What can yo do there?

Is it any wonder that "no" is one of the first words out of a two-year old's mouth?

Wow- you went to the Gym of Negativity. My favorite- the handwritten list- No water, coffee, soda, liquid of any kind. Oh, that's what they meant by no drinks.

I take it less as authoritarianism, and more a reflection of the decline of polite society. Respect and common sense have left the building. sigh.

"Signs! Signs! Everywhere signs!" Anyone? No?

Do this, don't do that, can't you read the siiiiigns?! (Thanks, Saucygrrl!)

And Laurie, I love how you wrote "DAMN!" right under the No Profanity sign. :)

An interesting comment on our educational system. :)

An interesting comment on our educational system. :)

This is why I'm so happy not to be in high school anymore.

I was helping out an old teacher recently, and I had a note to deliver to another teacher. I tried his classroom's door and couldn't open it. IT WAS LOCKED. He LOCKED HIS STUDENTS IN. GAAAAAAAAAH.

That freaked me out good and proper.

Wow that's a lot of signs, kinda like sign overload. How can one be expected to remember all those rules? There's too many signs. UGH.........

At least none of them said, "No Knitting."

And this is where kids go to get some positive self-image and learnin'? DOn't see how that's possible. "Just sit there and be QUIET, Timmy! You konw the rules!"

No Way!!!

I like "no half-court shots." Because God only knows where they would land. . .

"They tried to make me go to rehab but I said, NO, NO, NO!"

Okay, well maybe...

I beg to differ with Kymba. It's not so much a reflection on the educational system as on parenting. When I was in the classroom, I constantly had to remind students of acceptable behavior -- like no profanity. Their response? "But I do this at home..."

no fun.
I like the 'pants at waist' rule.

So very passive-aggressive.

How about this sign?

Please...

Have fun
Respect each other
Leave the building in the condition in which you found it.

Ohhh...yuck! Where were you, Passive Aggressive Fascistville?

Also, you must have missed a few as you discovered all these "no no's."

Oh my lord.

I especially like the "pants at waist" rule. It's a good thing someone was bright enough not to put a giant NO at the top of that list.

Well, no wonder kids are showing up to school with weapons. When all you hear is "don't do this, and don't do that," it's obvious no adults trust your judgment. They're creating angry little boys and girls with that kind of stuff, if you ask me.

And, don't all jump me for being an overly permissive adult - my kids are more well-behaved in public than at home somehow. I just can't see how that much negative feedback is good for anyone. There have to be better ways to go about it.

I have to say that having locked doors is not uncommon in high schools today. I was teaching when Columbine happened and we were instructed to lock our doors at all times. Many systems include this is part of their safety plan. I hate this about our world today, but that is the way it is.

How very... restrictive. :/

Home school, people! Seriously. The last time I sat in a public school office (formerly a junior high and now a "middle" school, where evil abounds, apparently..) waiting to bring a child to the dentist, I knew without a doubt that I'd sentenced my kids to a daytime correctional facility. From those times, and from our raising 2 sets of 2 kids and having many serious concerns over the years, I'm rather sure that for the most part, parents are looked upon only as being either interlopers or enablers.

And I thought that Germany's pretty heavy on the prohibition signs....this, however, has brought it to a new level.

Excellent photo commentary...however I do now have that "sign, sign" song playing endlessly in my head. I used to love that song...don't let The Man keep you down!

"...Clogging up the scenery, breaking my mind" (I am guessing at the lyrics here!!)

This reminds me of the song "NO!" from the band, 'They Must Be Giants'...

What? Where's the "no photography" sign? What kind of liberal, permissive, freaky place is this, to allow photography of their "no ___" signs?

"Do this, don't do that - can't you read the siiiigns..."

Back atcha Marilyn.

I can't believe they let all these kids in....

there should be a sign!

hehehe

just another reason I homeschool ;-)

I think that what the gym has had to do.. is post a sign for 'everything' that MOST PEOPLE would know you shouldn't do.. and thus the hand-written list of liquids.. they apparently had some people who 'thought that their own personal liquids' were the exception.

Or as a Middle School student told me yesterday, during her first day of class in the new 2nd semester, (some classes change at semester).. when I had to take her into the hall for a 'private talk' when she continued to NOT MIND and respond RUDELY/etc.

HER response? "Well, you didn't tell ME that you didn't want ME to mis-behave." (please notice the ME being in caps! If I could make them 2 inches tall I would.)

I told her.. that THAT WAS what her own personal brain was for.. previous teacher's expectations, and maybe even her parents had told her in the past 8 years of schooling (count K grade too) about what is appropriate behavior or not. AND, especially.. today, when I had been giving her specific 'behaviors' to stop.. that that THOSE WERE 'directions' that I was expecting her to follow.

SIGH.. what has happened a lot in the past 10 years.. there's more and more of.. students 'actually denying things while they are actually doing it'.. parents believing ALBSOLUTELY everything that their child tells them.. no matter what.. (sometimes children are not perfect angels that the parents might believe or be conned into thinking that they are)

I can't count how many times.. I've had to say to students who are "DENYING" what you just simply told them to stop a particular behavior.. and when they DENY (whatever you've asked them not to do).._________(fill in name) you are currently doing it right now. Please notice this. Denying something doesn't make it disappear!.. (we are not talking that they been accused of stealing something)

My favorite "NO" sign:

Welcome to my OOL. Notice there is no P in it. Please keep it that way.

I also have many wonderful responsible children in every class.. and I do send email messages home to the parents to let them know how their child behaves in class. Those parents are so appreciated and their parenting is paying off.

This is why I have no desire to be anywhere near K-12.

P.S. It's nice to see you got to spend some time away from, ahem, StormWatch 2008-Land.

"No pants at waist"?

Huh?

I like "reclaimed water, do not drink." If they explained the meaning of "reclaimed," no one would want to drink it.

Maybe Florida is 'way different than So.Cal. Today's L.A. Times has a (second) piece from one of its columnists on the reaction to a group of teenagers, presumed to be from one or both of the two nearby High Schools, running through a 7-11 stealing things and knocking items off shelves, in full view of the security video camera.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-banks29jan29,1,6070664.column?ctrack=1&cset=true

Some of the email the columnist received suggested that showing the video in public would, as has happened in previous cases, just turn the kids into celebrities rather than result in any punishment.

What's considered 'acceptable' has sure changed since I was in High School, not so very far away from where this happened!!!

no, no, no, No, NO, NO, NO, Yes..opps!!

The sad thing is that they had many situations that made someone deem these essential. I personally like the "Caution: Liquid Hot" on coffee cups after someone got all upset that their coffee was hot!

I was one of the lucky-pants winners of a signed copy of your book and a signed bag of Cheetos, and I wanted to thank you for having this contest! I had never eaten Cheetos with chopsticks before, and I must say that it is awesome. I ate the whole bag in one day, which I feel like is what one is suppposed to do with a bag of Cheetos. My stomach hurt a little but my sense of indulgence was flying high. I put the tiny plastic cat on my desk, and apparently while I was gone, my roommate's cat tried to kill it during one of her rampages. I've put it somewhere else now, so that it doesn't get sacrificed. Thanks again!

What on earth can you do there? Makes me want to eat, drink and curse like a sailor. Oh and wear my pants down low.

No SH@#!

Damn...are you allowed to breathe?

how welcoming! NOT!

Please tell me when you read the 'pants at waist' you went in with them at your waist, and over your head! After all, they never specified direction...

You should go to the beach in Atlantic City. There are signs 20 feet tall with a list of things you're not allowed to do in remarkably small type (about 60 point, which is big for a business card, but small for such a big sign. I have never seen so much prohibited in one sign.

Hi Laurie,
I think you might enjoy this link :-)

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/

I never realized how inefffective signs were until I worked in liquidation retail. I had a big yellow sign over my head that said 'all sales final.' I'd say maybe 50% of customers read it. Then when we closed, we watched people pull on all doors neglecting the poster-sized signs that said 'store closed.'
I think this also shows the lack of influence decency has on society now (ex. you have to be told not to swear). That and shots of celebrity, er, nether-regions.

bet the players get thirsty with NOthing to drink.

NOt good.

:)

Hmmm. Like the first reader said, "What *can* you do there?". And I'm wondering about the no practice during open play time? That's just weird. How can they tell you're practiciing? And do they come ask anyone who is not 'open playing' if they're a member of any type of league at all? Can you just imagine?

they should include one more sign.
"No Having Fun! No Exceptions!"
or
"No Laughing or Cheering Allowed"

Yeah, no laughing, cheering or fun allowed in the School of Negativity. And we wonder why they hate it and us.

errr.... for those who live in those peaceful places where they don't understand the "pants at waist" sign --

wearing pants several sizes too large and letting them sag down halfway to the boy's knees is one of the standard street gang uniforms. Kids who don't belong to gangs have been shot and killed for wearing this fashionable attire, since many gang members have eyes without brains and react like rabid pitbulls with fully automatic firearms.

Interpretation: any time they see someone exhibiting any sign of belonging to a street gang, and don't recognize the person as belonging to their own gang, they spray the area/car/house the interloper is in with bullets.

This tends to kill more non-gang members than actual gang members. Unfortunately, those kids stupid enough to think that looking like a gang member is 'cool', are a big danger to anyone in their vicinity, since the gangsters with automatic weapons act like learning to aim the thing is a sign of cowardice.

Sorry for the rant. Maybe I need to stop reading the newspaper and/or get myself a frontal lobotomy.

When my younger brother (at the time, aged 3ish) was asked his name, he immediately responded, "No Neal!"

...causing considerable embarrassment to my mother. At 27, we still occasionally call him that.

lol
excellent photo essay.
no wonder i stay away from the gym.

mck.

LOL. Excellent post. Very entertaining. Unlike being in that gym!

I thought of the same thing as Laurie (too) - the They Might Be Giants song! "No means no, no is always no, when they say no it means a thousand times no!" Hehehe.

An appropriate place for a Boy Scout function.

Ormond Beach? You were in ormond beach? Florida? But I live in Ormond Beach. I am so sad that I missed you....