How about all the marching we had to do in gym class? I had absolutely no idea that I was being militarily prepared for a possible participation in some bloody war. The marching practice was so frequent that for many years as an adult, I found myself unintentionally using the same marching footwork to make left or right turns while walking.
School then vs school now. A question.
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Aunt Bea
SF VIP
- Location
- Near Mount Pilot
I don’t think of that as cheating, more like knowing how to find the correct answer.
Isn’t that what education is all about.
Paladin1950
Still love 50's & 60's music!
- Location
- Mohawk Valley, NY
In Rochester, NY in the 1950's, when heard the alarm, we left the classroom, went out in the hall, and put our faces to the wall and covered our heads. Both ways were stupid. Neither one would have actually saved our lives in an actual attack.
That Lady in PA
Member
High school rifle teams still exist in PA
OldFeller
Well-known Member
- Location
- Pennsylvania, USA
I watched some old episodes (1962) of Password on YouTube. People today couldn't play that game based on how little they were taught in school and how short their attention span is.
I had an English teacher in high school who used to give a 10 question quiz on Fridays. They were all fill in the blank questions. 30 years later he was teaching at a high school my son was attending. I asked him if he still gave those quizzes and he said kids today couldn't possibly pass those.
You couldn't get more than 3 questions wrong and as fill in the blanks, you either knew the answer or you didn't.
The purpose of school was to teach you to think. Today's education fails to do that.
Maybe it's considered cool to mangle English in that way in the USA these days in order to avoid being viewed as a nerd?
Adding desks is similar to adding fuel to a fire.
jimintoronto
Well-known Member
Beezer lives ( I think ) in Canada.
spectratg
Senior Member
- Location
- Adamstown, MD
Yea me too. The good Sisters of St. Joseph convinced us that we would be safe from a nuclear fallout by taking shelter under our desks. Man, they just don't make desks like that anymore!!!
Feelslikefar
Senior Member
- Location
- Nashville, TN
I went from a small Southern school to a large multi-cultured school in Hawaii.
Needless to say, it was a challenge at the start.
New school had a very loose dress code (flip-flops, short sun dresses, etc.)
The food served for lunch was a mixed bag of cultures and always served with rice.
The teachers had to deal with many different starting points with their students.
Hard to explain how the weather and laid-back attitude, affected our learning.
All of this taught me to keep an open mind about other's beliefs and customs.
Needless to say, it was a challenge at the start.
New school had a very loose dress code (flip-flops, short sun dresses, etc.)
The food served for lunch was a mixed bag of cultures and always served with rice.
The teachers had to deal with many different starting points with their students.
Hard to explain how the weather and laid-back attitude, affected our learning.
All of this taught me to keep an open mind about other's beliefs and customs.
ChiroDoc
Senior Member
- Location
- The Dixie Riviera
Homework??? They wouldn't want to upset or tirgger the little darlings....
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
I don't think that's far from the truth....Homework??? They wouldn't want to upset or tirgger the little darlings....
Aging Audra
Member
- Location
- Maryland, USA
I attended school in the 60's and 70's and had a wonderful time learning. Sure I didn't have the computers or internet, but that made the learning more of a challenge and even a lot more fun. Like, when I did group projects it wasn't communicating by Zoom or Texts. We all got together at one of the parents home and did the project. Many times it was an all night project group when I was in high school and that was fun.
Yes in school today the technology makes learning things right at a click of the students fingers and that makes things a lot easier for them, but it also takes a lot of the fun out of it for them in my opinion. I would never trade my days in the 60's and 70's when I went to school to be going to school today.
Yes in school today the technology makes learning things right at a click of the students fingers and that makes things a lot easier for them, but it also takes a lot of the fun out of it for them in my opinion. I would never trade my days in the 60's and 70's when I went to school to be going to school today.
Along with the technology come a LOT of choices -- too many, IMHO. Instead of focusing on fundamentals, kids have an unbelievable assortment of classes they can take. I'm sure there are required classes, but it seems to me the fundamental reading, writing, and arithmetic classes are watered down.
Above all, all cell phones need to be turned in before class. None of that stuff during class; ditto with calculators. In math class, it used to be you had to show your work. Not so sure about that anymore.
Above all, all cell phones need to be turned in before class. None of that stuff during class; ditto with calculators. In math class, it used to be you had to show your work. Not so sure about that anymore.
School then was a lot different for teachers than what it is now, too. Teachers once had far greater freedom and autonomy about how they taught, and many different teaching styles were accommodated. This was generally good for the students as they learned to adjust to different personalities and expectations. Yes, there was less teacher accountability, and they were lords of their classroom domains. As a result of meeting some high and inflexible expectations as a student with less than ideal resources, I could deal with oppressive bosses and non-optimal working conditions as an adult.
in many places today, a factory-model mindset has been imposed on the classroom, with teachers told not only what to teach but how, and teacher ratings given in large part by student performances on standardized tests. Suffocating standardization requirements have diminished creativity in the classrooms, and what teachers are being expected to cope with in the schools- -dysfunctional homes, student expectations of being entertained rather than educated, student feelings of entitlement, lack of community support, and changing societal norms- -are driving many teachers out of the classroom…
in many places today, a factory-model mindset has been imposed on the classroom, with teachers told not only what to teach but how, and teacher ratings given in large part by student performances on standardized tests. Suffocating standardization requirements have diminished creativity in the classrooms, and what teachers are being expected to cope with in the schools- -dysfunctional homes, student expectations of being entertained rather than educated, student feelings of entitlement, lack of community support, and changing societal norms- -are driving many teachers out of the classroom…
Furryanimal
Y gath o Gymru
- Location
- Wales
Todays schools are more enlightened.
i can’t sew to save my life and type with one finger.
And my food comes out of tins and the freezer.
Because Domestic Science,as it was called ,
was for girls only.
I’d have preferred that to Metalwork,Woodwork and Technical drawing.
At which I was utterly useless.
Technology is undoubtably useful to both students and teachers but I loved researching stuff in the encyclopaedia Brittanica.
Today you just tap a few keys and Hey Presto!
But I think todays kids are under much more pressure.
They all seem to take far more exams than I did and are under far more pressure not to fail.
And no one who isn’t a teacher has any idea how many hours teachers actually work during the week and during their so called holidays.
At least here in Britain.
That has changed enormously since I trained as teacher way back in the seventies.
i think my teachers had it far easier than those of today.
i can’t sew to save my life and type with one finger.
And my food comes out of tins and the freezer.
Because Domestic Science,as it was called ,
was for girls only.
I’d have preferred that to Metalwork,Woodwork and Technical drawing.
At which I was utterly useless.
Technology is undoubtably useful to both students and teachers but I loved researching stuff in the encyclopaedia Brittanica.
Today you just tap a few keys and Hey Presto!
But I think todays kids are under much more pressure.
They all seem to take far more exams than I did and are under far more pressure not to fail.
And no one who isn’t a teacher has any idea how many hours teachers actually work during the week and during their so called holidays.
At least here in Britain.
That has changed enormously since I trained as teacher way back in the seventies.
i think my teachers had it far easier than those of today.
Paco Dennis
SF VIP
- Location
- Mid-Missouri
Technology is the BIG difference. We didn't have computers or the internet.
HermitHogan
Senior Member
- Location
- 3rd Stone from the Sun
It won't be long before A.I. teachers are ubiquitous, which have the potential to make learning more interesting for the kids. The A.I. teachers would be able to detect is a child was cheating, but they'd also be able to detect if a child had a learning disability, or if it was likely there were problems at home, such as abuse.
A.I. has the potential do do a lot of good — not just in the future, but the technology is here today! Corporations just need to figure out how to maximize profits from it.
A.I. has the potential do do a lot of good — not just in the future, but the technology is here today! Corporations just need to figure out how to maximize profits from it.
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
actually 54 years ago when I left school..I'd been prepped the whole of my senior school years for Office work. We were in what was called the commercaal class. It was the only Typing, shorthand , & Business Economics class in the school
dilettante
Well-known Member
- Location
- Michigan
Even in my day schools were beginning to unravel.
Where my high school had once offered Latin, Greek, and Hebrew in addition to several foreign languages things had fallen to just Latin along with German and Spanish.
Students had to opt in to Geometry, much less Trigonometry and pre-Calculus. After gutting it through introductory Algebra most were done except for a follow-up class in Bonehead Math: Relearning times tables, balancing a checkbook, and.. what? Playing records after that first week?
Science? Don't get me started. All optional and taking another Bonehead class would suffice. Many weren't even offered unless you took AP classes and (often) rode another bus to get to the one school in town where those classes were still held. Enrollment was down that far!
History? Again, one General Survey For Dummies class got one off the hook.
I guess they'd fill the rest of their day with Remedial Reading, Basketweaving, Handicapping Horse Races, etc.
But we know why it happened. We went from a culture of opportunity to a culture of outcome-in-name. It was considered too elitist to require earning the privilege of high school and that high school diploma. So mainstream every bump on a log and just hand everybody that cap, gown, and sheepskin. Learning? You were on your own.
Years later I had kids go through the system-as-it-became by the 1990s. Wow, standards had fallen even further. Screens were just starting their creep into classrooms.
Now things have gotten crazy. The trend of subjects coming down from college-level into high school reversed long ago. You can probably "graduate" today without knowing about long division or the oppression of British Colonialism. The Earth is flat became a valid theory. Americans displaced the peoples of the Americas - not the British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese invaders. Bow to authority, don't question, explore, decide for yourself, or be proud to live free.
Where my high school had once offered Latin, Greek, and Hebrew in addition to several foreign languages things had fallen to just Latin along with German and Spanish.
Students had to opt in to Geometry, much less Trigonometry and pre-Calculus. After gutting it through introductory Algebra most were done except for a follow-up class in Bonehead Math: Relearning times tables, balancing a checkbook, and.. what? Playing records after that first week?
Science? Don't get me started. All optional and taking another Bonehead class would suffice. Many weren't even offered unless you took AP classes and (often) rode another bus to get to the one school in town where those classes were still held. Enrollment was down that far!
History? Again, one General Survey For Dummies class got one off the hook.
I guess they'd fill the rest of their day with Remedial Reading, Basketweaving, Handicapping Horse Races, etc.
But we know why it happened. We went from a culture of opportunity to a culture of outcome-in-name. It was considered too elitist to require earning the privilege of high school and that high school diploma. So mainstream every bump on a log and just hand everybody that cap, gown, and sheepskin. Learning? You were on your own.
Years later I had kids go through the system-as-it-became by the 1990s. Wow, standards had fallen even further. Screens were just starting their creep into classrooms.
Now things have gotten crazy. The trend of subjects coming down from college-level into high school reversed long ago. You can probably "graduate" today without knowing about long division or the oppression of British Colonialism. The Earth is flat became a valid theory. Americans displaced the peoples of the Americas - not the British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese invaders. Bow to authority, don't question, explore, decide for yourself, or be proud to live free.
jimintoronto
Well-known Member
The opening line from "A Tale Of Two Cities". Its funny how some things stick in my memory. "There are nine million stories in The Naked City, this has been one of them ". "We shall fight on the landing beaches, on the fields, and in the cities...WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER" .
There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run, when the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun, Long before the white man and long before the wheel, when the green dark forest was too silent to be real.
Bless you, Gordon Lightfoot for all the good times that you brought to us. A true Canadian legend. JIMB.
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That would be EIGHT million, not nine.
