On the MSN landing page of my computer, there are articles, with pictures, about various topics.
Most of the articles are dumb, obviously written by a Gen Zer or a millennial. "10 Situation Comedies That Are Classics That Nobody Has Ever Heard Of." "6 Dogs That Probably Would Support Hitler." "10 Bands That Are As Overrated As The Beatles."
Recently, they had one titled "12 Useless School Rules That Only Made Sense In The 70s". Since I had most of my education in "the 70s", I have taken the opportunity to cut and paste the article (in italics) and follow it with my comments.
Teachers insisted we’d never have a calculator in our pockets. “Learn to do it by hand,” they’d say, “because you won’t always have a machine to do it for you!” Now, every smartphone has a calculator, and most jobs require computer literacy rather than manual calculation skills. Those hours spent memorizing multiplication tables seem almost quaint now.
"Seems almost quaint now" is a nice way of saying "stupid". Calculators were very expensive in the 70s and usually only the Whiz-Bang Math Kids had them. They were the ones who figured out 58008 upside down spelled "Boobs", which even they were interested in.
Until the mid-1970s, many schools required girls to wear skirts or dresses, even in freezing weather. Pants were considered inappropriate for girls despite being more practical and comfortable. The rule finally changed after parents protested about their daughters having to wear skirts during the winter months.
I was at Wheeler High School (School Motto: "You might marry one of these girls so act like you have some sense") in the 70s and I don't remember girls wearing dresses. Some of the girls wore inappropriate clothing that allowed you to see parts of her body that you wasn't supposed to see until you joined the Navy. Of course, these girls are grandmothers now.
Believe it or not, many high schools had designated smoking areas for students in the 1970s. With parent permission, students aged 16 and up could smoke during breaks. Some schools even had indoor smoking lounges! The practice continued until research about second-hand smoke emerged in the late 1970s.
I have written about this before, but Wheeler had a smoking section called either "The Smoking Section" or "The Smoke Hole". The teachers could smoke in the "Teacher's Lounge". One teacher, as the bell for the end of the school rang, would have a cigarette in her mouth walking through the hall as the kids were rushing to their buses. I think this teacher would have enjoyed giving us second hand smoke.
Some teachers still forced left-handed students to write with their right hands, believing left-handedness was a bad habit that needed correcting. Although this practice declined by the 1970s, it persisted in some schools. The psychological impact of this forced change is now well-documented, but it was considered normal back then.
This is pure horse-feathers. I went to school in the Deep South and I never saw this.
Girls had to kneel on the floor while teachers measured the distance between their skirt hem and the floor. The rule stated skirts couldn’t be more than two inches above the knee when kneeling. Despite the rising popularity of shorter skirts in fashion, this humiliating practice was common throughout the decade.
This "humiliating practice" was not done when I was in school and the US Congressman for our district belonged to The John Birch Society.
Despite the popularity of long hair in the 1970s, many schools maintained strict rules about boys’ hair length. Hair couldn’t touch the shirt collar or cover the ears. Some schools even sent boys home with notes requiring haircuts before they could return to class.
No, they didn't.
These Cold War-era drills continued well into the 1970s. Students were instructed to hide under their desks in case of nuclear attack – as if a wooden desk would protect anyone from an atomic bomb! Looking back, it seems more like a way to give kids a false sense of security.
I remember doing these, but the teachers also advised it was in case we got hit by a Tornado or something. But, I've got to say the desks we had could survive an atomic bomb.
Many schools still used paddles for discipline in the 1970s. The principal’s office often had a wooden paddle prominently displayed as a deterrent. Parents typically signed permission slips allowing this form of punishment, which wouldn’t be tolerated in most schools today.
I don't remember corporal punishment in high school, but in junior high school the Vice Principal was the bringer of pain. There was a rumor he had paddle with holes in it which would make it hurt worse. We had one P.E. coach in junior high school who would chase kids around the gym with a wiffle ball bat. He had to stop when all of the Yankees moved into the school district.
Drinking water was only allowed at water fountains during breaks. The idea of carrying water bottles would have seemed absurd – teachers worried students would use them to pass notes or create disturbances. You had to raise your hand and ask permission to get a drink, even on the hottest days.
I don't think teachers worried that students would use a water bottle to pass notes. I don't even know how that would be done. They were really worried about chewing gum. When they started allowing water, soft drinks, french fries, hamburgers, and gum in class is when America started to go downhill.
Physical education wasn’t the only separated class – many schools divided students by gender for subjects like home economics (girls only) and shop class (boys only). This practice reinforced gender stereotypes and limited learning opportunities for both sexes.
My 70s education in a county in the Deep South, boys had to take home economics and shop class. In fact, my son has the book shelve I made in seventh grade. I made a "C" on it. The Shop Teacher was being generous.
Many teachers only accepted typed papers, but computers weren’t available. Students had to use manual typewriters, and one mistake meant retyping the entire page. Some schools even required students to take typing classes, insisting it was a crucial life skill – though they never imagined we’d all be typing on phones!
Typing Class was probably the most useful class I ever took. It really helped out because computers, if you haven't heard, require you know how to type.
The only phone available was the payphone in the hallway, and you needed a note from a teacher to use it. In emergencies, you had to use the office phone under strict supervision. Today’s parents would be horrified at the lack of communication options, but it was normal back then.
I don't remember a payphone in the hallway. You couldn't just waltz into principal's office and use the phone which was strictly supervised. "Alan, your house has exploded throwing your dog (D.D. which stood for "Dumb Dog") over into your neighbor's yard". "Let me call my dad." "I must supervise you because you might be ordering a pizza. If you are, we want pepperoni."
