well the drama can get pretty bad, some fights can be seen once in a while, but rarely. It tends to be a lot of drama usually, but not as bad as they say.

4) Anything else you think I should know? Cause I really don't know! XD

Not pretty much I can remember atm.

5) What's with bullying? Is that something that mostly happens to everyone?

Bullying, well..
In my opinion, there is a lot of bullying at school, just not anything you see. It happens to only a few, that I know of.

6) From what I've heard, cafeteria food isn't too good. Is that true? Do many people eat there?

In Norway it isn't really cafeteria food, but sometimes there are different classes who make some food and sell it to earn money. I haven't really tasted it.

Not too much informative, but what I could remember know.
Ask me if you're wondering about anything else!

- Zontafer

I go to both a boys and girls school here in the UK* (It's complicated to explain - timetable clashes etc so I do some subjects there. Also the upper years are supposed to be 'mixed' but they aren't) and they're very different.

1) How much time do you have between classes?

Generally, very little. I'd say about three minutes between them - the corridors are always very cramped because of how old the buildings are and thus normally we leave our stuff in lockers. Depending on what year/grade you're in you can also get a detention if you're late for class.

2) What can you get away with?/What can you NOT get away with?

Apart from the illegal, not very much. This depends on how relaxed the teacher is - if they're nice or they think you're a good student they won't care if you don't do the homework. Others, however, give you a detention every time, but the older you get, the it's harder to find yourself in trouble for the smallest things.

Selling confectionary is surprisingly common here! You're technically not supposed to, however. You're also not allowed to eat in the playground, in class (especially not chewing gum), or anywhere that isn't the canteen (or cafeteria).

3) What's the deal with all the drama? Is it really as bad as they say?

Again, that depends on your friends. However I've noticed at my school (the boys one) that you don't see as much drama as most people tend to ignore it and consider it juvenile. I haven't been at the other school for long enough to judge but it seems the same too.

Obviously this depends on what the drama is about, too!

4) Anything else you think I should know? Cause I really don't know! XD

Yes. Don't always believe the movies!

The movies tend to exaggerate because normal school life can often be quite mundane (or at least that's what I drew from it all xD) To get a more realistic idea of it, take it with a pinch of salt. There is a grain of truth in it all but normal school life can be a lot more mundane.

5) What's with bullying? Is that something that mostly happens to everyone?

Again this depends on your school. My experience is that it's nothing like the movies portray it to be - rather, the year (grade) 7s try to provoke the year 11 into chasing them! You also see some of the older years run off with someone's football or they kick them off the pitch but as to bullying between the years, it's uncommon.

Having said that, bullying does happen. The bullying in the younger years tends to be name calling and teasing or excluding people from things. It can be quite childish sometimes. Occasionally it does get physical but mostly pushing and shoving. There is a lot of ridicule however from everyone against a person... for example, there was this Nepalese boy with a very strong accent and who wasn't fluent in English when he joined our school and everyone would imitate his accent and make fun of him by copying his accent. It's honestly about your interpretation of it - it could be seen as you being teased 'affectionately' by the others or it could be seen as malicious (although it's kind of in the middle).

Oh and PE (gym) was always a nightmare. I always got picked last xD I don't think showers are compulsory anymore though.

6) From what I've heard, cafeteria food isn't too good. Is that true? Do many people eat there?

Again, depends on the school but I think it mostly leans on the 'yuck' side. Going to the shops outside school at lunch to buy sweets is far more common. It was edible at our school but not particularly appealing, with all the water at the bottom of the pasta.... yuck

Any questions, feel free to ask too

I have 'we're all in this together' in my head... ><

XD Thanks!

Can I turn the question back on you? I.e. what was your homeschool experience like? Are you taught at home for 'religious' (really dislike that word, I do) reasons or otherwise?

I'm curious because I myself was homeschooled for several years. Obviously not everyone's experience is the same, so.

Hey! So, I've been in public school in Florida for 11 years from Kindergarten (does that even count?) through 10th grade. I am now homeschooled as of this, my junior year.

Time between classes
We really only had enough time to walk from one class to another. There was a limit; I think it was 3 minutes. On a sizeable campus, sometimes that's what it took to go from one corner to the other. Definitely no time to hang around and chat, as you see in the movies.

What you can get away with/not get away with
I was typically a good kid... >.> <.< The rules were that you couldn't text in class, you couldn't talk back to the teacher, you couldn't just walk out of the classroom. There were some students who managed to text anyway, as some are too talented for their own good and could text with their phones in their pockets. o_O There were also some hotheads who would talk back to the teacher, and then be sent to the dean's office. If you wanted to leave the classroom, there were specific places you were allowed to go, and you had to get a pass signed by the teacher. Some were more willing than others. Occasionally a really strict teacher would call another teacher/staff member (depending on where the kid was going) and say that the kid was given x number of minutes to get there.

Drama
No, drama is NOT terrible! It's a wonderful class; you get to put on plays, and... Oh, wait. THAT drama. >.< YES, it's AWFUL. There are some kids who live on drama. Girls would date a guy intending to dump him, then be completely heartbroken when he ended it before she did. Plenty of depressed people. In one circle of friends, a girl named Sarah brought a cake with rainbow frosting to lunch. She announced that she considered herself a boy, and that she wanted everyone else to call her 'Brandon' and use male pronouns when addressing her. I personally couldn't do it, but I made it clear that I still loved her and wanted to be her friend. Later on, I addressed a question to her, calling her 'Sarah'. She ignored me. A friend nudged her and said, "Hey, she asked you a question." Her answer was, "I know. I'm not going to answer until she uses my real name." Which I had. But anyway.

Definitely drama.

Bullying
Does it happen to everyone? I think to some extent, but nowadays, many things that could be considered insulting or bullying are merely brushed off-- at least, on the outside-- as friendly, even loving. Even the popular kids will be the receiver of such words, though they obviously are either endeared by them or are too cool to even bother with what was said. (I was not a popular kid.) As for us lowly types, it really just depends on how cool you were, even if you weren't Ken or Barbie. If you knew how to set off a bomb, you were pretty much left alone.

Cafeteria food
Hmm... In elementary school, I actually looked forward to lunch. My favorite was either rice or mashed potatoes with gravy and chunks of turkey. ^_^ Middle and high school, though, wasn't as grand. I could usually find something on the menu each day that I could stomach. My main complaint was that the portions were too small and overpriced. $3.50 could get you ONE slice of pizza, about four ounces of fruit, and either a pouch of juice or a pint of milk.

Anything Else
Well... Not all teachers are evil, but not all are angels. One of my teachers, who was close to retiring, didn't care about the rules saying that we're not supposed to discuss politics in class. She had near screaming matches with kids openly around election time. But she was really sweet and definitely cared about her kids. In my school, at least, there were LOTS of kids who did drugs, and I personally knew of 8 girls who were pregnant. I can't really think of anything else to say; let me know if you have questions!

P.s. Homeschool is WAY better!!! I actually have more friends now than I did in public school; there goes that "homeschoolers are anti-social" myth.