New OOTS products from CafePress
New OOTS t-shirts, ornaments, mugs, bags, and more
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 30 of 68
  1. - Top - End - #1
    Dwarf in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jan 2021

    Default Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    You might hear stories about people getting stuffed in their locker and if you search the internet you find both people with personal experience with it and programs for teachers to deal with it.
    This rises the question: "What do students need lockers the size of a student for?"
    As a student who has gone his entire schooling life without using his locker he would have never fit in(, because of the grounded fear of forgetting things not attached to their body.) I might have a skewed view of how lockers work, but I thought based on how it worked in my school that
    a. students only put the things in their locker that they're using until the next break(the major selling point)
    b. Even the entire rack of things I needed as a student for one year didn't take the same amount of space as me.
    If it is to give room for organization, why don't schools install trays to help with the organisation and avoid kids getting stuffed in.

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Pixie in the Playground
    Join Date
    Feb 2021
    Location
    Sweden

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Smoutwortel View Post
    You might hear stories about people getting stuffed in their locker and if you search the internet you find both people with personal experience with it and programs for teachers to deal with it.
    This rises the question: "What do students need lockers the size of a student for?"
    As a student who has gone his entire schooling life without using his locker he would have never fit in(, because of the grounded fear of forgetting things not attached to their body.) I might have a skewed view of how lockers work, but I thought based on how it worked in my school that
    a. students only put the things in their locker that they're using until the next break(the major selling point)
    b. Even the entire rack of things I needed as a student for one year didn't take the same amount of space as me.
    If it is to give room for organization, why don't schools install trays to help with the organisation and avoid kids getting stuffed in.
    Don't worry. Get back to school and do not fear the locker.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Fyraltari's Avatar

    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    France
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    When I was in highschool we had lockers about the size of a backpack which made sense since it we only used them to store our backpacks during lunch break. Of course they were still big enough for the youngest of us to fit inside provided they folded themselves (hugging their knees and all). Then again, this was kind of a moot point since people apparently went around ripping the doors of the closets off their hinges.
    Last edited by Fyraltari; 2021-02-06 at 12:42 PM.
    Forum Wisdom

    Mage avatar by smutmulch & linklele.

  4. - Top - End - #4

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    The lockers are sized for things like raincoats and are basically a holdover from another time when people actually wore raincoats.

  5. - Top - End - #5
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Chimera

    Join Date
    Dec 2015

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    I am going to assume that a locker tends to be made under the assumption that a student may need a backpack, books, lunch, outdoor inclement weather gear, a musical instrument (if they are in band or the like), along with stuff like changes of clothes for athletic activities (presumably if they are on something like the football or nordic skiing teams, where they have bulky specialized equipment, that stuff will be stored by the athletic department somehow). I'm sure there could be some configuration where it would be easy to store all of this, but hard to fit a small (most likely to be bullied) student into it, but I doubt it would be convenient (from an access, space-used, and construction perspectives).

    Moreover, I think the number of students who actually get shoved into lockers is significantly lower than the cultural meme it has become suggests. It's one of those things (giving someone a swirly being another example) that is significantly more easily done in a comic or tv show than it is in real life. People flail, people yell and scream. Perhaps most importantly, if you ______ (something else) another student, you just say, 'no I didn't, that never happened.' If you stuff someone in a locker, the teachers darn well know that someone actually did it (since they find the student stuffed in the locker), and the only defense is 'well it wasn't me.' In my experience (which I recognize is not universal), what really happens a lot is the more convenient things like bullies calling the bullied names, throwing food at them, tripping or pushing them, or even punching/hitting them. I think that's the primary reason for the lockers as they are -- kids being stuffed into them simply isn't a major issue, even within the topic of student-on-student bullying, and as such isn't a major decision factor in how schools are built/furnished.

  6. - Top - End - #6
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Anonymouswizard's Avatar

    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    In my library

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    My secondary school only had lockers for the younger years, and then only if you rented them. They were mainly for storing stuff you wouldn't take home, and were about the size of a backpack.

    Thinking back now, I can't clearly remember how bags were dealt with on breaks, in primary school you left them at your seat in the classroom, because IME primary schools assigned one teacher and one classroom per class with very occasional cases of swapping teachers for certain subjects.

    But in secondary school I think we just kept them with us during break and dropped them if we were to play sportsfootball. Being somebody who never joined in with the games I believe I just wore my bag throughout break unless I was in the library, then when break finished you just went straight to the classroom and pulled your materials out.
    If you brought a coat or PE kit you pretty much had to carry it around all day, and as everybody did that there wasn't any major problem with it.

    Note that we also didn't shower after PE, while at least some of the changing rooms had showers (in secondary school) there was never the time or requirement to use them. We must have stunk up classrooms after having PE.


    Now it might have mattered somewhat that my school had a 'campus' layout where every subject area had a dedicated building instead of being one building with lots of classrooms, so the lack of a central point that worked no matter if you were Doing maths or English might have been more of a factor than it being a UK school.If the lockers were at the main hall you'd lose five minutes stowing stuff after English and would have to cut your break short five minutes before the lesson.
    Snazzy avatar (now back! ) by Honest Tiefling.

    RIP Laser-Snail, may you live on in our hearts forever.

    Spoiler: playground quotes
    Show
    Quote Originally Posted by Zelphas View Post
    So here I am, trapped in my laboratory, trying to create a Mechabeast that's powerful enough to take down the howling horde outside my door, but also won't join them once it realizes what I've done...twentieth time's the charm, right?
    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Raziere View Post
    How about a Jovian Uplift stuck in a Case morph? it makes so little sense.

  7. - Top - End - #7
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    New Jersey
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    My lockers in middle school were just barely big enough to fit a backpack, so even child-sized, you couldn't fit a person in there.

    High school lockers were tall enough, but not really deep enough, and had shelves. You could fit a coat and some books, but not a person. They'd have to crouch in order to get under the shelves, and by that point, their knees would be poking out so much, the door wouldn't shut, so it wasn't really possible.

    Now, the musical instrument lockers in the band room are another story. You can absolutely fit people in those things. In the largest sized ones, where you would normally store things like bass drums and sousaphones, you could comfortably seat two people, and we often did (willingly). They were surprisingly comfortable. The doors were also more wiry, so it looked more like a pet cage than a locker door, so if you somehow did get locked in, you could just reach through the bars and turn the lock yourself.

  8. - Top - End - #8
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Imbalance's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2018

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    I was a self-deprecating bully and tried to stuff myself into my own locker, but it was too small. Got some good scrapes from the metal edges, though. Stupid nerd. Big jerk.

  9. - Top - End - #9
    Troll in the Playground
     
    Flumph

    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    England. Ish.
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Rogar Demonblud View Post
    The lockers are sized for things like raincoats and are basically a holdover from another time when people actually wore raincoats.
    And, for that matter, lab coats. I understand they are still in fashion for certian courses..
    Warning: This posting may contain wit, wisdom, pathos, irony, satire, sarcasm and puns. And traces of nut.

    "The main skill of a good ruler seems to be not preventing the conflagrations but rather keeping them contained enough they rate more as campfires." Rogar Demonblud

    "Hold on just a d*** second. UK has spam callers that try to get you to buy conservatories?!? Even y'alls spammers are higher class than ours!" Peelee

  10. - Top - End - #10
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    ElfPirate

    Join Date
    Aug 2013

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fyraltari View Post
    Then again, this was kind of a moot point since people apparently went around ripping the doors of the closets off thzir hinges.
    Lol! We did that too! Took the kids about 4 days into starting in the new school that even with a plastic coathanger you could bent them up backwards. Only the very endmost lockers were safe as thy had no leverage you could apply.

    The cool kids naturally removed their locker doors completely.

  11. - Top - End - #11
    Ettin in the Playground
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Toledo, Ohio
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    This might well be a time thing. My high school lockers were absolutely large enough to fit a person inside as long as that person wasn't super-wide, but it was built in the 20s and abandoned for about 20 years before reopening. Most of the other schools I visited had much smaller lockers that were only half-as high (to squeeze more in for the significantly larger student body).

  12. - Top - End - #12
    Orc in the Playground
     
    RedWizardGuy

    Join Date
    Feb 2016

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Smoutwortel View Post
    Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?
    It's a safety issue.
    If the lockers are too small, the kids can be seriously injured when you stuff them in there.
    Last edited by Misereor; 2021-02-04 at 06:06 AM.
    -
    What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder, stronger, in a later edition.
    -

  13. - Top - End - #13
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jun 2007

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fyraltari View Post
    When I was in highschool we had lockers about the size of a backpack which made sense since it we only used them to store our backpacks during lunch break. Of course they were still big enough for the youngest of us to fit inside provided they folded themselves (hugging their knees and all). Then again, this was kind of a moot point since people apparently went around ripping the doors of the closets off thzir hinges.
    "thzir hinges"... I just realized there was such a thing as a specifically French keyboard typo. (Logical, but I never gave that any thought till now.)
    Offer good while supplies last. Two to a customer. Each item sold separately. Batteries not included. Mileage may vary. All sales are final. Allow six weeks for delivery. Some items not available. Some assembly required. Some restrictions may apply. All entries become our property. Employees not eligible. Entry fees not refundable. Local restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Except in Indiana.

  14. - Top - End - #14
    Dragon in the Playground Moderator
     
    Peelee's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Washington D.C.
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by lio45 View Post
    "thzir hinges"... I just realized there was such a thing as a specifically French keyboard typo. (Logical, but I never gave that any thought till now.)
    I don't know how prevalent it is across Europe but in Austria most of the keyboard layouts I used had standard QWERTY but with Y and Z swapped. So QWERTZ.
    Last edited by Peelee; 2021-02-05 at 11:58 PM.
    Cuthalion's art is the prettiest art of all the art. Like my avatar.

    Number of times Roland St. Jude has sworn revenge upon me: 2

  15. - Top - End - #15
    Titan in the Playground
     
    ElfRangerGuy

    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Imagination Land
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Rogar Demonblud View Post
    The lockers are sized for things like raincoats and are basically a holdover from another time when people actually wore raincoats.
    Growing up in the northern United States, that also included hefty winter coats and related cold weather gear for me.
    "Nothing you can't spell will ever work." - Will Rogers

    Watch me draw and swear at video games.

  16. - Top - End - #16
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Fyraltari's Avatar

    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    France
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    I don't know how prevalent it is across Europe but in Austria most of the keyboard layouts I used had standard QWERTY but with Y and Z swapped. So QWERTZ.
    French keyboards are usually AZERTY.
    Spoiler: Like so
    Show


    This only becomes an issue if you end up using a foreign made computer for whatever reason and some internet flash games (and weirdly enough one free DLC of a game I own) will only accept WASD as inputs and not ZQSD.
    AZERTY keyboards usually can be toggled to function as QWERTY keyboards and back through a key combination I never remember.
    Last edited by Fyraltari; 2021-02-06 at 05:58 AM. Reason: YOU SAW NOTHING!

  17. - Top - End - #17
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Iruka's Avatar

    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Germany

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    I don't know how prevalent it is across Europe but in Austria most of the keyboard layouts I used had standard QWERTY but with Y and Z swapped. So QWERTZ.
    That is the typical keyboard layout for German speaking countries. Since the "y" is rarely needed, it has been moved to a corner.


    "Children grow up to be people? All the children I knew grew up to be machines."
    ~Augustus von Fabelrath~
    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    Somebody should have that sigged.
    Member of Peelee's Church of Sudden Skylight

  18. - Top - End - #18
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    ElfPirate

    Join Date
    Aug 2013

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fyraltari View Post
    French keyboards are usually AZERTY.
    Spoiler: Like so
    Show


    This only becomes an issue if you end up using a foreign made computer for whatever reason and some internet flash games (and weirdly enough one free DLC of a game I own) will only accept WASD as inputs and not ZQSD.
    AZERTY keyboards usually can be toggled to function as QWERTY keyboards and back through a key combination I never remember.
    I a little disappointed a French keyboard wasn't a "YTREWQ" keyboard.

  19. - Top - End - #19
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Fyraltari's Avatar

    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    France
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    We're from Europe, not a mirror dimension.
    Forum Wisdom

    Mage avatar by smutmulch & linklele.

  20. - Top - End - #20
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Iruka's Avatar

    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Germany

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fyraltari View Post
    We're from Europe, not a mirror dimension.
    Tell that to the ONU or the OTAN.


    "Children grow up to be people? All the children I knew grew up to be machines."
    ~Augustus von Fabelrath~
    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    Somebody should have that sigged.
    Member of Peelee's Church of Sudden Skylight

  21. - Top - End - #21
    Dragon in the Playground Moderator
     
    Peelee's Avatar

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Washington D.C.
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Fyraltari View Post
    We're from Europe, not a mirror dimension.
    Sig?

    Also, another reason to be a proponent for Dvorak dominance. Surely that would have no changes on non-English languages.
    Last edited by Peelee; 2021-02-06 at 12:34 PM.
    Cuthalion's art is the prettiest art of all the art. Like my avatar.

    Number of times Roland St. Jude has sworn revenge upon me: 2

  22. - Top - End - #22
    Titan in the Playground
     
    Fyraltari's Avatar

    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    France
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    Sig?
    Sure.

    Quote Originally Posted by Peelee View Post
    Also, another reason to be a proponent for Dvorak dominance. Surely that would have no changes on non-English languages.
    -___-
    Forum Wisdom

    Mage avatar by smutmulch & linklele.

  23. - Top - End - #23
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jun 2007

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Iruka View Post
    That is the typical keyboard layout for German speaking countries. Since the "y" is rarely needed, it has been moved to a corner.
    Same reasoning for the AZERTY keyboard I'm pretty sure, given that "w" is extremely rare in French (while common in English).

    That penalty corner has, in German, the "y" in it, in French, the "w", and in English, the "z". :)
    Offer good while supplies last. Two to a customer. Each item sold separately. Batteries not included. Mileage may vary. All sales are final. Allow six weeks for delivery. Some items not available. Some assembly required. Some restrictions may apply. All entries become our property. Employees not eligible. Entry fees not refundable. Local restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. Except in Indiana.

  24. - Top - End - #24
    Troll in the Playground
     
    ElfRangerGuy

    Join Date
    Jun 2018
    Location
    Belgium
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    We didn't have lockers at school and I believe most schools in Belgium don't have lockers. We just hung our coats on hangers in the hallway (just outside the class) and took everything we needed in a backpack in class. At least in highschool. In primary school we kept things in our benches (in the old days we still had benches with storage space in them).
    Clacks-Overhead: GNU Terry Pratchett

    "Magic can turn a frog into a prince. Science can turn a frog into a Ph.D. and you still have the frog you started with." Terry Pratchett
    "I will not yield to evil, unless she's cute."

  25. - Top - End - #25
    Ogre in the Playground
     
    ElfPirate

    Join Date
    Aug 2013

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Iruka View Post
    Tell that to the ONU or the OTAN.
    I'm glad to see someone got the joke I was making.

  26. - Top - End - #26
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Ortho's Avatar

    Join Date
    Sep 2017

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Dang, your school got the good lockers.
    My high school had slightly-smaller-than-a-backpack-sized lockers, stacked on top of each other, ensuring that we had to carry our three or four heavy textbooks with us everywhere we went! And I, the 6'2" guy, was naturally assigned a locker on the very bottom row.

  27. - Top - End - #27

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    You didn't swap with somebody of petite dimensions who got a top locker?

  28. - Top - End - #28
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Chimera

    Join Date
    Dec 2015

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Quote Originally Posted by Rogar Demonblud View Post
    You didn't swap with somebody of petite dimensions who got a top locker?
    Guessing they were 'not allowed to.' Having a teenage nephew who is going to my HS alma mater is reminding me just how little autonomy teens often have. Probably not a bad thing, either, since if the person you swapped with had some kind of contraband in the locker, and it was found, but the locker was assigned to you...

  29. - Top - End - #29
    Troll in the Playground
     
    Lacco's Avatar

    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Slovakia
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    I always thought it was only a Hollywood trope!

    So, you're saying there are actually lockers that are teen-sized? Then I'd say it's mostly because people complained of being stuffed into lockers that were too small.

    What I have seen in our country is either lockers the size of pre-school children or cages.

    The cages were fun - especially when a class of 20 tried to fit in and get changed to go out as fast as possible. You ended up sitting on people, standing on one leg (which was not yours), and other fun stuff.

    Examples below:

    Spoiler: Lockers
    Show



    Spoiler: Cages
    Show





    Once we got into high/secondary school, there were no lockers or anything. You just had coat hangers and were supposed to keep stuff in backpack.

    EDIT: @Fyraltari: alt+shift?
    Last edited by Lacco; 2021-02-12 at 03:50 PM.
    Call me Laco or Ladislav (if you need to be formal). Avatar comes from the talented linklele.
    Formerly GMing: Riddle of Steel: Soldiers of Fortune

    Quote Originally Posted by Kol Korran View Post
    Instead of having an adventure, from which a cool unexpected story may rise, you had a story, with an adventure built and designed to enable the story, but also ensure (or close to ensure) it happens.

  30. - Top - End - #30

    Default Re: Why do schools have lockers the size of a student?

    Wouldn't work in my old school. Our lockers didn't even have locks or doors that'd stay latched, so no real expectation that anything in there was placed by you as opposed to Random Student #1234. Now, they don't even have lockers.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •