THE TRADITIONS THAT SHAPED
SCHOOL THROUGH THE GENERATIONS If you have had a grandparent or been a grandparent, you’re familiar with the phrase “back in my day…” followed by some story about how much things have changed. In some ways, the world has changed so drastically that our day-to-day lives look nothing like those of generations past. For example, it's remarkable how many people in my grandparents' generation managed to find the worst route to school as it was uphill both ways, at least that's the way they remembered it.
My son starts preschool this year, and I know that school will be wildly different for him than it was for me. It got me wondering how much has changed over the last 100 years. As families like mine prepare for a new school year, it’s interesting to reflect on how culture has shaped school through the generations. My grandparents were born in the mid-1920s, putting them in primary school right around the time of the Great Depression. Back in the 1920s and 30’s the education system wasn’t as regulated as it is today.
There were little schoolhouses in each community and when the stock market crashed in October of 1929, small communities were virtually leveled by financial loss. When budgets were cut, some schools would have to close leaving families out of options. When, eventually, the Great Depression ended, the country learned a lesson about the importance of centralized school systems and education in American became more efficient and curriculums became more standardized as a result.
is prom. The concept of prom (short for promenade) dates back as early as the late 1800s, co-ed groups of college students would dine together to practice their etiquette and social skills. But by the 1940s and 50s, it was cemented as an activity that defined high school culture and still does to this day. Like American culture, the standardization of education was like a pendulum that, over the decades, would continue to swing, and by the time my mother was a student in the 1960s and 70s she remembered
By the mid-1940s, we were bouncing back from the financial collapse and the end of World WarII. Unemployment was at a record low, spirits were lifted, and people were ready to spend their money. From this time of renewed prosperity, traditions were born that came to define a generation of students. One tradition made popular in this era that still reigns supreme today
1920
1930
1940
1950
“Roaring Twenties” Renewal of culture, slang & fashion Radio sparks education with on-air classes.
Students stopped attending school at 8th grade to help families make ends meet.
“Baby Boomers” begin a generation with unprecedented school population growth and massive social change.
A culture of change and rebellion is introduced with the debut of rock & roll. Teens were boppin’ and swingin’ their hips more than ever.
1921 — National Honor Society is established. 1926 — Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) administered for first time. 1928 — Future Farmers of America (FFA) is established.
1930 — Overhead Projector used for the first time. 1931 — Little Orphan Annie makes radio debut. 1932 — Buck Rogers makes radio debut. 1934 — National Beta Club starts. — High School Drivers Ed course is first offered. 1939 — IQ Testing introduced. — School Bus standards, including yellow color, adopted.
1940 — Filmstrips used in primary & secondary schools. 1943 — Archie Andrews makes radio debut. 1944 — The term “Teenager” first introduced to America. 1946 — National School Lunch Program established. — Howdy Doody Time makes radio debut. — Highlights Magazine releases first issue.
1951 — Videotapes introduce a new teaching method. 1954 — Brown v. Board of Education is passed, integrating American schools. 1955 — Captain Kangaroo hops on the scene. 1957 — American Bandstand dances into living rooms across the USA. 1958 — National Defense Education Act provides science funding.
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Aging Times Magazine | August 2021
1960 Anti-establishment culture Rise of the “Flower Children” Civil Rights, Anti-War
1960 — Whiteboards start to replace blackboards in classrooms. 1964 — Civil Rights Act becomes law. 1965 — Head Start is launched 1968 — Mister Rogers welcomes children to his neighborhood. 1969 — Sesame Street debuts. — Neil Armstrong visits the Man in the Moon.
