Yes, I have one of those pencil sharpeners near the back door of my house. It's kind of a little phone Nook. A small Shelf where the phone would rest. Even those things are a dinosaur and no longer are necessary. It used to be that our phone was tied to the wall. Now we are tied to the phone.😢
Some of the other things that are missing from schools now, Industrial Arts classes like metal shop, machine shop, wood shop, electronics and auto shop. Also Home Economics, Cooking, Sewing and fashion, (a favorite with the girls, they made dresses and shirts of their own design) Basically any class that had anything to do with using your hands to build and create things using your imagination and problem solving skills is gone. They also stopped teaching Civics class where we learned how city, county, state and Federal governments work. My wife and I went to High School from 72 to 76 and man how things have changed.
High school 72' to 75' here, I had all of these, we also had a class called bachelor living were they taught the guys how to tell cuts of meat, cook, lite sewing and things a single man would need to know. The only thing we made to eat was beef jerky. We also had swimming and auto shop, you are so right things have really changed.
My high school had a nice metal shop. It had four or five lathes, a milling machine, shaper, drill presses & etc. The best part was the crucible for melting brass and aluminum and sand molds for casting.
How I absolutely loved covering my textbooks with brown paper bags at the beginning of the school year. And draw and doodle on those covers throughout the year.
It's been a long time since then but the old fashioned pencil sharpeners and the smell of the ditto machine that odd purple ink print out comes to mind. It does take you back in many ways.
Anybody else flash back to the sight and smell of that purple ink when McGee found the old ditto machine in the NCIS basement during the “Power Down” episode?
@@nonelost1 You have to admit, it was fun when dirt or other stuff on the original copy got copied by the ditto machine-it made for some very interesting random purple spots at times!
I was born in 1971, and I remember every example here like it was yesterday. They say that of all the senses, smell is actually the most closely tied to memory evocation. Freshly-cut grass can be found anywhere, but it brings me back to suburban Toronto as a kid. I took swim lessons from an early age and eventually became a lifeguard and swim instructor. Chlorine always reminds me of the fun I had, especially in the summer, in the 80s and 90s. And, as mentioned here, the smell of books. Libraries the reliquaries of unfathomable and endless information, and had a distinct smell I rarely experience anymore in the age of digital book downloading.
100% agree. When they showed those kids in the library, I relived the smell of our little library. It was an old house that had been turned into a library, and one of the best parts of going was to breathe in that smell.
Also born in 71.. i feel ya my friend. The chlorine smell i def can relate. I remember every pool you always had the thought of " does this pool have too much chlorine"? If it did your hair would turn green or blue i dont remember. Fun memories.😊
Born in ‘71 as well. I always feel bad that my daughters (17 and 19) didn’t get to grow up in the world that we did. I’d go back and live in an 80’s loop forever.
Another thing that has disappeared is the film projector. We always got excited when we came into class and saw the projector. Also, it was fun when the teacher would run the film backwards.
Or the overhead projector (less fun) which meant you were going to be copying notes until your wrist hurt. If you weren't a fast writer it was a struggle to keep up!
Did any of those actually work right? I remember the teacher trying to thread the darn thing and you had a to make a "loop" at some point and that NEVER worked right
1980s kid here. I feel bad for today's youth. What do they have today that will of sentimental value to them in 20, 30 years? Book covers, Trapper Keepers, school libraries... Seemingly ordinary things that we took for granted and never thought would disappear. Tons of memories flooding back. TY for this video!
I had a Countach Trapper Keeper. Of course, it fell apart after a few months. Also, in 6th grade, I ended up breaking an analog clock out of anger and my mom had to pay to replace it. My mom would make my book covers for me and I'd skip class in the library. The lunch ladies were not friendly back in Maryland, but the cashier in middle school was cool.
The kids of today will miss out on so much, 80's kid here too. As a gear head, there are not cars out in fields to go play with, how I spent most of my childhood. 50's and 60's cars..dime a dosen.
We had little cardboard school boxes for pencils and whatnot when I was in elementary school. Never formed any sentimental attachments to them. And every school I've taught in, this century btw, has had a library, complete with rows of computers where kids can do research and print out their homework assignments. Is anyone really nostalgic for using the card catalog when you had a research project to complete, then run around the library looking for ten different books, only to find that most of them had been checked out? Not me!
Not just the faculty had designated smoking areas, but the students too. I went to several high schools in the early to mid 80's (my dad was in the military) & each one had a smoking spots for the high school kids. It was outside, usually set back away from the main campus such as behind the "shop" classes or the gym, on the far side of the sports field or just off campus (back when we could leave during lunch and go to a nearby 7-11 or gas station for snacks & sodas). I remember one junior high or middle school as they are called now, had a smoking area next to an overflow parking lot for those who started their nicotine addictions at an early age. LOL - crazy times they were, but fun too!
As a smoker I know how bad smoking is for your health. But man I do like it! And if smoking is so bad for your health, why is it now that smoking rates are 20% down from 50% life expectation is dropping?😂😂
As someone who has taught for the last 11 years, I found this very interesting. But one thing that stood out to me were the mistakes. For example, every school and classroom that I have worked in have all had analog clocks on the walls, not digital. I'm not implying that means every school has them, but don't worry, plenty of kids are still learning how to tell time on those. Also, I absolutely agree with your point about students not carrying textbooks anymore because everything is digital, and I HATE this practice. Last year alone, I can't count the number of times the internet was down or they couldn't log onto their digital textbooks, and they never had a hard copy to fall back on. Going to all digital textbooks was, in my opinion, the worst idea ever. Thank you for making this. Oh, and as a kid I LOVED my Trapper Keeper.
@@DosBear but so does their abillity to change the information when it dont suite them or they feel the need to hide that inconvinent artical from a 100 year old song or book that dont fit the modern narritive, or articals written by interviewing the actual people themselves when written, and there is the whole issue of how our brain takes the information on the computer in vs reading on paper, also change in software and lack of intergenerational compatabillity affect info to get something from an old piece of tech vs just picking up the book for some research, and what happens if we get hit with an emp snap the electronics are fried and the information stored on them irretreavable. there is need still of some hard copies of things, or drawing by hand on paper or physical media vs computer though yes there is much more you can do at once with a digital drawing tablet but nothing beats sometimes drawing by hand helps with coordnation in kids or people, and just cuz something is old dont mean its no good, there are some things that have their place and do it well in niche applications.
@@DosBear well there is some topics one should tread carefully with when introducing, depends who you ask though. especially deeper subjects like psychology it takes a more tempered approach for more then the basics, or philosophy certain things can breed dangeous ideas and justifications for behavior if the persons mind is no ready to fully understand or the whole subject, that is you have to crawl before you can walk, and some ideas can lead to a justification of things like unhealthy behaviors, violence, and all kinds of immorality and unethical things.
@@DosBear ok well for example you wouldn't want to full on teach a questionable theory in gender studies from a collage senior level class when its qustionable among even some researchers to middleschoolers they are still trying to figure out who they are and going though enough changes and figuring out the more advanced basics of the human body, you would not need one of the more tenious thorys being taught that maybe questionable at best to them if their brain dont have the background yet or maturity to handle it, or teaching unfettered utilitarianism, if it feels good do it, that can lead to all kind of justifications to do stuff like drugs, and crime, selfishness that dont benifit society as a whole, without teaching them to temper it the kind of feels good go for it attitude being taught without restraint can be dangerous, for example, or teaching pure hate of something without the other side of the story is bad, even in catholic school we learned about other faiths and peoples all over the world and what philosphys differant cultures espoused thought history, like the greeks and romans, the persians, a little bit about various native american groups and especially a bit about the nations that were in indiana historically when studying state history, we weren't taught to hate but to understand how this was differant then what we belived, as christians. there is a time and place to discuss things and prudence is to be used, and both sides of a topic at least mentioned
@@DosBear the truth is the truth even if one refuses to belive it, what I am trying to say is some knowlege is dangerous, while I dont advocate burning books, there is some that dont need to be brought front and center, that is more advanced, to one that is just learning something, case and point you would not want a book about bomb making in a highschool library to get reached by someone thats being bullied or hates school now would you, or or someone that hates school and has a vendetta. much depends on context, on the other hand you could talk about chemistry reactions in chemistry or sciance, once they reach that class level, depends on context, a five year old dont need to know the ins and outs of sex and how to plesure others when they ask where babys come from or all the gross details of child birth or how a csection works in detail, a 13 year old may be another story about the processies about how the body works and its interworkings.
Also, home economics was a class. They taught you how to balance a check book, cook, sew, etc. so many life skills that today's kids have no idea how to perform!
Our home ec didn't have the check balancing part, but that would have been neat if it did. We did have a class called Consumer Math which did teach that, among other things
The home ec teacher came into the art class and stole my water colors. The teacher would give me a note saying the other teacher had to have my painting and gave me an A+. I would rather have had my painting. Even at that age I was really good. I became a professional artist later.
I went to a boarding school on a working cattle ranch in AZ. No home economics (which we could have really used) but I can muck out a stall and take care of horses (and of course ride) like nobody’s business.
My grandkids know nothing about the Constitution or other documents that were written during the founding of this country. I got them pocket copies of the Constitution and instructed them to read it. And if they have questions they should ask.
Globes, along with the old pull-down maps, began going out of fashion with the fall of the Soviet Union back in the 90s and the increasing turmoil on the African continent. Due to the multicolored ink and the need for strict accuracy, globes and maps were surprisingly expensive to produce. With borders and country names changing so rapidly, a brand new globe could become inaccurate or obsolete in a matter of months. It simply became untenable to keep producing them, especially when students and teachers have instant access to what the world looks like right this minute.
When I went to school in the 60s, teachers could still show affection( God forbid) for their young students. A pat on the back, or an arm around the shoulder were much needed reassurement that you were doing your lessons correctly. I remember my behavioral science teacher giving me a ride home in her private vehicle after I needed to discuss with her some things I was confused about in our studies. Today, many schools have become a cold, cold, prison like environment, with guards at the door and with absolutely no touching or any form of personal concern to be shown to individual students. Any wonder that according to the childrens hospital of the Univ. Of Michigan, 30% of 10th graders and almost 50% of 12th graders have tried marijuana, something just about unheard of when I was in high school in the 60s( at least in my suburban school). Progress is not always a good thing. Good Video!
You reminded me of a newspaper article published in the early-ish 2000s about an incident in Killeen TX (I think) - a little 5 year old boy ran up to his teacher, hugged her and lay his head on her bosom (she was very big and he was very small). The school sent a. letter to the parents about how their son had sexually harassed his teacher. Unbelievable.
@@betsyj59 I know...this type of innocence happens almost every day somewhere in the US. Schools( as well as hospitals) have now become scary, and even dangerous places to be, not because of the students or patients, but because of the illogical, ridiculous and downright inhumane rules and regulations put forth by the administrators. It's so, so sad. I'm just glad that I'm an old man, on my way out!
Two of my teachers in high school, who both grew up with my Father, also had a personal impact on me. One gave me a ride home when I had no money for the train and did it to teach about displaying concern for others, and the other, well..........he rushed my desk during prayer (catholic school) because I laughed and forcingly told me to show some respect. Many would say that that was "abusive", but it's meant to teach you about rules and etiquette in life; "there's a time and a place". Years later, I still carry many of these lessons and apply them to my life today. Oh, and when I told my father about the teacher who rushed me, and why, and who he was in relation to him, his response was, "good!, you probably deserved it..." 😇
“Remember lugging around those heavy backpacks filled with textbooks?” Nope. Believe it or not, there was a time when backpacks were absolutely unseen in schools. Literally, nobody had them. Instead, we carried our books under our arm. Can you imagine carrying an actual stack of loose books with your hands? That’s how we did it in the 1970s. Older generations tied the stack of books together with a bookstrap. 🤓
The older kids carried their books lower grade kids used book bags with pockets to stick your lunch sandwhich in. Some kids had lunch boxes of metal with a thermos. The Batman lunch box was hugely popular.
Up to grade three this was the case with me. From grade 4 on, I used my father's army knapsack, or rucksack, depending. Starting grade nine, I used a genuine Gladstone bag. Also, books were arranged on a long clipboard, stacked like bricks, and carried on the hip. Right-handed...left hip. Retractable pens carried in a floppy vest pocket. A compass set for math - wedged in between a couple of books. Multiple trips to lockers between classes to ditch things we didn't need. My high school was civilized. Each class length was 45 minutes. You had a good 10-15 minutes to make up the top of the hour and the next class. Lots of time. You're right though. The ubiquitous backpack hardly existed until much later. My son started school in the late 1980s, and by then the backpack had arrived. But the main reason for the knapsack by grade four - was that I was a sworn bookworm, and school library books as well as regular library books were my constant companions. As to textbooks through those elementary grades? School spellers, grammars and math workbooks were skinny little things. The giant geography and history books were things we never had to lug around. They stayed in our desks.
Right, I thought that as well. In elementary school, we used book bags that were like little suitcases and often came with a matching lunchbox. Jr/Sr high school, we carried an armload of books and if we brought our lunches, we used paper bags.
Another thing is field trips. Back then a class would take a trip on a school bus to a historical place to expand learning. Now today due to high costs and limited class time, students are now at school all the time moving from room to room for each subject every 45 minutes ending all field trips.
You are correct. I am a Elementary Teacher. Children still love lunch time. Books are coming back because the districts are noticing the ineffectiveness of just using a laptop (students off task on different sites), but the books are usually to stay in the class. Teacher breaks are shorter, we use our planning time for meetings 2-3 days a week (awful). I really miss globes and pull down maps to teach. Some schools do not even have Art or Music anymore. I really miss home economics, my children were not offered this class. I really loved home economics, (cooking, sewing and learning about family nutrition)
We made an outfit in sewing class. At end of the year we had a fashion show. Loved sewing & cooking. We actually had a room with several stoves to cook on. Can't beat chocolate chip cookies made at school & we got to eat them. Kids Don't know how to crack an egg nowadays 😢.
Morals - Don't be a dick. Values - Don't be a dick. Be yourself. But not a dick. Respect - given to those that earn it by not being dicks. Modest Clothing - wear what you want. Those that judge by appearance are dicks. Patriotism - Fuck that noise. That's fascist-speak. Respect your communities and the people in them, but nationalism is stupid and America was never founded on honest, good principles, but was stolen and raped away from its original inhabitants. Always speak truth to power, and stand up to bullies, ESPECIALLY those waving imperialistic flags they're proud of. That's how I raised my kids and they're all 3 successful, and great at what they do. And none of them are dicks.
we would cover our notebooks too, and my Dad worked in a 'hot stamp' plant where he would bring home rolls of shiny foil like paper I would use for my books. Not available in stores at the time. His company created hot stamping templates for things like the car dash and electronic labelling for the plastic covers.
I graduated in 1978 so I never had a Trapper Keeper, but they came out in the mid '70s so I knew they existed. I just never felt like I needed one. I wonder if today's kids even know how to tell time by the hands of a clock. I know many children have no idea what the phrases "quarter to five," or "half past two" mean.
Even way back in 1992, I used to think that 1983 to 1985 was a good time to be in hs. In 2002, 1992 looked much better, and now in 2023 it seemed awesome. 1992 had no social media other than maybe an occasional email or two and there was actually some OK music back then, but not as good as 1983, and MTV was still playing music videos, but Reality shows started emerging. From what I remember, 1992 was the beginning of the downward spiral of pop culture and then it got slightly better in the mid to late 90s, but by 2000 it got progressively worse thereafter, whether one was in a school or out in society.
I have no idea what’s going on in other schools, but my kids still have/do a lot of these things. Analog clocks in classrooms, books for different subjects, full libraries, globes, dressing out for PE, playing Dodgeball.
Loved this video. Captures everything well. Growing up, many of my classrooms had an actual closet with a hook for my jacket as well as a cubby for books/items Many teaches also played a musical instrument (ukelele, guitar, harmonica, piano, etc.) and we'd actually sing along with the teacher. My 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Anderson, would play the zither and we'd sing along--great memories! They were VERY talented educators!
Early 60's school days included monthly preparedness drills, alarm sounded and sometimes you lined up and went to the school basement and other times you got under your desk and curled up on your knees covering your head with your arms. The red scare was taken very seriously back then, I guess it's a good thing that those old desks were bomb proof.
My elementary school was a designated bomb shelter complete with stored food and other essentials. They were kept in the boiler room right under the pipes that were wrapped in asbestos.
@@dalemihocik4732 sounds about right, you survive the blast then croak sometime later from mesothelioma LOL.And here we are witnessing the lunacy of today, things really have changed since we were kids.
@@frankcovert6196 Just recently all the schools in that district were torn down. I showed up to watch the demolition and had of the men rescue than yellow and black shelter sign for me. I have it in my garage, it always brings a smile to my face to see it.
Yeah, 'duck and cover' like that will save you from a nuclear blast. Talk about faint hope of even surviving ! Just you and you sturdy desk left, right ? LOL...
I changed from Catholic to Public High Schools. The curricula didn’t match so I was put in a home economics class. I learned how to cook, sew and design my own clothes. All through the 60’s I made fantastic hippie clothes, velvet vests, long satin gowns. I didn’t have much money but I had incredible clothes
Wow, really good stuff. We said the Pledge every day, and we wrote in cursive. Those things I absolutely remember. We'd gather in the open areas and sing songs each morning before school started and say the pledge. We had a school prayer too. I know it may seem crazy, but we didn't have the drama, shootings, and/or fighting and really bad characters we have today.
Exactly 👍. We should go back to those days. Morning prayer and if there are anyone that doesn't want to pray 🙏 or hear the prayer 🙏 they can wait outside of the prayer circle.
I have six analog clocks in my house. One in my bedroom, one in the dining room, one in the family room, one in the living room, and one in each bathroom. I can't imagine not having them on the walls.
@@MelvisVelourhahahahaha! As a matter of fact, I think the one in my upstairs bathroom is off right now. I think it's about an hour and 10 minutes off. Thanks for reminding me to put a new battery in it.😂
@@jenniferhansen3622 Electric clocks were the norm when I was growing up, school and home. I miss them. I miss the old alarm clocks like I used to have. They were made of metal and wound up and their sound could *not* be ignored by the sleeper. I still wish they were around. Nothing says getting up like an alarm clock with a metal case and a winding key. : )
I remember the "official" and "unofficial" smoking areas at my high school quite well. All of them outdoors and students always came back smelling of smoke (mostly).
My high school had a smoking area. It was the back wing of the school. During lunch break, those of us who smoked would pass the time smoking while we drank a can of Coke and ate a bag of chips
I was well-behaved in school, but there was one time in 11th grade when I played a mild prank with a firecracker. My punishment was cleaning the loooooong inside wall at the entrance of the school, where pretty-much everyone passed-by. (I was horrified!) Looking back, I think the punishment fit the crime, and I still think very highly of the principal. And yes, he had a paddle in 1978.
I remember when I was in 2nd grade (around 1970) and while at recess I didn't follow the rules. The rule was once the bell rang, everyone stopped doing what they were doing and to stand still. The teacher would blow the whistle and the girls would go first. Then she would blow the whistle again and the boys would then go to their class. I made the mistake of accidentally moving on the first whistle. My teacher made me stand in line with the girls. Are you reading this Ms. Blakely?
@@YesYou-zy7kp Haha!! I remember when I was in 3rd grade (1985) and my friends and I had been out at recess sitting under a tree in the far end of the playground. Well, we didn't hear when the bell rang so we didn't go in from recess on time. Somebody was sent outside to come and find us. Anyway, we missed out on a treat that day, fresh pineapple. The mother of one of my classmates had brought fresh pineapple for our class to enjoy in the afternoon. My friends & I were not allowed to have any. Not a major punishment, but we were disappointed. 🍍
@@YesYou-zy7kpYes. I was really well-behaved in school too. But my brothers described the paddle with the holes. It scared me to death. I ended up working in the office in the 6th grade for an hour during lunch. As volunteers, we worked the switchboard, helped kids into the nurse's office, etc. I also witnessed the principle grabbing that paddle out of a cabinet drawer for when naughty kids came in for punishment. 6th grade--1977
I was within a few months from graduating mid term and, my guidance counselor decided he was going to make some trouble for me since, another person was in trouble he decided he would accuse me of the similar things he was taking this other student for, he didn’t like where, I was from. I warned this guy, what, I was going to do when, he started in on me. I knew he didn’t like it because, I had came from the school district that was that’s schools number one enemy. So, he wanted to go on about these false allegations. And, I cussed him out. I only talked to a few other people what had happened! My mom never got one phone call and, never really saw or heard anything from that guidance counselor ever again.
For me it is the library where I volunteered to inhabit, to hide from the mean girls as much as I could. Was a pretty good one too, we actually had a media room (circa 1974)….it was my first introduction to microphish ( early sort of data collection) and so much more. I was into it before anyone knew what it was. The second was the rope climbing….I was the only one in my gym class in junior high that could climb to the top….there you have it a physically advanced nerd. 🎉
So many things are gone. The wooden desks of days gone by with the hole at the top for ink wells, they lasted for decades only to be made way for tables that needed constant replacing.
I enjoyed reading everyone’s comments so much! I also am thankful for these many memories, now seeing how much value there was to them! Nostalgia, yes, but woven together with gratitude and smiles ! 🙏🏻🥰🤭
As the father of two, a 15- and 17- year old, I can assure you the electronic/internet-based education is in no way as effective as old fashioned text books. The lack of knowledge my children have acquired compared to what I and their mother learned is in some ways astonishing. We live in a "better" school district that is well-funded and staffed, so it's not for lack of resources. It's very, very sad.
You young whippersnapper STILL think you know everything! (Kidding) Why, you didn't even have good 'ol sock hops! Now THAT was helium! th-cam.com/video/zTPWWPeWj9Q/w-d-xo.html
One other thing I remember was there was always an American flag in the classroom, usually hanging high up in a holder on the wall. In grade school we had the flag salute every morning, and although that practice stopped in high school, the flag still remained in most classrooms. You don't really see flags in the classroom any more.
I remember having to look up the definitions of words in an dictionary or when doing reports or essays for certain classes, using the encyclopedia for information. Tiffany Deaton
Mimeograph and Ditto machines were common when I was in elementary school in the 1960s.. Our school had the manual ones that had to be hand cranked to spit out copies of daily work assignments Various students would be assigned this task. I always enjoyed the unique scent of the aromatic wash used during the print process.
Oh yeah! As a Boomer student in the 1950s and 60's, I remember all that stuff, and more! Florida public school dress codes were really strict in those days. Sneakers were for P.E. class. Leather shoes were required for the rest of the day. No T-shirts either! Skirts and dresses for girls, and no blue jeans for boys! Boy's shirts had to be tucked in. And it went on and on...
I remember bring a note home from school (3rd grade in 1968) that informed my mother that girls could now wear culottes - shorts that look like skirts!
My older sister and cousin were both in HS in the late 1960s (class of '69). My cousin in particular liked the latest fashion and she was constantly reprimanded because her skirts were too short. They'd make girls kneel on the floor then measure from the floor to the bottom hem of the skirt. Anything greater than 3 inches and you were sent home! By the time I entered HS in 1974 the dress code had been abolished, but I do remember a couple of girls being scolded for wearing tube tops and halter tops.
@@pianomaly9 Boy's hair had to be no longer than mid ear in our school in the 1960's. The PE teacher measured our hair each week to make sure we were in compliance.
One of my favorite memories was from first grade in 1968, when as a reward for good behavior and getting our lessons done, we were sent to the janitor’s room to clean erasers. He supervise the process, which was to hold each eraser on a machine that vibrated dramatically, then plumes of chalk dust billowed into the air. Then we would sweep it up, gather the erasers, and head back to class. I remember that often when we got to the classroom, our nice teacher would brush off the residual chalk from our clothes. As a grandfather now, I can see you this ritual could have exposed some kids to a lot of risks - but I loved it.
I loved cleaning the erasers as well. Our teachers were thee ones who selected the students who got the honor and since I was so well behaved and studious I was the the honor more times than I can count….a very special memory😊
@@keithbrown7685 Yeah, it is funny looking back. Maybe it was getting out of the classroom. Or the trust from my teacher. My dad wasn’t around much then, so I also enjoyed the gruff coaching of our old janitor. Whatever, for me it was.
@@keithbrown7685 Yes I remember it was a reward t get out of class but as an older person today it sounds dirty and nothing that I would want to do now!
I was on the rifle team in my High School. Rifles were kept in cases in the Coach's closet. He kept the ammo in his desk. On Thursday's we had competitions against other schools. We would check out our rifle, buy a 100 rounds for a couple of bucks and head off to the range. This was in the L.A. unified school district. Not some rural town in the middle of Texas.
I went to school from 1966 to 1979. Another thing I remember was learning and practicing cursive writing which I enjoy knowing how to do, and which I heard recently was being phased out as part of the modern school curriculum.
I wrote a office referral for a 7th grader, he wanted to know what it said. PATHETIC! It was in cursive. I read it to him so he would have confidence that I did not lie about his behavior. After that I asked what they would do when they needed to read cursive documents when they grew up. I told them to have their parents teach them. Many did. Nobody wants to look ignorant. Schools are graduating very unprepared people. I can;t imagine what they are thinking. I just say, thank you Bill Gates. He is responsible for the downfall of public education.
I loved going to the library, thumbing through the dewy decimal system, and having my library card stamped back in the day. The libraries back in the day had an archaic scent. I loved it! Ohhh and book fair day! I loved book fair day. Good times.
Thanks for once again bringing back cherished memories of my school days of the late sixties & early seventies!!! Wow, how the world has changed!!! 👍👍🙂
I don't know where this guy lives but our schools still have most of the things he mentions including changing for gym and doing actual sports and exercise!
@inkey2 My older sisters went to Catholic school and told me about the rulers on the knuckles. The last half of 8 kids went to public schools. My brothers described the paddle with the holes in it. But there was an extra plank of wood attached so that the first would catch your rear in the holes, and the other would slam fast after, making it much more painful. I was SO scared of being punished that I actually wet my pants because my distracted teacher didn't see my raised hand to dismiss me for the rest room. 1971
@@inkey2OMG. I just noticed your name! My nieces and nephews called me Inky because one of the couldn't say my name and it stuck. Some of them (40+ y.o.) still call me that today. 😁
How about when the class had a film to watch? A screen would be pulled down from the front wall or a portable screen would be set up while a movie projector was being loaded with the film. The lights were turned off & the projector was turned on making that familiar sound that those projectors made. If the film happened to break or the projector had a malfunction, it always provided reason for the class to urupt in laughter, clapping, & whistles until the lights were turned back on to address the situation. Oh, the good old days! I miss them.
Can you imagine trying to use plastic grocery bags to cover text books today, instead of the brown paper grocery bags then? Every household had a stack of those saved paper grocery bags. I think ours was between the refrigerator and the cabinet next to it. Endless utility.
LOL wow. forgot ALL about smacking erasers together to clear them of chalk dust! We used to BEG our 2nd grade teacher each day to let us do that chore.. nope.. she had her favorites, and thankfully, I was one of them! Thanks Mrs, Elliott - even though you were as mean as a junkyard dog, you always let me pound the erasers! LOL!
Clapping erasers is one of the plot points in the Beverly Cleary book, "Ellen Tebbits" (1951). Ellen is bothered when her teacher NEVER picks her to clap erasers but later finds out the teacher doesn't pick her because she (the teacher) thinks Ellen's clothes are too nice to get dirty clapping erasers. She eventually gets picked and it's a happy day for her.
I feel bad for kids these days with the reduced school libraries. So many classics are being banned these days that I grew up reading for odd reasons. “Those who not study history are doomed to repeat it”. 😊
The smell of books in a library is something every kid should have the opportunity to experience. This is so sad. I absolutely loved the libraries growing up. They were a really great place to study!
My grandchildren's school has a library. They check books out of the school library regularly. My daughter also takes them to the public library, particularly in the summer.
The kids of today don't play outside or do many physical things like we used to do and therefore we were strong enough to carry all those textbooks, even from a young age!
My mom bought me a big backpack 🎒 and I joined in Boy Scout in 5 grades public schools elementary school to grade 7 ages 12 to 14 and learning how to carrying heavy load of clothes and first aid and camping gear and fishing gear and sleeping bag and tent but I was a Quarter master since I can carry heavy loads of cooking supplies and food while others boy scout carrying tents and so on stuffs needed and I learned about carrying my books and paperwork in my homemade jeans material back pack just for books and homework and stuff in my sewing machine classes in public Jr. Highschool grade 7 to 8 grade and have cooking classes also in 1977 to 1979 it called Home Education. My Jr. Highschool has also have wood work shops and metal shop and U.S. history classes and World History classes and reading classes and social studies class math classes weights lifting class and volleyball and tennis courts and soccer game and basketball and baseball and field and track running field and football and archery 🏹 bows and arrows and golfing class and swimming pool and public schools kindergarten through highschool has had Prayer and Pledge to the America flag and does teach about bible historical facts but not religious stuff we used World History classes for understanding about overseas countries people studies of Why pyramid and Egyptian and Arabic and Europe and China dictatorship and studies about U.S. history of Demoncrats Party's KKKLAN Klu Klux klan white supremacists Neo-Nazis inventers who invented the Racist bigotry Race Baiters to intimidate to torture and lying about everything and to killing innocent American black and white Republican Party people in America since 1866 . And studies about Real American people invented the REAL American Republican Party invented Organized in 1854 to oppose to eliminate all the Demoncrats Party's Slavery extension and freeing the black slave Plantations a Demoncrats Party's KKKLAN White Supremacists Plantation owns black slave. Republican Party : was a Anti-Slavery 1854 and President Lincoln has been exposing the Demoncrats Party people as Fascism, They are the Party of lying and Enslavement and Tyranny and Promoting LIES and Promoting ENSLAVEMENT and Promoting TYRANNY against the REAL American black and white Republican Party people in America since 1860 . Demoncrats Party people have Soo much hatred towards President Lincoln has freeing black slave Plantations and giving black people and kids freedom to be whatever they want to be. And Demoncrats Party people was Soo mad still at President Lincoln and President Reagan and President Trump for having American black and white and brown and yellow and red innocent poor regular people freedom of amendment Right laws of choice to be free speech and Amendment Rights LAWS to vote for whoever we wanted to.
@@richa.s9912 Sounds like you, like I, have had a very wellrounded education, both in and out of the classroom! Wish the kids of today could experience just a little bit, of growing up in the early 20th century! What an eye opener they would have! Thank you for your insightful response! God Bless (born in 1950)
I spent most of my school years, 2nd grade to 12th, at Killeen TX next to Fort Hood. When it came to book covers the military always gave all the schools Army covers and sometimes Air Force. We rarely had to make our own until 11th or 12th grade when for some reason they printed Army ones were phased out. This was a great video
Military propaganda was everywhere in the cold war era. I remember some little hand out for young boys telling us how we should "prepare to serve" and that included weight training so we would be strong when we had to "engage the enemy"
You left out all of the projectors: - overhead projectors used in algebra, geometry, and trigonometry classes - film strip projectors - opaque projectors - 16mm film projectors Maybe some of these are still used, but they are 20th century technologies that have increasingly been replaced by computer displays and streaming video.
In eighth grade a bunch of us got detention for throwing Boston cream pie around the cafeteria. For a week we had to sit in a classroom eating our lunch and not allowed to talk to anyone while one of the teachers sat in the front menacing us. That was 55 years ago and I still remember it Also those analog clocks in our school were manufactured by a company called Simplex. Once an hour the master clock in the office sent out a radio signal which synchronized the time on all the clocks in the school
Kids today are missing not only basic life skills but also consequences, responsibility, respect, and so much more. I graduated i '86. I remember all these. Wow memories.
I love that the photo of the book from the school library is HG Wells' The Time Machine, and this channel is like a time capsule or time machine. That's so meta.
All of your videos hit me real hard, I can’t get used to getting older.. I choke up and get teary eyed watching them. Thank you for remembering and highlighting such wonderful memories!
My junior high 69' 72' had great lunches .40 cents, and saved .25 cents if you bought a lunch card for the week, .03 cents if you wanted an extra milk and .05 cents for chocolate. Now you get fish crackers and a cream cheese bagel for something like $20 a week. In high school we had a hot lunch line and a cold lunch line which had sandwichs and chips and snacky type foods.
Yes! Same age, same memories...35 cents for a full meal with juice...Fridays were the best, because it was Pizza or Giant Tuna Hoagie with side of chips...
@@darcihoudeshell2588 I don't remember having fish anytime, we had Spaghetti, pizza, meatloaf or Salisbury steak sliced turkey all with beans or carrots, corn maybe and some sort of dessert, of course we had other things but this is what I remember, the Spaghetti being the best, they would scoop it up in an ice cream scoop. Late in Jr. High and all through High School we had vending machines (soda, candy, chips).
You can blame the commie liberals for that cheap food. Those libtards would use taxpayers’ money to buy food crops and dairy products straight from the farmers, then turn around and sell them cheap to schools and the like. Hell - they even gave a lot of it away. School kids kids getting free individual milk cartons (or paying a nickel for a chocolate one). The poor getting allotments of butter and cheese. Praise Jesus, those socialist days are gone!
Good video. In elementary school the kitchen ladies took pride in their food and frowned if we didn’t like it. They cared and so did we. Real food. Same for Jr high, but not quite as personal. The library was an experience. You had to be quiet and that was challenge for many kids. Reading books could be a contest as well as educational. Who read the most books? I’m absolutely certain P.E. in elementary, Jr High & High School whipped us into shape, taught us sportsmanship and team effort. I’ve lived in Texas for decades and I’m sure our kids would struggle playing many sports
I remember having the most wonderful teacher in 3rd grade (1968) who had cats that she showed. Her cats won lots of ribbons and trophies. One day she told us that we could win those trophies and ribbons based on how many pages of books we'd read that year. She had the whole class reading like maniacs. Have loved reading my whole life.
I went to Catholic grade school, first grade through eighth grade, and then Catholic high school, which was ninth through 12th. In grade school, we didn’t have a library, but we had bookmobiles that came to the school every so often, probably once a month, and I loved going to the bookmobiles. I can still remember the smell of those little mobile home type things. They had a card catalog and you could check out books just like a regular library. I’m not sure if the public schools in our area had libraries or not. but I wouldn’t of traded my bookmobile visits for anything
I teach kindergarten in a public school. I have analog clocks in my room and teach my class how to use analog to tell time. I have a physical glibe and use it quite often. I have tons of books. I rarely let me class use technology. There are two programs on the ipad we have to use every week for a certain amount of time, but other than that we do not use tech. Thankfully every year i am able to teach my class to love the classic stuff instead of all the stuff we have now. We also dance to classics. They love songs like rock around the clock and we will rock you :)
The mimeograph machine. I was my Spanish teacher’s student assistant. I typed her test on the mimeograph template for her. I also corrected all tests for her except my own. When you got the handouts that had that smell of mimeograph ink you gagged but oh do I miss it
Oh, one more thing: If you were in elementary school during the 60s, do you remember how chickenpox, mumps, and rubella were all considered normal childhood illnesses? Today it's difficult to find any article discussing this in a Google search.
Chicken pox was definitely in that category. I think mumps may have been too. I remember getting measles. Wasn't there two types with f measles with one called the German Measles?
As someone who had a severe case of chicken pox, to the point where I was basically this four-foot-tall ZIT and my parents had me so whacked out on Benadryl (to keep me from scratching) that I couldn’t go from here to the wall without tripping over my own feet, I cannot say enough good things about vaccinations and the hell my kids are able to avoid now!
I'm right there with you! I had such a horrible time with chicken pox! For starters, I had it more than once (I wanna say 3 times), with one of those being such a bad outbreak that I actually had them INSIDE my girly bits! I couldn't do anything but sit in oatmeal baths and drown myself in Calamine lotion! It was something so freaking miserable that I'd NEVER want my children to go through.
I'm 74 and in my elementary school (1st-6th grade), we didn't crave pizza, we craved Mrs. Walters spaghetti every Wednesday. My mouth waters thinking about it. And we had Dixie cups for dessert, ice cream in a paper bowl-like thingy.
I'm 63 and we didn't have pizza either... what we looked forward to was the one day a week we got big, warm biscuits that had flecks of cheese in them. Delicious!
@@andreeelliott2943 I'd forgotten the spoon...and there was a picture of a rock star or sports figure at the bottom of the cup.....or lid....I forget which now.
Soothing, enjoyable video as always. I will add that Trapper Keepers were from the 1970s, actually. I had one at least from fourth grade, so 1975. I’d add manual pencil sharpeners and the 1960s electric vacuum for the erasers. There was a wall mounted one at my grammar school.
When I was growing up in the 60’s and 70’s the paddle was called the board of education. We had lockers we kept our books in, when the bell rang, you went to your locker, put your book in it and got your book for the next class, pe was my favorite class, especially tennis. At my high school there was a place right next to the school gate where students could smoke there were even a few teachers that would go smoke with the students
Our lunch menu was published in the Saturday issue of our local newspaper. Loved “Flying Saucer” sandwiches(bologna with a slice of American cheese on a hamburger bun)! Thanks to all at RR!
Thank you for the ride down memory Lane. I graduated in 1977 and back then in my high school we had a smoking area for not only teachers but the students as well. Both sections were separate, the students got to smoke behind the school, the teachers smoked inside. Crazy, right!? Thanks again. Love your channel!
As a 90s kid, a lot of the items on this list carried over to my time. I think corporal punishment had long been banned in Canada by the time I was in elementary school. By the time I was in high school, that's when the transition was made from chalk boards to white boards. We also had a CRT television in every classroom. They were still huge and boxy, but it marked the end of the excitement of the TV being rolled into the classroom for movie time. I didn't have a Trapper Keeper, but I had the spiritual successor known as the Note Tote. It did the same thing as the Trapper Keeper, but from what I can remember, there weren't as many choices. Certainly not licensed character versions. I remember I had a purple one and a green one, both with the textured finish that defined the 1990s. Does anyone remember the DIY sponge paint your own walls? On a separate note, a lot of these things have not gone away in Japan. As a teacher here, many schools still have chalk boards and analogue clocks. These are also supplemented with the hourly chime that is a version of the Westminster Quarters. Uniforms are mandatory from junior high school, so the students will have matching PE clothes as well. They have loosened up the rules regarding uniforms to be more inclusive, with gender neutral options being available at some schools. We also have a hybrid of digital and analogue technology. Japan, I would argue has the highest quality stationery items in the world. There is something so satisfying about taking notes with a high quality pen and notebook. People still write personal notes and letters, take long hand notes for school, and many companies still use fax machines for correspondence. You can even still send a telegram with a gift in Japan today. There is this weird disconnect because Japan is so futuristic in a lot of ways, but the country is still very traditional in other ways. I think people hang on to old technology for a lot longer. Even the Super Famicom remained in production until 2003 even though its western counterpart known as the Super Nintendo was long out of production by then. If it's not broken, why replace it? New isn't necessarily better, and I do not like profit driven planned obsolesce as an international community because it produces a lot of e-waste. I really appreciate that as a teacher in Japan, that we still have a lot of these things that are considered to be long obsolete by western standards. Edit: Also, dodgeball isn't banned here!
You might consider disposing of dodgeball. It was sometimes called murder all unofficially, as some kids would try to actually hurt those they didn't like.
I went to school in Texas in the 60's , and corporal punishment was strictly enforced . I screwed up one time in math , and the male teacher knocked me over a desk when that paddle hit my ass !!!! I carried a severely bruised ass for a month .
@@doughoward6401 I bet you couldn't sit down for a month, geeze. I read stories around the r/nostalgia subreddit about people getting paddled. My parents experience in Canada was getting the strap on the back of the hands. Basically, the kids who were facing punishment had to hold their hands out, and get whipped with a belt. I'd imagine they walked around with bruising for the same amount of time.
Excellent excellent video on the school years. But what happened to the inkwells that were built into our desk and remember moving our chairs around and the good old fashioned pencil sharpener😊
I didn't read the comments to see if this was discussed but I also noted that the brown paper bags to make book covers with have nearly disappeared. I was in 7th grade in 1960/1961. That was when I first remember having to carry books and supplies around to different classes.
As others have mentioned, the old 1892 school building we attended until 6th grade in 1960 had solid oak desks that were screwed to the floor. They had inkwells, and were heavily stained with not-so-long before spilled ink. My year, HS class of 1966, was the first to use ball point pens, in third or fourth grade, rather than an ink pen with a steel nib that you dipped in the ink. Another feature of my school was desk surfaces scarred by 60 years of boredom, reflected in the graffiti carved into the desks by generations of pocket knife-wielding grade schoolers. Initials, sometime complete names, sometimes crude appeals to the gods to be favored by some small gesture of affection from Linda, or Carol, or Nancy or Susan, or Grace, or some other common name that no child has anymore. One desk I was assigned (for the entire year) had several strategically carved pits that your pencil would fall into, putting a hole in your paper. That old school building had rooms with 12 foot (at least) ceilings and tall windows. On hot days, one of the bigger boys had the job of opening the upper half of the window with a long pole that had a brass hook on the end that fit into a piece of brass hardware screwed onto the window sash. In either third or forth grade the back windows in the classroom opened onto the tin roof of a first floor classroom. One of the coveted jobs assigned to boys who behaved was going out onto the roof at the end of the day to clap the erasers. Another coveted job was 'milkman'. If you could afford it, a quarter a week would buy you a half-pint carton of either white or chocolate milk you got about 10AM, every day. The milkman went down to the lunchroom to pick up the milk in a wooden box.Girls had the job of washing the blackboard with a pail of water and a sponge. For some reason, certain kids in my class were prone to throwing up, which would result in someone being assigned to escort the embarrassed victim to the nurse's office while a runner was sent out to find and summon the custodian, who arrived with a can of cedar sawdust that was spread on the vomit. There are certain odors that stick in the mind. One is the unique smell of cedar vomit. Another is the aroma of the coal-fired boiler in the basement that the custodian kept going all day. There are a lot of things to remember about that time almost 70 years ago.
Yes! We had those transom windows above the doors that could be opened and closed using a long wooden rod with a hook on the narrow end. The hook would go through a brass ring of the spring-loaded latch on the top of the transom window's frame. Since there was no a/c back then, we opened all the windows, and the transom above the door. And coal furnaces that made it 🥵 hot in winter. The steam radiators would hiss and spit steam, plus the excessive heat 🫠put out burning coal in winter, sure made me woozy in boring classes. Hard to focus when you're ready to fall asleep😴 just after lunch! Then, if I could be excused to go to the 🧻restroom, we had a long row of sinks across from the toilet🚽 stalls. The soap was powder from a teardrop shaped glass globe with a metal spring loaded rod that you pushed up into the stem of the soap dispenser & powdered soap would come out in your palm. The towel dispenser had one white woven towel with a blue stripe on the edge. The towel was attached to a wooden rod at each end, where one rod was mounted at the top, the other mounted below it inside the dispenser, and a loop of the towel was hanging down out of the dispenser; when you pulled the towel to dry, it would roll around to one rod, and hopefully you'd get a dry part of the towel. When a lot of kids used the towel, it sometimes didn't have time to dry.
@@tophorn7348 I recall the heavy second layer of outer wool socks drying on those steam heat radiators. As well as the wool gloves, mitts and scarves we could fit on, all jammed together beneath the windows. The other thing I remember about older school buildings, were the cloak rooms, where all the winter coats and boots were hung up. Loved those cloak rooms. Not a few times, especially in winter, if I stayed at school for lunch (12pm-1:30pm) I'd sneak into the cloak room after wolfing a sandwich down, and grab a quick 15-minute cat nap. Just lolling on the floor, back against the wall. It was heaven.
@@tophorn7348 Oh.. you had the recycler.. I remember seeing those at some gasoline station washrooms, but my school restroom used those brown folded paper towels. My elementary school was a two story brick building built in 1907 with a coal fired boiler and steam radiators. No AC. Interesting times ! The cafeteria was in the basement, and there was a room full of fallout shelter supplies in case of atomic attack by the Soviet Union. We didn't have the 'duck & cover' drill, but we did have fire drills.
I have not seen any mention of those beautiful 'Trading Cards' we used to collect as kids. Wonderful pictures of anything and everything. You may have mentioned them in other Recollection Road vids, but I haven't seen it. Thanks for your super entertaining videos. Brings back memories, some I had forgotten.
Some of my teachers used Flash Cards in class. And I remember the nuclear bomb practices, where we had to go out into the hallway, hunch down, put our heads between our knees and cover our heads with our hands..............like that was going to save us from a nuclear explosion! LOL
So many things. One is respect for teachers. I went to school in the 50-60s. You did what the teachers said, no back talk. We had marksmanship class. Boys and girls. We shot .22 rifles. Also, we used to bring our rifles to shop class before hunting season to work on them. You had to have them in a case while you walked through school to the shop class. During hunting season, we’d bring our guns to school so we could meet our friends after school to go hunting. There was never a problem. Ever. And there was never a nefarious thought in our heads, ever. This was a town with 40,000 people it wasn’t a small hick town. We had respect for each other. Society has changed for the worse. We didn’t grow up watching violent videos or playing violent video games. It was a simpler time, and imho a much better time
We had a small bore shooting team with a range in the basement. We brought or rifles to school ( cased of course ) on the bus handed them to our principal he locked them up till end of day he even shot with us was one of our chaperones when we shot competition with other schools taking a bus ! We also had a trap and skeet team and practice was out at trail glades range after school some took the bus others their cars we had several adult chaperones for that too . We interacted with our principal and teachers and other guys parents too outside the class room I think that made every one better and more respectful too .
@@lotsoffun4716 Worcester Mass. believe it or not Mass used to be free. Hunting was great. I left there at 18 to go to Vietnam, got home and moved south. Now it’s a socialists paradise. Thank god I moved south when I did.
1.) Recess was longer. Now it’s barely 20 minutes. Maybe less. 2.) The metal playgrounds have now been replaced by plastic structures. 3.) Projectors and overhead slides have been replaced by PowerPoint.
Giving kids only 20 minutes in a school day to blow off steam is about as dumb as it gets! And, gee, wonder how we all survived those metal jungle gyms, and those metal bars we used hook one leg over and then somersault in place around? (Not to mention riding our bikes for hours all over the neighborhood without a helmet in sight!). Glad I was a kid before all the "protections" became the norm.
We had a snow cone machine and would sell them after school and give the money to charity. Afterwards, I made a "special" snow cone for myself extra big and with tons of syrup.
I went to elementary school in the early 1960s. There was no foul language allowed (most of us knew perhaps what a couple of them meant) and we wouldn't dream of using any. One day when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade I remember arriving at school and a group of students were standing in a semicircle facing one outside wall. There were shocked faces, oohs and aahs, somebody's going to get in trouble, etc. What was the problem? Someone had used a white stone and written S**T on the brick wall! How different things are today.
My oldest grandchildren are in elementary school, and they would be in big trouble if they wrote "sh*t" on a wall. The school and their parents would not ignore it.
Imagine how far we would be as a society of we focused on things that actually mattered, like being a good person, standing up for those who need it the most, and not stupid fucking shit like what no-no words you can't use.
As a senior in 1973, there were designated bathrooms and outside areas to smoke..Senior skip day was thirty days before graduation..The last day of actual school before finals was seniors day, a day of fun, games, food and music..I never realized It would be the last day i'd see a lot of school friends i had since kindergarten..Graduation was bittersweet..
We bought little 6inch banners that you pinned to your shirt that showed you rooted for your home team on game night. They would say things like.. "skin the tigers" or "plow the farmers" we would always keep them and put them in the annual or photo albums.
I never had a back pack. We just carried our books and I don’t recall any carrying a back pack but I’m from the baby boomer era. Great memories seeing most of the stuff we had and no digital.
I'm aging myself saying so, but I began school right on the cusp of the 60s into the 70s! It was comical whenever we got an outdated science book where they would exclaim "one day maybe man will go to the moon"! Haha! The lunch program changed while I was there! It did start out with prepared food and later changed! Milk was still something you bought separately. My favorite hot lunch in the 70s was the one they made for the week of Thanksgiving! The turkey was pretty forgettable but they also gave us "pumpkin pudding" for dessert - which was basically pie filling baked! Dodge ball wasn't a horrible and dreaded game and during lunch recess big groups would form on the basketball courts for "Nation Ball", which was just a larger dodge ball tournament!
6:10: When I was in high school (late '70s), not only was there a smoking area for teachers, but one (outdoors) for students as well. I remember the principal coming on the PA system and saying, "It has come to my attention that students have been smoking substances other than tobacco in the student smoking area...." I don't remember the rest, the first part was just too funny.
We had an outdoor smoking area also, but our principal never said anything that funny. 😂😂😂 Most of the weed was being smoked in cars during lunch because we could leave campus.
All through school in the 50's and 60's, from grade school to high school, we never wore matching uniforms in gym class. Apparently that photo must be from some exclusive private school.
When I was in high school (mid 1970's) our school had a designated "smoking patio" for STUDENTS outside next to the cafeteria! No way that would be done now!
We smoked in the bathrooms. The hall monitors would check for smoking in there and if you were caught it was detention for a week. I swear the hall monitors were nazis.
Another wonderfully nostalgic video! I remember most of these things....though I gotta say that back when I was in HS in the late 70s/early 80s - I definitely would've preferred (if it had existed back then lol!) a tablet (or a laptop) with digital instead of physical textbooks; i.e. like you mentioned - lugging some of those textbooks in a backpack - especially on warm days when walking to/from school - was a chore!!. Oddly enough - one of my strongest memories from elementary school in the 70s was something very minor - i.e. the smell of chalk..My elementary school had this machine (not sure what it's officially called) to vacuum/clean the accumulated chalk from blackboard erasers. It was located on the ground floor next to one of the side entrances leading to the schoolyard. Whenever this machine was used, it would fill the surrounding air with a smell of chalk that would linger for hours...so this chalky smell would be the first thing to greet kids whenever recess was finished (it's funny the trivial things that stick in the mind decades later!)
Our middle school in South Florida had a Dean of Students who was basically the disciplinarian just below the Principal. He was a beefy guy with shiny black shoes and a short sleeved oxford to show off his biceps. He had a huge wooden paddle hanging on the wall over his desk. When you got called to his office it hung over his head while he explained why he was about to use it on you. That memory left an impression on me (in more ways than one)
As a child of the seventies and eighties, graduating from High School in the year 1991 I remember so much of what was mentioned here , to be honest I have now written novels of my life much of these things I refer to, especially the disapline part being very honest I was paddled in just about every year I attended Elementary and middle School. Thank you for this memory serving post
Remember those hand cranked pencil sharpeners that were screwed in a wall?
I possess one of those.
Right now it's sitting on my shelf
They don't still have them ??
@speedracer1945 most kids today don't have a clue what they're for.
Yes, I have one of those pencil sharpeners near the back door of my house. It's kind of a little phone Nook. A small Shelf where the phone would rest. Even those things are a dinosaur and no longer are necessary. It used to be that our phone was tied to the wall. Now we are tied to the phone.😢
@@susanvan1672 We had an electric one at home.
Some of the other things that are missing from schools now, Industrial Arts classes like metal shop, machine shop, wood shop, electronics and auto shop. Also Home Economics, Cooking, Sewing and fashion, (a favorite with the girls, they made dresses and shirts of their own design) Basically any class that had anything to do with using your hands to build and create things using your imagination and problem solving skills is gone. They also stopped teaching Civics class where we learned how city, county, state and Federal governments work. My wife and I went to High School from 72 to 76 and man how things have changed.
You are so right! 👍❤️
Also typing and orchestra and art classes.
Wood class , metal shop and wood shop honed for future skills if you were good with your hands as the other stuff for girls .
High school 72' to 75' here, I had all of these, we also had a class called bachelor living were they taught the guys how to tell cuts of meat, cook, lite sewing and things a single man would need to know. The only thing we made to eat was beef jerky. We also had swimming and auto shop, you are so right things have really changed.
My high school had a nice metal shop. It had four or five lathes, a milling machine, shaper, drill presses & etc. The best part was the crucible for melting brass and aluminum and sand molds for casting.
How I absolutely loved covering my textbooks with brown paper bags at the beginning of the school year. And draw and doodle on those covers throughout the year.
It's been a long time since then but the old fashioned pencil sharpeners and the smell of the ditto machine that odd purple ink print out comes to mind. It does take you back in many ways.
Anybody else flash back to the sight and smell of that purple ink when McGee found the old ditto machine in the NCIS basement during the “Power Down” episode?
@@dragondancer1814: Carbon copies
So many ditto copies were hard to read. They didn't always copy very well.
@@nonelost1 You have to admit, it was fun when dirt or other stuff on the original copy got copied by the ditto machine-it made for some very interesting random purple spots at times!
I was born in 1971, and I remember every example here like it was yesterday. They say that of all the senses, smell is actually the most closely tied to memory evocation. Freshly-cut grass can be found anywhere, but it brings me back to suburban Toronto as a kid. I took swim lessons from an early age and eventually became a lifeguard and swim instructor. Chlorine always reminds me of the fun I had, especially in the summer, in the 80s and 90s. And, as mentioned here, the smell of books. Libraries the reliquaries of unfathomable and endless information, and had a distinct smell I rarely experience anymore in the age of digital book downloading.
100% agree. When they showed those kids in the library, I relived the smell of our little library. It was an old house that had been turned into a library, and one of the best parts of going was to breathe in that smell.
Also born in 71.. i feel ya my friend. The chlorine smell i def can relate. I remember every pool you always had the thought of " does this pool have too much chlorine"? If it did your hair would turn green or blue i dont remember. Fun memories.😊
Born in ‘71 as well. I always feel bad that my daughters (17 and 19) didn’t get to grow up in the world that we did. I’d go back and live in an 80’s loop forever.
Me too I was a year after you 72 and I remember every single one of these examples I remember standing up for the pledge of legions
Another thing that has disappeared is the film projector. We always got excited when we came into class and saw the projector. Also, it was fun when the teacher would run the film backwards.
lol - projector? I can take a nap.
Or the overhead projector (less fun) which meant you were going to be copying notes until your wrist hurt.
If you weren't a fast writer it was a struggle to keep up!
And the overhead projector! I got what's now a grad school's worth of history education on those things.
Did any of those actually work right? I remember the teacher trying to thread the darn thing and you had a to make a "loop" at some point and that NEVER worked right
@@kendallevans4079 Especially if it was an old print & had splices & torn sprocket holes
1980s kid here. I feel bad for today's youth. What do they have today that will of sentimental value to them in 20, 30 years? Book covers, Trapper Keepers, school libraries... Seemingly ordinary things that we took for granted and never thought would disappear. Tons of memories flooding back. TY for this video!
I had a Countach Trapper Keeper. Of course, it fell apart after a few months.
Also, in 6th grade, I ended up breaking an analog clock out of anger and my mom had to pay to replace it. My mom would make my book covers for me and I'd skip class in the library. The lunch ladies were not friendly back in Maryland, but the cashier in middle school was cool.
The kids of today will miss out on so much, 80's kid here too. As a gear head, there are not cars out in fields to go play with, how I spent most of my childhood. 50's and 60's cars..dime a dosen.
Can't tell time unless digital, assaulting teachers, fat kids, etc. So much better today🤨
I graduated in 1970 ; and personally I believe kids of today have no idea of what they are missing from the simple days .
We had little cardboard school boxes for pencils and whatnot when I was in elementary school. Never formed any sentimental attachments to them. And every school I've taught in, this century btw, has had a library, complete with rows of computers where kids can do research and print out their homework assignments. Is anyone really nostalgic for using the card catalog when you had a research project to complete, then run around the library looking for ten different books, only to find that most of them had been checked out? Not me!
Wow, I miss all this :( I often wish that I could go back in time when life was simpler and people appreciated each other.
Just don't say 'gay'
Not just the faculty had designated smoking areas, but the students too. I went to several high schools in the early to mid 80's (my dad was in the military) & each one had a smoking spots for the high school kids. It was outside, usually set back away from the main campus such as behind the "shop" classes or the gym, on the far side of the sports field or just off campus (back when we could leave during lunch and go to a nearby 7-11 or gas station for snacks & sodas). I remember one junior high or middle school as they are called now, had a smoking area next to an overflow parking lot for those who started their nicotine addictions at an early age. LOL - crazy times they were, but fun too!
As a smoker I know how bad smoking is for your health. But man I do like it! And if smoking is so bad for your health, why is it now that smoking rates are 20% down from 50% life expectation is dropping?😂😂
The smoking area when I was in high school was for students and teachers. Yeah, they took smoke breaks together
We smoked in what was called a vestibule. The teachers smoke right with us. Only high school students could smoke. This was the mid 1980s.
As someone who has taught for the last 11 years, I found this very interesting.
But one thing that stood out to me were the mistakes. For example, every school and classroom that I have worked in have all had analog clocks on the walls, not digital. I'm not implying that means every school has them, but don't worry, plenty of kids are still learning how to tell time on those.
Also, I absolutely agree with your point about students not carrying textbooks anymore because everything is digital, and I HATE this practice.
Last year alone, I can't count the number of times the internet was down or they couldn't log onto their digital textbooks, and they never had a hard copy to fall back on.
Going to all digital textbooks was, in my opinion, the worst idea ever.
Thank you for making this. Oh, and as a kid I LOVED my Trapper Keeper.
@@DosBear but so does their abillity to change the information when it dont suite them or they feel the need to hide that inconvinent artical from a 100 year old song or book that dont fit the modern narritive, or articals written by interviewing the actual people themselves when written, and there is the whole issue of how our brain takes the information on the computer in vs reading on paper, also change in software and lack of intergenerational compatabillity affect info to get something from an old piece of tech vs just picking up the book for some research, and what happens if we get hit with an emp snap the electronics are fried and the information stored on them irretreavable.
there is need still of some hard copies of things, or drawing by hand on paper or physical media vs computer though yes there is much more you can do at once with a digital drawing tablet but nothing beats sometimes drawing by hand helps with coordnation in kids or people, and just cuz something is old dont mean its no good, there are some things that have their place and do it well in niche applications.
@@DosBear well there is some topics one should tread carefully with when introducing, depends who you ask though. especially deeper subjects like psychology it takes a more tempered approach for more then the basics, or philosophy certain things can breed dangeous ideas and justifications for behavior if the persons mind is no ready to fully understand or the whole subject, that is you have to crawl before you can walk, and some ideas can lead to a justification of things like unhealthy behaviors, violence, and all kinds of immorality and unethical things.
@@DosBear some things though as I said take a more tempered approach to fully understand
@@DosBear ok well for example you wouldn't want to full on teach a questionable theory in gender studies from a collage senior level class when its qustionable among even some researchers to middleschoolers they are still trying to figure out who they are and going though enough changes and figuring out the more advanced basics of the human body, you would not need one of the more tenious thorys being taught that maybe questionable at best to them if their brain dont have the background yet or maturity to handle it, or teaching unfettered utilitarianism, if it feels good do it, that can lead to all kind of justifications to do stuff like drugs, and crime, selfishness that dont benifit society as a whole, without teaching them to temper it the kind of feels good go for it attitude being taught without restraint can be dangerous, for example, or teaching pure hate of something without the other side of the story is bad, even in catholic school we learned about other faiths and peoples all over the world and what philosphys differant cultures espoused thought history, like the greeks and romans, the persians, a little bit about various native american groups and especially a bit about the nations that were in indiana historically when studying state history, we weren't taught to hate but to understand how this was differant then what we belived, as christians.
there is a time and place to discuss things and prudence is to be used, and both sides of a topic at least mentioned
@@DosBear the truth is the truth even if one refuses to belive it, what I am trying to say is some knowlege is dangerous, while I dont advocate burning books, there is some that dont need to be brought front and center, that is more advanced, to one that is just learning something, case and point you would not want a book about bomb making in a highschool library to get reached by someone thats being bullied or hates school now would you, or or someone that hates school and has a vendetta. much depends on context, on the other hand you could talk about chemistry reactions in chemistry or sciance, once they reach that class level, depends on context, a five year old dont need to know the ins and outs of sex and how to plesure others when they ask where babys come from or all the gross details of child birth or how a csection works in detail, a 13 year old may be another story about the processies about how the body works and its interworkings.
Also, home economics was a class. They taught you how to balance a check book, cook, sew, etc. so many life skills that today's kids have no idea how to perform!
Our home ec didn't have the check balancing part, but that would have been neat if it did. We did have a class called Consumer Math which did teach that, among other things
We learned the checkbook stuff in business math class...home ec was cooking and sewing
Literally nothing more important to learn !
The home ec teacher came into the art class and stole my water colors. The teacher would give me a note saying the other teacher had to have my painting and gave me an A+. I would rather have had my painting. Even at that age I was really good. I became a professional artist later.
I went to a boarding school on a working cattle ranch in AZ. No home economics (which we could have really used) but I can muck out a stall and take care of horses (and of course ride) like nobody’s business.
A school without bells, libraries, and Globes sounds just awful 🥺
Our schools have all these things in NY. My kids had books just 2 years ago. Text books and library books.
Santa brought me a globe in grade school (1950’s). Wow.
My grandkids know nothing about the Constitution or other documents that were written during the founding of this country. I got them pocket copies of the Constitution and instructed them to read it. And if they have questions they should ask.
Globes, along with the old pull-down maps, began going out of fashion with the fall of the Soviet Union back in the 90s and the increasing turmoil on the African continent. Due to the multicolored ink and the need for strict accuracy, globes and maps were surprisingly expensive to produce. With borders and country names changing so rapidly, a brand new globe could become inaccurate or obsolete in a matter of months. It simply became untenable to keep producing them, especially when students and teachers have instant access to what the world looks like right this minute.
And fake af.
When I went to school in the 60s, teachers could still show affection( God forbid) for their young students. A pat on the back, or an arm around the shoulder were much needed reassurement that you were doing your lessons correctly. I remember my behavioral science teacher giving me a ride home in her private vehicle after I needed to discuss with her some things I was confused about in our studies. Today, many schools have become a cold, cold, prison like environment, with guards at the door and with absolutely no touching or any form of personal concern to be shown to individual students. Any wonder that according to the childrens hospital of the Univ. Of Michigan, 30% of 10th graders and almost 50% of 12th graders have tried marijuana, something just about unheard of when I was in high school in the 60s( at least in my suburban school). Progress is not always a good thing. Good Video!
You reminded me of a newspaper article published in the early-ish 2000s about an incident in Killeen TX (I think) - a little 5 year old boy ran up to his teacher, hugged her and lay his head on her bosom (she was very big and he was very small). The school sent a. letter to the parents about how their son had sexually harassed his teacher. Unbelievable.
@@betsyj59 I know...this type of innocence happens almost every day somewhere in the US. Schools( as well as hospitals) have now become scary, and even dangerous places to be, not because of the students or patients, but because of the illogical, ridiculous and downright inhumane rules and regulations put forth by the administrators. It's so, so sad. I'm just glad that I'm an old man, on my way out!
Two of my teachers in high school, who both grew up with my Father, also had a personal impact on me. One gave me a ride home when I had no money for the train and did it to teach about displaying concern for others, and the other, well..........he rushed my desk during prayer (catholic school) because I laughed and forcingly told me to show some respect. Many would say that that was "abusive", but it's meant to teach you about rules and etiquette in life; "there's a time and a place". Years later, I still carry many of these lessons and apply them to my life today. Oh, and when I told my father about the teacher who rushed me, and why, and who he was in relation to him, his response was, "good!, you probably deserved it..." 😇
We still do show affection.
You're full of ssss.
At my grammar school graduation 20 yrs ago, I got a hug from the principal while walking across the stage. 😊
“Remember lugging around those heavy backpacks filled with textbooks?” Nope. Believe it or not, there was a time when backpacks were absolutely unseen in schools. Literally, nobody had them. Instead, we carried our books under our arm. Can you imagine carrying an actual stack of loose books with your hands? That’s how we did it in the 1970s. Older generations tied the stack of books together with a bookstrap. 🤓
The girls would cradle their books like they would a baby, and the boys would carry their books by their hips.
Yep, class of 82 here. Only college students had book bags/backpacks then. Never saw them in public schools I went to.
The older kids carried their books lower grade kids used book bags with pockets to stick your lunch sandwhich in. Some kids had lunch boxes of metal with a thermos. The Batman lunch box was hugely popular.
Up to grade three this was the case with me.
From grade 4 on, I used my father's army knapsack, or rucksack, depending.
Starting grade nine, I used a genuine Gladstone bag.
Also, books were arranged on a long clipboard, stacked like bricks, and carried on the hip. Right-handed...left hip. Retractable pens carried in a floppy vest pocket. A compass set for math - wedged in between a couple of books.
Multiple trips to lockers between classes to ditch things we didn't need.
My high school was civilized. Each class length was 45 minutes. You had a good 10-15 minutes to make up the top of the hour and the next class. Lots of time.
You're right though. The ubiquitous backpack hardly existed until much later. My son started school in the late 1980s, and by then the backpack had arrived.
But the main reason for the knapsack by grade four - was that I was a sworn bookworm, and school library books as well as regular library books were my constant companions.
As to textbooks through those elementary grades? School spellers, grammars and math workbooks were skinny little things. The giant geography and history books were things we never had to lug around. They stayed in our desks.
Right, I thought that as well. In elementary school, we used book bags that were like little suitcases and often came with a matching lunchbox. Jr/Sr high school, we carried an armload of books and if we brought our lunches, we used paper bags.
Another thing is field trips. Back then a class would take a trip on a school bus to a historical place to expand learning. Now today due to high costs and limited class time, students are now at school all the time moving from room to room for each subject every 45 minutes ending all field trips.
my class trips went to factories, one of tv stations, etc
I went to a field trip to a dairy farm in elementary school & they gave each of us ice cream in those little plastic cups with wooden spoons 🥄 🍨
??? My daughter’s school have gone to 3 field trips. It was only during Covid that this stopped temporarily but resumed last year.
We did this a lot. Even high school did this. Sometimes the school bus. Sometimes the subway. And especially summer school. Things were better than.
I work at an Aquarium in a big city, we have school buses arrive almost every day during the week.
Recollection Road is The GOAT at giving us a trip down memory lane
Indeed!
I could not have said it better. Kudos to Recollection Road.
What does "the goat" mean? I've heard it before, but never understood the expression
@@SJHFoto GOAT stands for: Greatest Of All Time
I am 86 years and I remembe each classroom had a portrait of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on the wall. I enjoy your videos so much. thanks
As always your videos bring back so many great memories..I miss those days so much.
You are correct. I am a Elementary Teacher. Children still love lunch time. Books are coming back because the districts are noticing the ineffectiveness of just using a laptop (students off task on different sites), but the books are usually to stay in the class. Teacher breaks are shorter, we use our planning time for meetings 2-3 days a week (awful). I really miss globes and pull down maps to teach. Some schools do not even have Art or Music anymore. I really miss home economics, my children were not offered this class. I really loved home economics, (cooking, sewing and learning about family nutrition)
We made an outfit in sewing class. At end of the year we had a fashion show. Loved sewing & cooking. We actually had a room with several stoves to cook on. Can't beat chocolate chip cookies made at school & we got to eat them. Kids Don't know how to crack an egg nowadays 😢.
Um, you made a grammatical error - you typed “a Elementary Teacher” when you should have typed ‘an elementary teacher’ .
Don’t forget……Morals, Values, Respect, Good Manners, Modest Clothing, Patriotism….I could go on for hours, you get the point.
Yeah but you're just saying this because it's true ;)
Morals - Don't be a dick.
Values - Don't be a dick. Be yourself. But not a dick.
Respect - given to those that earn it by not being dicks.
Modest Clothing - wear what you want. Those that judge by appearance are dicks.
Patriotism - Fuck that noise. That's fascist-speak. Respect your communities and the people in them, but nationalism is stupid and America was never founded on honest, good principles, but was stolen and raped away from its original inhabitants. Always speak truth to power, and stand up to bullies, ESPECIALLY those waving imperialistic flags they're proud of.
That's how I raised my kids and they're all 3 successful, and great at what they do. And none of them are dicks.
They’re making a comeback in certain charter schools ❤
Yes! We learned My Country 'tis of Thee and American the Beautiful and The Star Spangled Banner and others!
But also with that came racism, sexism and homophobia. It's a wash.
I loved creating book covers for my school books, it was so fun. I often used rough wallpaper for it to stand out.
we would cover our notebooks too, and my Dad worked in a 'hot stamp' plant where he would bring home rolls of shiny foil like paper I would use for my books. Not available in stores at the time. His company created hot stamping templates for things like the car dash and electronic labelling for the plastic covers.
I graduated in 1978 so I never had a Trapper Keeper, but they came out in the mid '70s so I knew they existed. I just never felt like I needed one. I wonder if today's kids even know how to tell time by the hands of a clock. I know many children have no idea what the phrases "quarter to five," or "half past two" mean.
They don't it's all digital
I teach my kindergarteners how to tell time on an analog clock.
Quarter and half is math, math class is about crt and gender now.
@@JayTor2112CRT courses are only found at universities and in law school, not K-12.
@@SarahMichelle777 That makes you a good teacher. By all means, keep doing it that way.
Excellent video! I graduated high school in 1992 and everything just used to be so much better back then! I enjoy your channel very much.
Even way back in 1992, I used to think that 1983 to 1985 was a good time to be in hs.
In 2002, 1992 looked much better, and now in 2023 it seemed awesome.
1992 had no social media other than maybe an occasional email or two and there was actually some OK music back then, but not as good as 1983, and MTV was still playing music videos, but Reality shows started emerging.
From what I remember, 1992 was the beginning of the downward spiral of pop culture and then it got slightly better in the mid to late 90s, but by 2000 it got progressively worse thereafter, whether one was in a school or out in society.
I graduated in 1991.
I have no idea what’s going on in other schools, but my kids still have/do a lot of these things. Analog clocks in classrooms, books for different subjects, full libraries, globes, dressing out for PE, playing Dodgeball.
DON'T SPREAD THAT AROUND!!! ENOUGH THINGS ARE EXTICT!!!
Your kids are very lucky!
Most of this list is pure bullshit.
Unfortunately, people have banned books.
Loved this video. Captures everything well. Growing up, many of my classrooms had an actual closet with a hook for my jacket as well as a cubby for books/items Many teaches also played a musical instrument (ukelele, guitar, harmonica, piano, etc.) and we'd actually sing along with the teacher. My 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Anderson, would play the zither and we'd sing along--great memories! They were VERY talented educators!
Early 60's school days included monthly preparedness drills, alarm sounded and sometimes you lined up and went to the school basement and other times you got under your desk and curled up on your knees covering your head with your arms. The red scare was taken very seriously back then, I guess it's a good thing that those old desks were bomb proof.
My elementary school was a designated bomb shelter complete with stored food and other essentials. They were kept in the boiler room right under the pipes that were wrapped in asbestos.
@@dalemihocik4732 sounds about right, you survive the blast then croak sometime later from mesothelioma LOL.And here we are witnessing the lunacy of today, things really have changed since we were kids.
@@frankcovert6196 Just recently all the schools in that district were torn down. I showed up to watch the demolition and had of the men rescue than yellow and black shelter sign for me. I have it in my garage, it always brings a smile to my face to see it.
Yeah, 'duck and cover' like that will save you from a nuclear blast.
Talk about faint hope of even surviving ! Just you and you sturdy desk left, right ? LOL...
I never thought I would get misty eyed over School memories. Your too good at this, thank you so much for these amazing memories.
Love the job Recollection does with these videos!
My too good?
In elementary school, when it rained we always played jacks aka jax during recess, and we often played hopscotch when it was nice outside.
I changed from Catholic to
Public High Schools. The curricula didn’t match so I was put in a home economics class. I learned how to cook, sew and design my own clothes. All through the 60’s I made fantastic hippie clothes, velvet vests, long satin gowns. I didn’t have much money but I had incredible clothes
Wow, really good stuff. We said the Pledge every day, and we wrote in cursive. Those things I absolutely remember. We'd gather in the open areas and sing songs each morning before school started and say the pledge. We had a school prayer too. I know it may seem crazy, but we didn't have the drama, shootings, and/or fighting and really bad characters we have today.
Exactly 👍. We should go back to those days. Morning prayer and if there are anyone that doesn't want to pray 🙏 or hear the prayer 🙏 they can wait outside of the prayer circle.
I have six analog clocks in my house. One in my bedroom, one in the dining room, one in the family room, one in the living room, and one in each bathroom. I can't imagine not having them on the walls.
They also got so out of synch with each other you'd leave one classroom at 9AM and walk into the neighboring room at 1:37PM
@@MelvisVelourhahahahaha! As a matter of fact, I think the one in my upstairs bathroom is off right now. I think it's about an hour and 10 minutes off. Thanks for reminding me to put a new battery in it.😂
The reason they went digital is the analogs ticked too loud for some sensitive ears. Drove kids crazy. Like water torture, drip drip drip.
@@MelvisVelour This is eery. You were time traveling. : )
@@jenniferhansen3622 Electric clocks were the norm when I was growing up, school and home. I miss them.
I miss the old alarm clocks like I used to have. They were made of metal and wound up and their sound could *not* be ignored by the sleeper. I still wish they were around. Nothing says getting up like an alarm clock with a metal case and a winding key. : )
I remember the "official" and "unofficial" smoking areas at my high school quite well. All of them outdoors and students always came back smelling of smoke (mostly).
No, there were a few boys’ toilets in our school which held a permanent fog bank.
In the morning we smoked outside, not just cigarettes, then once in school it was in the bathrooms between classes. 😆
My high school had a smoking area. It was the back wing of the school. During lunch break, those of us who smoked would pass the time smoking while we drank a can of Coke and ate a bag of chips
Our school had a smoking area in the courtyard. We only had juniors and seniors so everyone was legal to smoke cause the age then was 17.
@@Canalcoholic That was a bit tougher to do at ours. Between the hall monitors and the teachers, it was easier/safer to go outside.
I was well-behaved in school, but there was one time in 11th grade when I played a mild prank with a firecracker. My punishment was cleaning the loooooong inside wall at the entrance of the school, where pretty-much everyone passed-by. (I was horrified!) Looking back, I think the punishment fit the crime, and I still think very highly of the principal. And yes, he had a paddle in 1978.
I hope you learned your lesson!!! 😆😉🤗
I remember when I was in 2nd grade (around 1970) and while at recess I didn't follow the rules. The rule was once the bell rang, everyone stopped doing what they were doing and to stand still. The teacher would blow the whistle and the girls would go first. Then she would blow the whistle again and the boys would then go to their class. I made the mistake of accidentally moving on the first whistle. My teacher made me stand in line with the girls. Are you reading this Ms. Blakely?
@@YesYou-zy7kp Haha!! I remember when I was in 3rd grade (1985) and my friends and I had been out at recess sitting under a tree in the far end of the playground. Well, we didn't hear when the bell rang so we didn't go in from recess on time. Somebody was sent outside to come and find us. Anyway, we missed out on a treat that day, fresh pineapple. The mother of one of my classmates had brought fresh pineapple for our class to enjoy in the afternoon. My friends & I were not allowed to have any. Not a major punishment, but we were disappointed. 🍍
@@YesYou-zy7kpYes. I was really well-behaved in school too. But my brothers described the paddle with the holes. It scared me to death. I ended up working in the office in the 6th grade for an hour during lunch. As volunteers, we worked the switchboard, helped kids into the nurse's office, etc. I also witnessed the principle grabbing that paddle out of a cabinet drawer for when naughty kids came in for punishment. 6th grade--1977
I was within a few months from graduating mid term and, my guidance counselor decided he was going to make some trouble for me since, another person was in trouble he decided he would accuse me of the similar things he was taking this other student for, he didn’t like where, I was from. I warned this guy, what, I was going to do when, he started in on me. I knew he didn’t like it because, I had came from the school district that was that’s schools number one enemy. So, he wanted to go on about these false allegations. And, I cussed him out. I only talked to a few other people what had happened! My mom never got one phone call and, never really saw or heard anything from that guidance counselor ever again.
For me it is the library where I volunteered to inhabit, to hide from the mean girls as much as I could. Was a pretty good one too, we actually had a media room (circa 1974)….it was my first introduction to microphish ( early sort of data collection) and so much more. I was into it before anyone knew what it was. The second was the rope climbing….I was the only one in my gym class in junior high that could climb to the top….there you have it a physically advanced nerd. 🎉
So many things are gone. The wooden desks of days gone by with the hole at the top for ink wells, they lasted for decades only to be made way for tables that needed constant replacing.
I enjoyed reading everyone’s comments so much! I also am thankful for these many memories, now seeing how much value there was to them! Nostalgia, yes, but woven together with gratitude and smiles ! 🙏🏻🥰🤭
As the father of two, a 15- and 17- year old, I can assure you the electronic/internet-based education is in no way as effective as old fashioned text books. The lack of knowledge my children have acquired compared to what I and their mother learned is in some ways astonishing. We live in a "better" school district that is well-funded and staffed, so it's not for lack of resources. It's very, very sad.
I 100% agree and my wife is a teacher. School is terrible now.
I taught a long time ago, the college I went to had been a Teacher’s College before becoming a university. They put a lot of emphasis on how to teach.
You young whippersnapper STILL think you know everything! (Kidding)
Why, you didn't even have good 'ol sock hops! Now THAT was helium!
th-cam.com/video/zTPWWPeWj9Q/w-d-xo.html
Bro during COVID you were suppose to teach your own children. Like what kind of parent are you
In gym class those boys you showed in there gym uniform were probably forced to shower defore they got to put their regular clothes on
One other thing I remember was there was always an American flag in the classroom, usually hanging high up in a holder on the wall. In grade school we had the flag salute every morning, and although that practice stopped in high school, the flag still remained in most classrooms. You don't really see flags in the classroom any more.
There are flags in the schools here where I live. And they do the flag salute every morning.
Chinese flag in blue states.
@@shootshellz Pretty Much
we still had them in high school & the pledge was part of the morning announcements
@@shootshellzyou gotta think before you say dumb shit like this
I remember having to look up the definitions of words in an dictionary or when doing reports or essays for certain classes, using the encyclopedia for information. Tiffany Deaton
Mimeograph and Ditto machines were common when I was in elementary school in the 1960s.. Our school had the manual ones that had to be hand cranked to spit out copies of daily work assignments Various students would be assigned this task. I always enjoyed the unique scent of the aromatic wash used during the print process.
Oh yeah! As a Boomer student in the 1950s and 60's, I remember all that stuff, and more! Florida public school dress codes were really strict in those days. Sneakers were for P.E. class. Leather shoes were required for the rest of the day. No T-shirts either! Skirts and dresses for girls, and no blue jeans for boys! Boy's shirts had to be tucked in. And it went on and on...
I remember bring a note home from school (3rd grade in 1968) that informed my mother that girls could now wear culottes - shorts that look like skirts!
I was in jr. high when we could start wearing them. By that time we could also wear jeans.
My older sister and cousin were both in HS in the late 1960s (class of '69). My cousin in particular liked the latest fashion and she was constantly reprimanded because her skirts were too short. They'd make girls kneel on the floor then measure from the floor to the bottom hem of the skirt. Anything greater than 3 inches and you were sent home! By the time I entered HS in 1974 the dress code had been abolished, but I do remember a couple of girls being scolded for wearing tube tops and halter tops.
Boys' hair had to be off the collar in Jr. High and High School.
@@pianomaly9 Boy's hair had to be no longer than mid ear in our school in the 1960's. The PE teacher measured our hair each week to make sure we were in compliance.
One of my favorite memories was from first grade in 1968, when as a reward for good behavior and getting our lessons done, we were sent to the janitor’s room to clean erasers. He supervise the process, which was to hold each eraser on a machine that vibrated dramatically, then plumes of chalk dust billowed into the air. Then we would sweep it up, gather the erasers, and head back to class. I remember that often when we got to the classroom, our nice teacher would brush off the residual chalk from our clothes. As a grandfather now, I can see you this ritual could have exposed some kids to a lot of risks - but I loved it.
I loved cleaning the erasers as well. Our teachers were thee ones who selected the students who got the honor and since I was so well behaved and studious I was the the honor more times than I can count….a very special memory😊
This was a reward??? It seems more like a punishment.
@@keithbrown7685 Yeah, it is funny looking back. Maybe it was getting out of the classroom. Or the trust from my teacher. My dad wasn’t around much then, so I also enjoyed the gruff coaching of our old janitor. Whatever, for me it was.
@@keithbrown7685 It was a reward for us in 4th grade, as well. We all hoped to be picked to do it.
@@keithbrown7685 Yes I remember it was a reward t get out of class but as an older person today it sounds dirty and nothing that I would want to do now!
I was on the rifle team in my High School. Rifles were kept in cases in the Coach's closet. He kept the ammo in his desk. On Thursday's we had competitions against other schools. We would check out our rifle, buy a 100 rounds for a couple of bucks and head off to the range. This was in the L.A. unified school district. Not some rural town in the middle of Texas.
i too was on the rifle team in the sixties. we used to shoot in the school's basement.
Those still exist.
Wow, all those guns and ammo must have led to lots of school shootings.
I happen to live in that rural town in the middle of Texas - Brady, Texas!
@@brandonletzko2472 In the 1960s, I never saw any guns
or ammo; but, by 1970, in the tenth grade - the girls P.E.
did have an archery class.
I went to school from 1966 to 1979. Another thing I remember was learning and practicing cursive writing which I enjoy knowing how to do, and which I heard recently was being phased out as part of the modern school curriculum.
I wrote a office referral for a 7th grader, he wanted to know what it said. PATHETIC! It was in cursive. I read it to him so he would have confidence that I did not lie about his behavior. After that I asked what they would do when they needed to read cursive documents when they grew up. I told them to have their parents teach them. Many did. Nobody wants to look ignorant. Schools are graduating very unprepared people. I can;t imagine what they are thinking. I just say, thank you Bill Gates. He is responsible for the downfall of public education.
I loved going to the library, thumbing through the dewy decimal system, and having my library card stamped back in the day. The libraries back in the day had an archaic scent. I loved it! Ohhh and book fair day! I loved book fair day. Good times.
Thanks for once again bringing back cherished memories of my school days of the late sixties & early seventies!!! Wow, how the world has changed!!! 👍👍🙂
Changed for the worst sorry to say
@@100lamadrina8 Sadly, that's true.
This video makes me sad to think these children today will never experience the wonderful memories of these school days
Yes I totally agree with you, I really believe that we were blessed to have experienced those days.
I don't know where this guy lives but our schools still have most of the things he mentions including changing for gym and doing actual sports and exercise!
@@inkey2 Yeah my Mom went to Catholic school back in the 40s and they would use rulers to discipline kids.
@inkey2 My older sisters went to Catholic school and told me about the rulers on the knuckles. The last half of 8 kids went to public schools. My brothers described the paddle with the holes in it. But there was an extra plank of wood attached so that the first would catch your rear in the holes, and the other would slam fast after, making it much more painful. I was SO scared of being punished that I actually wet my pants because my distracted teacher didn't see my raised hand to dismiss me for the rest room. 1971
@@inkey2OMG. I just noticed your name! My nieces and nephews called me Inky because one of the couldn't say my name and it stuck. Some of them (40+ y.o.) still call me that today. 😁
How about when the class had a film to watch?
A screen would be pulled down from the front wall or a portable screen would be set up while a movie projector was being loaded with the film.
The lights were turned off & the projector was turned on making that familiar sound that those projectors made.
If the film happened to break or the projector had a malfunction, it always provided reason for the class to urupt in laughter, clapping, & whistles until the lights were turned back on to address the situation.
Oh, the good old days!
I miss them.
Can you imagine trying to use plastic grocery bags to cover text books today, instead of the brown paper grocery bags then? Every household had a stack of those saved paper grocery bags. I think ours was between the refrigerator and the cabinet next to it. Endless utility.
🎉 greetings from coastal Mississippi. So glad I went to school in the 70's ...thanks for the memories 😊
Being reminded every Friday to take our gym clothes home to be WASHED (!) . You really regretted not doing so by Monday P.E. class!
An excellent walk down Memory Lane, as usual for Recollection Road...
LOL wow. forgot ALL about smacking erasers together to clear them of chalk dust! We used to BEG our 2nd grade teacher each day to let us do that chore.. nope.. she had her favorites, and thankfully, I was one of them! Thanks Mrs, Elliott - even though you were as mean as a junkyard dog, you always let me pound the erasers! LOL!
We felt honored to be asked by our teacher to clean the erasers in 4th grade.
It was never punishment to clean the erasers it was a privilege.
Junkyard dog 😂
Clapping erasers is one of the plot points in the Beverly Cleary book, "Ellen Tebbits" (1951). Ellen is bothered when her teacher NEVER picks her to clap erasers but later finds out the teacher doesn't pick her because she (the teacher) thinks Ellen's clothes are too nice to get dirty clapping erasers. She eventually gets picked and it's a happy day for her.
Wow. No, nobody begged to do that when I was in school.
I feel bad for kids these days with the reduced school libraries. So many classics are being banned these days that I grew up reading for odd reasons. “Those who not study history are doomed to repeat it”. 😊
The smell of books in a library is something every kid should have the opportunity to experience. This is so sad. I absolutely loved the libraries growing up. They were a really great place to study!
BINGO
My local library smells of hot carpets, not books.
A lot of kids don’t know the good of books because they think they can get everything on their school laptops.
My grandchildren's school has a library. They check books out of the school library regularly. My daughter also takes them to the public library, particularly in the summer.
The kids of today don't play outside or do many physical things like we used to do and therefore we were strong enough to carry all those textbooks, even from a young age!
I am glad too. In my neighborhood all they did was go around looking for trouble, breaking windows and stealing stuff.
My mom bought me a big backpack 🎒 and I joined in Boy Scout in 5 grades public schools elementary school to grade 7 ages 12 to 14 and learning how to carrying heavy load of clothes and first aid and camping gear and fishing gear and sleeping bag and tent but I was a Quarter master since I can carry heavy loads of cooking supplies and food while others boy scout carrying tents and so on stuffs needed and I learned about carrying my books and paperwork in my homemade jeans material back pack just for books and homework and stuff in my sewing machine classes in public Jr. Highschool grade 7 to 8 grade and have cooking classes also in 1977 to 1979 it called Home Education. My Jr. Highschool has also have wood work shops and metal shop and U.S. history classes and World History classes and reading classes and social studies class math classes weights lifting class and volleyball and tennis courts and soccer game and basketball and baseball and field and track running field and football and archery 🏹 bows and arrows and golfing class and swimming pool and public schools kindergarten through highschool has had Prayer and Pledge to the America flag and does teach about bible historical facts but not religious stuff we used World History classes for understanding about overseas countries people studies of Why pyramid and Egyptian and Arabic and Europe and China dictatorship and studies about U.S. history of Demoncrats Party's KKKLAN Klu Klux klan white supremacists Neo-Nazis inventers who invented the Racist bigotry Race Baiters to intimidate to torture and lying about everything and to killing innocent American black and white Republican Party people in America since 1866 . And studies about Real American people invented the REAL American Republican Party invented Organized in 1854 to oppose to eliminate all the Demoncrats Party's Slavery extension and freeing the black slave Plantations a Demoncrats Party's KKKLAN White Supremacists Plantation owns black slave. Republican Party : was a Anti-Slavery 1854 and President Lincoln has been exposing the Demoncrats Party people as Fascism, They are the Party of lying and Enslavement and Tyranny and Promoting LIES and Promoting ENSLAVEMENT and Promoting TYRANNY against the REAL American black and white Republican Party people in America since 1860 . Demoncrats Party people have Soo much hatred towards President Lincoln has freeing black slave Plantations and giving black people and kids freedom to be whatever they want to be. And Demoncrats Party people was Soo mad still at President Lincoln and President Reagan and President Trump for having American black and white and brown and yellow and red innocent poor regular people freedom of amendment Right laws of choice to be free speech and Amendment Rights LAWS to vote for whoever we wanted to.
@@richa.s9912 Sounds like you, like I, have had a very wellrounded education, both in and out of the classroom! Wish the kids of today could experience just a little bit, of growing up in the early 20th century! What an eye opener they would have! Thank you for your insightful response! God Bless (born in 1950)
It's almost like you covered all the areas where we could play outside with fucking stroads and asphalt
I spent most of my school years, 2nd grade to 12th, at Killeen TX next to Fort Hood. When it came to book covers the military always gave all the schools Army covers and sometimes Air Force. We rarely had to make our own until 11th or 12th grade when for some reason they printed Army ones were phased out. This was a great video
At 56, I miss making homemade book covers...but apparently the youth of today doesn't have textbooks, or brown paper bags to make covers out of...😥
The Navy would also give out book covers.
Military propaganda was everywhere in the cold war era. I remember some little hand out for young boys telling us how we should "prepare to serve" and that included weight training so we would be strong when we had to "engage the enemy"
You left out all of the projectors:
- overhead projectors used in algebra, geometry, and trigonometry classes
- film strip projectors
- opaque projectors
- 16mm film projectors
Maybe some of these are still used, but they are 20th century technologies that have increasingly been replaced by computer displays and streaming video.
The good old (film) movie projectors!
Not a projector, but this reminded me of the wonderful smell of mimeograph machines.
In eighth grade a bunch of us got detention for throwing Boston cream pie around the cafeteria. For a week we had to sit in a classroom eating our lunch and not allowed to talk to anyone while one of the teachers sat in the front menacing us. That was 55 years ago and I still remember it
Also those analog clocks in our school were manufactured by a company called Simplex. Once an hour the master clock in the office sent out a radio signal which synchronized the time on all the clocks in the school
You may have been the inspiration for the "Breakfast Club" movie?
They should have made you clean it up.
Kids today are missing not only basic life skills but also consequences, responsibility, respect, and so much more. I graduated i '86. I remember all these. Wow memories.
I love that the photo of the book from the school library is HG Wells' The Time Machine, and this channel is like a time capsule or time machine. That's so meta.
All of your videos hit me real hard, I can’t get used to getting older.. I choke up and get teary eyed watching them. Thank you for remembering and highlighting such wonderful memories!
My junior high 69' 72' had great lunches .40 cents, and saved .25 cents if you bought a lunch card for the week, .03 cents if you wanted an extra milk and .05 cents for chocolate. Now you get fish crackers and a cream cheese bagel for something like $20 a week. In high school we had a hot lunch line and a cold lunch line which had sandwichs and chips and snacky type foods.
Yes! Same age, same memories...35 cents for a full meal with juice...Fridays were the best, because it was Pizza or Giant Tuna Hoagie with side of chips...
I never thought milk went with pizza though. Gross!
Even though I never attended a Catholic school, I vividly remember having fish for lunch on Fridays. Anyone else?
@@darcihoudeshell2588 I don't remember having fish anytime, we had Spaghetti, pizza, meatloaf or Salisbury steak
sliced turkey all with beans or carrots, corn maybe and some sort of dessert, of course we had other things but this is what I remember, the Spaghetti being the best, they would scoop it up in an ice cream scoop. Late in Jr. High and all through High
School we had vending machines (soda, candy, chips).
You can blame the commie liberals for that cheap food. Those libtards would use taxpayers’ money to buy food crops and dairy products straight from the farmers, then turn around and sell them cheap to schools and the like. Hell - they even gave a lot of it away. School kids kids getting free individual milk cartons (or paying a nickel for a chocolate one). The poor getting allotments of butter and cheese. Praise Jesus, those socialist days are gone!
Good video. In elementary school the kitchen ladies took pride in their food and frowned if we didn’t like it. They cared and so did we. Real food. Same for Jr high, but not quite as personal. The library was an experience. You had to be quiet and that was challenge for many kids. Reading books could be a contest as well as educational. Who read the most books? I’m absolutely certain P.E. in elementary, Jr High & High School whipped us into shape, taught us sportsmanship and team effort. I’ve lived in Texas for decades and I’m sure our kids would struggle playing many sports
I remember having the most wonderful teacher in 3rd grade (1968) who had cats that she showed. Her cats won lots of ribbons and trophies. One day she told us that we could win those trophies and ribbons based on how many pages of books we'd read that year. She had the whole class reading like maniacs. Have loved reading my whole life.
I went to Catholic grade school, first grade through eighth grade, and then Catholic high school, which was ninth through 12th. In grade school, we didn’t have a library, but we had bookmobiles that came to the school every so often, probably once a month, and I loved going to the bookmobiles. I can still remember the smell of those little mobile home type things. They had a card catalog and you could check out books just like a regular library. I’m not sure if the public schools in our area had libraries or not. but I wouldn’t of traded my bookmobile visits for anything
I teach kindergarten in a public school. I have analog clocks in my room and teach my class how to use analog to tell time. I have a physical glibe and use it quite often. I have tons of books. I rarely let me class use technology. There are two programs on the ipad we have to use every week for a certain amount of time, but other than that we do not use tech. Thankfully every year i am able to teach my class to love the classic stuff instead of all the stuff we have now. We also dance to classics. They love songs like rock around the clock and we will rock you :)
The mimeograph machine. I was my Spanish teacher’s student assistant. I typed her test on the mimeograph template for her. I also corrected all tests for her except my own. When you got the handouts that had that smell of mimeograph ink you gagged but oh do I miss it
Oh, one more thing: If you were in elementary school during the 60s, do you remember how chickenpox, mumps, and rubella were all considered normal childhood illnesses? Today it's difficult to find any article discussing this in a Google search.
Chicken pox was definitely in that category. I think mumps may have been too. I remember getting measles. Wasn't there two types with f measles with one called the German Measles?
As someone who had a severe case of chicken pox, to the point where I was basically this four-foot-tall ZIT and my parents had me so whacked out on Benadryl (to keep me from scratching) that I couldn’t go from here to the wall without tripping over my own feet, I cannot say enough good things about vaccinations and the hell my kids are able to avoid now!
I had a second bout of chicken pox that was only on my face, a few weeks after the first round. They called it Ana__ something.
Had them all early.
I'm right there with you! I had such a horrible time with chicken pox! For starters, I had it more than once (I wanna say 3 times), with one of those being such a bad outbreak that I actually had them INSIDE my girly bits! I couldn't do anything but sit in oatmeal baths and drown myself in Calamine lotion! It was something so freaking miserable that I'd NEVER want my children to go through.
I'm 74 and in my elementary school (1st-6th grade), we didn't crave pizza, we craved Mrs. Walters spaghetti every Wednesday. My mouth waters thinking about it. And we had Dixie cups for dessert, ice cream in a paper bowl-like thingy.
I'm 63 and we didn't have pizza either... what we looked forward to was the one day a week we got big, warm biscuits that had flecks of cheese in them. Delicious!
With a flat wooden “spoon” to eat the cup of ice cream
I'm going on 61 and I fell in love with sloppy joes in my school cafeteria in elementary school lol.
@@jfranklins Yes! I'd forgotten about sloppy joes, and that was a favorite as well....just not quite as good as the spaghetti.
@@andreeelliott2943 I'd forgotten the spoon...and there was a picture of a rock star or sports figure at the bottom of the cup.....or lid....I forget which now.
Soothing, enjoyable video as always. I will add that Trapper Keepers were from the 1970s, actually. I had one at least from fourth grade, so 1975. I’d add manual pencil sharpeners and the 1960s electric vacuum for the erasers. There was a wall mounted one at my grammar school.
When I was growing up in the 60’s and 70’s the paddle was called the board of education. We had lockers we kept our books in, when the bell rang, you went to your locker, put your book in it and got your book for the next class, pe was my favorite class, especially tennis. At my high school there was a place right next to the school gate where students could smoke there were even a few teachers that would go smoke with the students
Our lunch menu was published in the Saturday issue of our local newspaper. Loved “Flying Saucer” sandwiches(bologna with a slice of American cheese on a hamburger bun)!
Thanks to all at RR!
Yep!
The memories, right?🙂😢
My elementary school cafeteria had excellent lunches. My favorites were tacos, chili, bbq beef on bun (their version of sloppy joes), and pizza.
Yep. I always got heartburn from those sloppy Joe's!
Yes, we had really good lunches too, and the candy counter afterwards, a nickel could buy you a bag full of penny candy.
Some of those lunches gave everyone gas. By 5th period, it was a pretty noisy affair in the classrooms.
Crazy how things have changed!❤❤👍
People change ,,,
Thank you for the ride down memory Lane. I graduated in 1977 and back then in my high school we had a smoking area for not only teachers but the students as well. Both sections were separate, the students got to smoke behind the school, the teachers smoked inside. Crazy, right!? Thanks again. Love your channel!
My daughters, in their 20’s, work with kids who can’t tell time. Just blows me away all the things they are unable to do and don’t even know about.
As a 90s kid, a lot of the items on this list carried over to my time. I think corporal punishment had long been banned in Canada by the time I was in elementary school. By the time I was in high school, that's when the transition was made from chalk boards to white boards. We also had a CRT television in every classroom. They were still huge and boxy, but it marked the end of the excitement of the TV being rolled into the classroom for movie time. I didn't have a Trapper Keeper, but I had the spiritual successor known as the Note Tote. It did the same thing as the Trapper Keeper, but from what I can remember, there weren't as many choices. Certainly not licensed character versions. I remember I had a purple one and a green one, both with the textured finish that defined the 1990s. Does anyone remember the DIY sponge paint your own walls?
On a separate note, a lot of these things have not gone away in Japan. As a teacher here, many schools still have chalk boards and analogue clocks. These are also supplemented with the hourly chime that is a version of the Westminster Quarters.
Uniforms are mandatory from junior high school, so the students will have matching PE clothes as well. They have loosened up the rules regarding uniforms to be more inclusive, with gender neutral options being available at some schools.
We also have a hybrid of digital and analogue technology. Japan, I would argue has the highest quality stationery items in the world. There is something so satisfying about taking notes with a high quality pen and notebook. People still write personal notes and letters, take long hand notes for school, and many companies still use fax machines for correspondence. You can even still send a telegram with a gift in Japan today.
There is this weird disconnect because Japan is so futuristic in a lot of ways, but the country is still very traditional in other ways. I think people hang on to old technology for a lot longer. Even the Super Famicom remained in production until 2003 even though its western counterpart known as the Super Nintendo was long out of production by then. If it's not broken, why replace it? New isn't necessarily better, and I do not like profit driven planned obsolesce as an international community because it produces a lot of e-waste.
I really appreciate that as a teacher in Japan, that we still have a lot of these things that are considered to be long obsolete by western standards.
Edit: Also, dodgeball isn't banned here!
You might consider disposing of dodgeball. It was sometimes called murder all unofficially, as some kids would try to actually hurt those they didn't like.
@@starmnsixty1209 This isn’t new. I experienced this very thing as a child, broken glasses and all. Not sure how widespread the problem is.
I went to school in Texas in the 60's , and corporal punishment was strictly enforced . I screwed up one time in math , and the male teacher knocked me over a desk when that paddle hit my ass !!!! I carried a severely bruised ass for a month .
@@doughoward6401 I bet you couldn't sit down for a month, geeze.
I read stories around the r/nostalgia subreddit about people getting paddled. My parents experience in Canada was getting the strap on the back of the hands. Basically, the kids who were facing punishment had to hold their hands out, and get whipped with a belt. I'd imagine they walked around with bruising for the same amount of time.
Me too, I almost had a tear relating to some of these in school in the past..
Excellent excellent video on the school years. But what happened to the inkwells that were built into our desk and remember moving our chairs around and the good old fashioned pencil sharpener😊
I didn't read the comments to see if this was discussed but I also noted that the brown paper bags to make book covers with have nearly disappeared. I was in 7th grade in 1960/1961. That was when I first remember having to carry books and supplies around to different classes.
Not in NY state. Plastic bags in grocery stores are banned so it's back to paper bags for us
I was in middle school in the 90s we had them
As others have mentioned, the old 1892 school building we attended until 6th grade in 1960 had solid oak desks that were screwed to the floor. They had inkwells, and were heavily stained with not-so-long before spilled ink. My year, HS class of 1966, was the first to use ball point pens, in third or fourth grade, rather than an ink pen with a steel nib that you dipped in the ink. Another feature of my school was desk surfaces scarred by 60 years of boredom, reflected in the graffiti carved into the desks by generations of pocket knife-wielding grade schoolers. Initials, sometime complete names, sometimes crude appeals to the gods to be favored by some small gesture of affection from Linda, or Carol, or Nancy or Susan, or Grace, or some other common name that no child has anymore. One desk I was assigned (for the entire year) had several strategically carved pits that your pencil would fall into, putting a hole in your paper.
That old school building had rooms with 12 foot (at least) ceilings and tall windows. On hot days, one of the bigger boys had the job of opening the upper half of the window with a long pole that had a brass hook on the end that fit into a piece of brass hardware screwed onto the window sash. In either third or forth grade the back windows in the classroom opened onto the tin roof of a first floor classroom. One of the coveted jobs assigned to boys who behaved was going out onto the roof at the end of the day to clap the erasers. Another coveted job was 'milkman'. If you could afford it, a quarter a week would buy you a half-pint carton of either white or chocolate milk you got about 10AM, every day. The milkman went down to the lunchroom to pick up the milk in a wooden box.Girls had the job of washing the blackboard with a pail of water and a sponge. For some reason, certain kids in my class were prone to throwing up, which would result in someone being assigned to escort the embarrassed victim to the nurse's office while a runner was sent out to find and summon the custodian, who arrived with a can of cedar sawdust that was spread on the vomit. There are certain odors that stick in the mind. One is the unique smell of cedar vomit. Another is the aroma of the coal-fired boiler in the basement that the custodian kept going all day.
There are a lot of things to remember about that time almost 70 years ago.
Yes! We had those transom windows above the doors that could be opened and closed using a long wooden rod with a hook on the narrow end. The hook would go through a brass ring of the spring-loaded latch on the top of the transom window's frame. Since there was no a/c back then, we opened all the windows, and the transom above the door. And coal furnaces that made it 🥵 hot in winter. The steam radiators would hiss and spit steam, plus the excessive heat 🫠put out burning coal in winter, sure made me woozy in boring classes. Hard to focus when you're ready to fall asleep😴 just after lunch! Then, if I could be excused to go to the 🧻restroom, we had a long row of sinks across from the toilet🚽 stalls. The soap was powder from a teardrop shaped glass globe with a metal spring loaded rod that you pushed up into the stem of the soap dispenser & powdered soap would come out in your palm. The towel dispenser had one white woven towel with a blue stripe on the edge. The towel was attached to a wooden rod at each end, where one rod was mounted at the top, the other mounted below it inside the dispenser, and a loop of the towel was hanging down out of the dispenser; when you pulled the towel to dry, it would roll around to one rod, and hopefully you'd get a dry part of the towel. When a lot of kids used the towel, it sometimes didn't have time to dry.
One time in the first grade I saw one of the girls throw up on her desk. If remember correctly, the school custodian used kitty litter to clean it up.
@@tophorn7348 I recall the heavy second layer of outer wool socks drying on those steam heat radiators. As well as the wool gloves, mitts and scarves we could fit on, all jammed together beneath the windows.
The other thing I remember about older school buildings, were the cloak rooms, where all the winter coats and boots were hung up. Loved those cloak rooms. Not a few times, especially in winter, if I stayed at school for lunch (12pm-1:30pm) I'd sneak into the cloak room after wolfing a sandwich down, and grab a quick 15-minute cat nap. Just lolling on the floor, back against the wall. It was heaven.
Ah yes. The coal-fired furnace. A thing of the past it seems.
@@tophorn7348 Oh.. you had the recycler.. I remember seeing those at some gasoline station washrooms, but my school restroom used those brown folded paper towels. My elementary school was a two story brick building built in 1907 with a coal fired boiler and steam radiators. No AC. Interesting times ! The cafeteria was in the basement, and there was a room full of fallout shelter supplies in case of atomic attack by the Soviet Union. We didn't have the 'duck & cover' drill, but we did have fire drills.
I have not seen any mention of those beautiful 'Trading Cards' we used to collect as kids. Wonderful pictures of anything and everything. You may have mentioned them in other Recollection Road vids, but I haven't seen it. Thanks for your super entertaining videos. Brings back memories, some I had forgotten.
Some of my teachers used Flash Cards in class. And I remember the nuclear bomb practices, where we had to go out into the hallway, hunch down, put our heads between our knees and cover our heads with our hands..............like that was going to save us from a nuclear explosion! LOL
So many things are missing from schools today….and, most schools don’t have music or art classes any longer.
Yes, I remember being in orchestra in both elementary school and junior high.
Being from the class of 1982, everything here is a great and also distant memory!
Me too! 😊
Fellow '82 Grad as well
So many things. One is respect for teachers. I went to school in the 50-60s. You did what the teachers said, no back talk. We had marksmanship class. Boys and girls. We shot .22 rifles. Also, we used to bring our rifles to shop class before hunting season to work on them. You had to have them in a case while you walked through school to the shop class. During hunting season, we’d bring our guns to school so we could meet our friends after school to go hunting. There was never a problem. Ever. And there was never a nefarious thought in our heads, ever. This was a town with 40,000 people it wasn’t a small hick town. We had respect for each other. Society has changed for the worse. We didn’t grow up watching violent videos or playing violent video games. It was a simpler time, and imho a much better time
We had a small bore shooting team with a range in the basement. We brought or rifles to school ( cased of course ) on the bus handed them to our principal he locked them up till end of day he even shot with us was one of our chaperones when we shot competition with other schools taking a bus ! We also had a trap and skeet team and practice was out at trail glades range after school some took the bus others their cars we had several adult chaperones for that too . We interacted with our principal and teachers and other guys parents too outside the class room I think that made every one better and more respectful too .
Wow! I'm old and NEVER saw a gun at school. Where did you grow up?
@@lotsoffun4716 Worcester Mass. believe it or not Mass used to be free. Hunting was great. I left there at 18 to go to Vietnam, got home and moved south. Now it’s a socialists paradise. Thank god I moved south when I did.
@@rburrows7786Yeah, I don't care for socialism. I live in the South as well. But didn't grow up with guns at school. That's funny.
Thanks for the Video (and the memories) 😀
1.) Recess was longer. Now it’s barely 20 minutes. Maybe less.
2.) The metal playgrounds have now been replaced by plastic structures.
3.) Projectors and overhead slides have been replaced by PowerPoint.
Giving kids only 20 minutes in a school day to blow off steam is about as dumb as it gets! And, gee, wonder how we all survived those metal jungle gyms, and those metal bars we used hook one leg over and then somersault in place around? (Not to mention riding our bikes for hours all over the neighborhood without a helmet in sight!). Glad I was a kid before all the "protections" became the norm.
When I was in elementary school, there were free after school activities and also free summer programs. Every Fall there were Halloween carnivals.
We had a snow cone machine and would sell them after school and give the money to charity. Afterwards, I made a "special" snow cone for myself extra big and with tons of syrup.
I went to elementary school in the early 1960s. There was no foul language allowed (most of us knew perhaps what a couple of them meant) and we wouldn't dream of using any. One day when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade I remember arriving at school and a group of students were standing in a semicircle facing one outside wall. There were shocked faces, oohs and aahs, somebody's going to get in trouble, etc. What was the problem? Someone had used a white stone and written S**T on the brick wall!
How different things are today.
My oldest grandchildren are in elementary school, and they would be in big trouble if they wrote "sh*t" on a wall. The school and their parents would not ignore it.
Imagine how far we would be as a society of we focused on things that actually mattered, like being a good person, standing up for those who need it the most, and not stupid fucking shit like what no-no words you can't use.
Would you be good with the N-word?
As a senior in 1973, there were designated bathrooms and outside areas to smoke..Senior skip day was thirty days before graduation..The last day of actual school before finals was seniors day, a day of fun, games, food and music..I never realized It would be the last day i'd see a lot of school friends i had since kindergarten..Graduation was bittersweet..
We bought little 6inch banners that you pinned to your shirt that showed you rooted for your home team on game night. They would say things like.. "skin the tigers" or "plow the farmers" we would always keep them and put them in the annual or photo albums.
I never had a back pack. We just carried our books and I don’t recall any carrying a back pack but I’m from the baby boomer era. Great memories seeing most of the stuff we had and no digital.
We had "book bags" or straps.
I'm aging myself saying so, but I began school right on the cusp of the 60s into the 70s! It was comical whenever we got an outdated science book where they would exclaim "one day maybe man will go to the moon"! Haha! The lunch program changed while I was there! It did start out with prepared food and later changed! Milk was still something you bought separately. My favorite hot lunch in the 70s was the one they made for the week of Thanksgiving! The turkey was pretty forgettable but they also gave us "pumpkin pudding" for dessert - which was basically pie filling baked! Dodge ball wasn't a horrible and dreaded game and during lunch recess big groups would form on the basketball courts for "Nation Ball", which was just a larger dodge ball tournament!
6:10: When I was in high school (late '70s), not only was there a smoking area for teachers, but one (outdoors) for students as well. I remember the principal coming on the PA system and saying, "It has come to my attention that students have been smoking substances other than tobacco in the student smoking area...." I don't remember the rest, the first part was just too funny.
That could be a problem if the principal decided to shut down the students' smoking section, all because of a weed head or two...or three. : )
We had an outdoor smoking area also, but our principal never said anything that funny. 😂😂😂 Most of the weed was being smoked in cars during lunch because we could leave campus.
All through school in the 50's and 60's, from grade school to high school, we never wore matching uniforms in gym class. Apparently that photo must be from some exclusive private school.
Eighth grade math class in 1963: the teacher had a sign under the clock on the wall: “Time will pass, will you?”
When I was in high school (mid 1970's) our school had a designated "smoking patio" for STUDENTS outside next to the cafeteria! No way that would be done now!
Early 80's here. Student smoking on back steps behind gym. But they kept the soda machines turned off during the day because they were BAD for us.
Plus we smoked on the bus!
We smoked in the bathrooms. The hall monitors would check for smoking in there and if you were caught it was detention for a week. I swear the hall monitors were nazis.
#1 thing not found in schools today are discipline, respect & God
Another wonderfully nostalgic video! I remember most of these things....though I gotta say that back when I was in HS in the late 70s/early 80s - I definitely would've preferred (if it had existed back then lol!) a tablet (or a laptop) with digital instead of physical textbooks; i.e. like you mentioned - lugging some of those textbooks in a backpack - especially on warm days when walking to/from school - was a chore!!. Oddly enough - one of my strongest memories from elementary school in the 70s was something very minor - i.e. the smell of chalk..My elementary school had this machine (not sure what it's officially called) to vacuum/clean the accumulated chalk from blackboard erasers. It was located on the ground floor next to one of the side entrances leading to the schoolyard. Whenever this machine was used, it would fill the surrounding air with a smell of chalk that would linger for hours...so this chalky smell would be the first thing to greet kids whenever recess was finished (it's funny the trivial things that stick in the mind decades later!)
Our middle school in South Florida had a Dean of Students who was basically the disciplinarian just below the Principal. He was a beefy guy with shiny black shoes and a short sleeved oxford to show off his biceps. He had a huge wooden paddle hanging on the wall over his desk. When you got called to his office it hung over his head while he explained why he was about to use it on you. That memory left an impression on me (in more ways than one)
As a child of the seventies and eighties, graduating from High School in the year 1991 I remember so much of what was mentioned here , to be honest I have now written novels of my life much of these things I refer to, especially the disapline part being very honest I was paddled in just about every year I attended Elementary and middle School. Thank you for this memory serving post