History Main / SchoolIsForLosers

* [[Characters/TheOwlHouseEdaClawthorne Eda Clawthorne]] from ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' is a proud magic school dropout who sneers at traditional education and is horrified when she finds that Luz smuggled herself into Hexside to attend its classes, complete with a SkywardScream. [[JustifiedTrope However, she's a justified and sympathetic example]] -- Hexside's one-track system is shown to be stifling for students who are pushed to a track they have no aptitude for (like Willow) or those who want to learn more than one type of magic (like the delinquent track kids, Luz, and Eda herself) and force the kids into conformity by making them chose one single coven, severely limiting their magic and freedom. However, Eda puts her own hang-ups aside to enroll Luz at Hexside after realizing it would be the best for her and trusting her enough to not fall prey to its "one-witch, one-coven" mentality.

* The version of WebOriginal/JennyEverywhere in ''Literature/TheGenesisOfJennyEverywhere'' is still a teenager who hates school and would much rather be still in bed [[DreamingOfThingsToCome dreaming about the adventures she'll ultimately end up having]], but her EducationMama mother won't let her. (Compounded by the fact most of the other girls, notably AlphaBitch Charlotte Mitchell, hate her guts, and vice versa). Her one friend Leelee doubly subverts this trope- turning up whenever she feels like it, but [[SkippingSchool bunking off]] most of the time (being an AlternateUniverse, there is no law against this, with the implication it's up to the parent or guardian).

* ''VideoGame/TwistedWonderland'': Fellow Honest initially believes this due to being too magically weak to be admitted into a WizardingSchool. [[spoiler:He is later disabused of this belief, and decides to found his own school.]]

* Rick from ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' definitely holds to this view, stating that rote memorization of often oversimplified half-truths is pointless. His view may, however, be skewed somewhat by the fact that he's a natural-born genius and one of the smartest people on Earth. [[spoiler:Or, indeed, anywhere in the universe.]] Also, it is worth noting that, in-universe, he is shown to be [[TheDissenterIsAlwaysRight absolutely correct]] in his exaggerated view of what school is, with high-school students still learning basic arithmetic through repeated examples and drills.
* Eda from ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' is a proud magic school dropout who sneers at traditional education and is horrified when she finds that Luz smuggled herself into Hexside to attend its classes, complete with a SkywardScream. [[JustifiedTrope However, she's a justified and sympathetic example]] -- Hexside's one-track system is shown to be stifling for students who are pushed to a track they have no aptitude for (like Willow) or those who want to learn more than one type of magic (like the delinquent track kids, Luz, and Eda herself) and force the kids into conformity by making them chose one single coven, severely limiting their magic and freedom. However, Eda puts her own hang-ups aside to enroll Luz at Hexside after realizing it would be the best for her and trusting her enough to not fall prey to its "one-witch, one-coven" mentality.

* The song "The Nicest Kids in Town" from ''Film/{{Hairspray}}'' is practically the hymn for this ethos. In universe, at least. Especially the lyrics "They'll never get to college, but they'll sure look cool".

'''Skinner''': [[BigNo Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!]][[note]]his [[RuleOfThree third]] BigNo in a row, after Bart gets the credit for discovering the comet with his telescope and letting a prank weather balloon bearing his image out of his grip, which he had just managed to catch[[/note]]

There's also a group of people who oppose formalized public education as a GovernmentConspiracy to keep the populace dumb and conformist. Others simply see institutional education as ineffective. Or both. However, this type of person rarely shows up in media; this trope is usually used to make a character look like a comedic idiot. (But see HomeschooledKids.)

* Creeps in around the edges of the books in the ComicBook/XMen line. While the original X-Men were sometimes shown studying actual school subjects, in recent years, despite the characters often living in a school, they're almost never shown studying anything other than using their powers, fighting, and, in recent years, "superhuman ethics." The implication being that superhumans don't ''need'' to know silly things like history, math, reading, or science. Virtually all of the major characters are adults, so the fact that they're not students is rather less surprising.

* Scout, of ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird'' thinks school is utterly useless, and spends a while trying to convince her father to let her stay home, since he never went to a day of formal school as a kid and managed to become a lawyer anyway. In all fairness to her, her town's school system ''is'' pretty ridiculous -- her first-grade teacher is annoyed that she already knows how to read and write, and tells her she needs to stop doing both until she reaches the appropriate grade level. Needless to say, she's not pleased, and tries a number of things to get out of going to school, including briefly becoming LadySwearsALot in the hope that her father won't make her go anymore once he finds out she learned it from other kids. (It doesn't work; if anything, he seems to find it slightly amusing.)

-->"College is just a place for white people to go to to get other white people to read to them. I figure I'll just buy the books and read to myself."

* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', Thrashbite the Scornful, a boss in the Cathedral of Eternal Night, is a [[DumbMuscle strong but not very bright]] mo'arg demon. He's fought inside the cathedral's library, where he destroys any bookshelves he charges through, and says things such as "Books are for losers!" Once defeated, he will say "Shoulda... stayed in... school..." as he dies (or alternatively, "[[DidntThinkThisThrough Didn't... think this... through...]]").

The basic idea that characters who fit this trope have is that there's some place called "the street" that teaches you everything you'll ever ''really'' need to know in life. [[TroperDemographics If you're on this website]], the closest you've ever gotten is the fabled ''Series/SesameStreet''.

-->-- '''The Small Faces''', "Itchycoo Park"

[[folder:Film]]

There's also a group of people who oppose formalized public education as a GovernmentConspiracy to keep the populace dumb and conformist. Others simply see institutional education as ineffective. Or both. However, this type of person rarely shows up in media; this trope is usually used to make a character look like a comedic idiot.

** Alex lives a carnival and wants to work there like her parents. In middle school, she lies to her mom that the field trip was one day earlier to get out of classes, and she wishes to drop out and become a carnie, [[spoiler:which she does in her bad ending.]] Her mom reminds her that schooling can unlock new opportunities for her in the future, which she agrees if you've befriended her well enough. She ends up mysteriously disappearing in high school, [[spoiler:but not to avoid doing homework, but because her rival Shane got into an accident from her dare and was hospitalized.]]

->''"We can miss out school\\

* Rick from ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' definitely holds to this view, stating that rote memorization of often oversimplified half-truths is pointless. His view may, however, be skewed somewhat by the fact that he's a natural-born genius and one of the smartest people on Earth. [[spoiler:Or, indeed, anywhere in the universe.]]

** ''Loan-A-Lisa'' [[note]]Not to be confused with ''Moaning Lisa'' or ''Mona Leaves-a''[[/note]], has Lisa meeting a bunch of famous, successful people who are all college drop-outs.

* Rom is very ambivalent about sending his son Nog to a Federation-taught school in the first season of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''. Apparently it is more customary to thrust young Ferengi into the cutthroat world of competitive business with little to no formal education and let them sink or swim. [[FridgeLogic It's unclear how they got into space under this system]], considering that Nog is unable to read as of Season 1 when he looks to be about the equivalent of a human child of twelve to fourteen.

** Alex lives a carnival and wants to work there like her parents. In middle school, she lies to her mom that the field trip was one day earlier to get out of classes, and she wishes to drop out and become a carnie, [[spoiler:which she does in her bad ending.]] Her mom reminds her that schooling can unlock new opportunities for her in the future, which she agrees if you've befriended her well enough.

[[folder:VideoGames]]

* Eda from ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' is a proud magic school dropout who sneers at traditional education and is horrified when she finds that Luz smuggled herself into Hexside to attend its classes, complete with a SkywardScream. [[JustifiedTrope However, she's a justified and sympathetic example]] -- Hexside's one-track system is shown be stifling for students who a pushed to a track they have no aptitude for (like Willow) or those who want to learn more than one type of magic (like the delinquent track kids, Luz, and Eda herself) and force the kids into conformity by making them chose one single coven, severely limiting their magic and freedom. However, Eda puts her own hang-ups aside to enroll Luz at Hexside after realizing it would be the best for her and trusting her enough to not fall prey to its "one-witch, one-coven" mentality.

** In true Bundy fashion, Kelly got fired after her first TV appearance - because she was so stupid she couldn't read the TelePrompter.

--->''[Skinner reads newspaper which says on the front page: "Prez Sez: School is for Losers!"]''\\ [[note]]Especially ironic, considering that the "Prez" when this episode was made, UsefulNotes/BillClinton, is a graduate of Georgetown University(1968), and Yale Law (1973)[[/note]]
'''Skinner''': [[BigNo Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!]][[labelnote:*]]his [[RuleOfThree third]] BigNo in a row, after Bart gets the credit for discovering the comet with his telescope and letting a prank weather balloon bearing his image out of his grip, which he had just managed to catch[[/labelnote]]

--->''[Skinner reads newspaper which says on the front page: "Prez Sez: School is for Losers!"]''\\

-->''[Skinner reads newspaper which says on the front page: "Prez Sez: School is for Losers!"]''
-->'''Skinner''': [[BigNo Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!]][[labelnote:*]]his [[RuleOfThree third]] BigNo in a row, after Bart gets the credit for discovering the comet with his telescope and letting a prank weather balloon bearing his image out of his grip, which he had just managed to catch[[/labelnote]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' BackToSchool episode "The Old Man and the C−" revealed that Timmy's Dad didn't finish elementary school because someone told him he was too cool for school. He then became Timmy's classmate and it seemed nothing would prevent him from graduating this time until the same person appeared again. Of course that person in question happened to be Melvin, naturally after Timmy's Dad Graduates, he and his son get back at him.