A few days ago, I indicated that Emily had started the school year already and mentioned how different the classroom layout and facilities are today compared to when I went to school.
It’s not just the physical environment that’s changed over they years — all sorts of things that we, and even our children, took for granted, aren’t permitted any more.
I remember that on, or around, Valentines Day we always had a class party and you always hoped that you’d get a valentine from someone special, even if you never told anyone there was anyone special. Well, based on what I’ve heard, kids don’t have to worry about that anymore… some schools have banned the holiday completely and those that do allow it require students to bring valentines for everybody in the class, or no one at all. I’m not sure if this is good or bad… at least no one gets their feelings hurt anymore. Lots of schools don’t allow any holiday celebrations anymore — or if they do, they have to be “generic” holidays.
I remember that if we were good (or lucky) we got sent outside to bang the blackboard/chalkboard erasers together to clean them. That always created clouds of chalk dust and a lot of coughing. (Maybe that was a punishment, not a reward as I remember it.) Anyhow, that doesn’t happen anymore, what with chalkboards giving way to white or “smart” boards.
We used to send cupcakes to school for everyone when one of our kids had a birthday. I’m told that many schools no longer allow that. Apparently, too many kids today are obese or have food allergies and it creates a potential “legal” problem for the schools. I’ve heard that some schools still allow certain non-allergenic and/or “healthy” treats…
When someone did something “bad” (I’m pretty sure “bad” had a different meaning when I went to school than it does today.) We were told to, “go stand in the corner.” Most everyone my age has spent some time in “the corner.” Today, standing in the corner is considered to be cruel, and maybe even corporal punishment.
When I went to school, I almost always walked — even when school was located on the other side of town. If the weather was really bad, I often got a “ride” with my parents or one of my friends’ parents, but usually — I walked. Very few kids walk to school today. I guess there’s a lot of reasons why they don’t, but nowadays parents can be charged with “unsubstantiated neglect” for letting their kids walk. The news recently ran a story about the police being called because a little girl walked her dog around the block without adult supervision. So, i guess if I had kids in school today, I’d be a little overcautious about letting them walk, too.
I took “shop” when I went to school. My sister took “home ec.” That’s because that was what you did. Home Ec was for girls, shop was for boys. I’m not sure, but I’d guess that both these subject are still offered in school, but I’m sure they’re both open to both boys and girls. That’s a good thing…
When I was little, we always made mother’s day and father’s day gifts in school. Usually Father’s Day gifts were ashtrays — shaped like turtles, or “something.” Needless to say, that doesn’t happen anymore —as far as I know, smoking is not allowed in (or near) any school.
One form of punishment we survived while in grade school was writing lines on the blackboard because we did something wrong — like we had to write “I won’t do that anymore” maybe 100 times. That form of punishment seems to have fallen out of favor with teachers, or maybe it’s considered somehow damaging to the student….
My homework papers were always marked up pretty good with a red pen. Well, some schools now require the teacher to use green, or some other color to make corrections to students’ work. Red ink is now considered too “confrontational” in nature.
I don’t think this is universal, but it’s true for at least one school — they’ve done away with the practice of students raising their hands to answer questions. Really!! A letter the school sent to the parents stated, “We find that the same hands are going up and as such the teaching does not challenge and support the learning of all.”
Well, I got a little carried away… we all know that things in general, not just schools have changed. Maybe it’s for the better — maybe not. I wonder if someday our grandkids will long for the “good old days” when you could even have a snowball fight on school grounds without fear of causing an injury or hurt feelings…
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