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.
\nIt\u2019s not just the physical environment that\u2019s changed over they years \u2014 all sorts of things that we, and even our children, took for granted, aren\u2019t permitted any more.<\/p>\n
I remember that on, or around, Valentines Day we always had a class party and you always hoped that you\u2019d get a valentine from someone special, even if you never told anyone there was<\/em> anyone special. Well, based on what I\u2019ve heard, kids don\u2019t have to worry about that anymore\u2026 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\u2019m not sure if this is good or bad\u2026 at least no one gets their feelings hurt anymore. Lots of schools don\u2019t allow any<\/em> holiday celebrations anymore \u2014 or if they do, they have to be \u201cgeneric\u201d holidays. Well, I got a little carried away\u2026 we all know that things in general, not just schools have changed. Maybe it\u2019s for the better \u2014 maybe not. I wonder if someday our grandkids will long for the \u201cgood old days\u201d when you could even have a snowball fight on school grounds without fear of causing an injury or hurt feelings\u2026 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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\u2019s not just the physical environment that\u2019s changed … Continue reading
\nI 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\u2019t happen anymore, what with chalkboards giving way to white or \u201csmart\u201d boards.
\nWe used to send cupcakes to school for everyone when one of our kids had a birthday. I\u2019m told that many schools no longer allow that. Apparently, too many kids today are obese or have food allergies and it creates a potential \u201clegal\u201d problem for the schools. I\u2019ve heard that some schools still allow certain non-allergenic and\/or \u201chealthy\u201d treats\u2026
\nWhen someone did something \u201cbad\u201d (I\u2019m pretty sure \u201cbad\u201d had a different meaning when I went to school than it does today.) We were told to, \u201cgo stand in the corner.\u201d Most everyone my age has spent some time in “the corner.\u201d Today, standing in the corner is considered to be cruel, and maybe even corporal punishment.
\nWhen I went to school, I almost always walked \u2014 even when school was located on the other side of town. If the weather was really bad, I often got a \u201cride\u201d with my parents or one of my friends\u2019 parents, but usually \u2014 I walked. Very few kids walk to school today. I guess there\u2019s a lot of reasons why they don\u2019t, but nowadays parents can be charged with \u201cunsubstantiated neglect\u201d 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\u2019d be a little overcautious about letting them walk, too.
\nI took \u201cshop\u201d when I went to school. My sister took \u201chome ec.\u201d That\u2019s because that was what you did. Home Ec was for girls, shop was for boys. I\u2019m not sure, but I\u2019d guess that both these subject are still offered in school, but I\u2019m sure they\u2019re both open to both boys and girls. That\u2019s a good thing\u2026
\nWhen I was little, we always made mother\u2019s day and father\u2019s day gifts in school. Usually Father\u2019s Day gifts were ashtrays \u2014 shaped like turtles, or \u201csomething.\u201d Needless to say, that<\/em> doesn\u2019t happen anymore \u2014as far as I know, smoking is not allowed in (or near) any school.
\nOne form of punishment we survived while in grade school was writing lines on the blackboard because we did something wrong \u2014 like we had to write \u201cI won\u2019t do that anymore\u201d maybe 100 times. That form of punishment seems to have fallen out of favor with teachers, or maybe it\u2019s considered somehow damaging to the student\u2026.
\nMy 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\u2019 work. Red ink is now considered too \u201cconfrontational\u201d in nature.
\nI don\u2019t think this is universal, but it\u2019s true for at least one school \u2014 they\u2019ve done away with the practice of students raising their hands to answer questions. Really!! A letter the school sent to the parents stated, \u201cWe find that the same hands are going up and as such the teaching does not challenge and support the learning of all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n