"Nothing ever changes in education." How often have we heard this? Said this?

Consider the education scene over the lifetime of a veteran educator, including both the student years and the educator years:

Students still sit in desks, usually in rows, during academic instruction.

Most teachers still insist on the use of pencils. An enlightened few allow pens.

Textbooks are still the basis for most instruction and the curriculum for most teachers.

Most middle and high school Science and Social Studies teachers primarily deliver lectures.

Phonics dominate Reading instruction. SRA kits are widely used as a supplemental reading strategy.

Most male teachers who are not coaches have a part-time job during the school year and summer break.

Schools (in the midwest) were integrated early in the last century. Florida schools were integrated in the late 1960's. Both black families in our suburban/rural school district were accepted by everyone! Large towns had truly integrated schools.

Most students in the early 70's took Algebra, although it actually was not required for graduation. Most didn’t understand it.

The drug culture was in full swing in the early 70's. Drugs at school, then as now, were mostly limited to cheap talk and the occasional stupid show and tell stunt.

Many kids get drunk at weekend parties. Some die in traffic accidents due to drunk driving.

But then again:

In elementary school in the 60's, there was no free and reduced lunch program.

There were no Hispanic residents and no illegal immigrants during the schooling years and only a handful of Hispanic students during the early 80's teaching years.

First graders received a morning snack of Graham crackers and milk. Nobody else ate snacks at school.

There were no after-school programs. Ditto before-school programs. Ditto summer programs.

Driver Ed was a summer only program.

There was no kindergarten program. Private kindergarten programs were very rare. Most moms did not work outside of the home. Prekindergarten? Surely you jest!

Starting in 7^th grade, PE classes had 60 or so kids per class... and daily showers were mandatory. PE/Health was a daily class from 7^th through 10^th grade. The large classes were very affordable! PE instructional methods, but not class size, are much the same today.

Teachers administered corporal punishment throughout the elementary and secondary experience from 1960 to 1972, often without witnesses.

Suspensions from school were exceedingly rare. See the previous item.

Due to Sputnik, a year of Science was required in high school. In the mid 80's the first statewide graduation requirements in Florida called for 3 years of Science and 3 years of Math. Later, Algebra was added to the list of requirements.

Girls were allowed to wear "pant-suits" as an alternative to the historical requirement to wear skirts or dresses, in high school, starting in about 1970.

Copiers were not available for the reproduction of classroom materials during the short teaching career in the late 70's and early 80's. Worksheets and tests were generally limited to class sets and run on "mimeograph" machines.

The personal computer was not available during the same teaching career.

Word processing was unknown at the time. Computers were used to teach computer programming to students. Business students were wowed by the new electric "Selectric" IBM typewriters.

Whiteout was the only way to correct a typing mistake until the Selectric came along.

Most rural students rode the bus to school. Parents did not take kids to school. A few high school kids drove to school.

Graduation testing didn’t exist until the early 80's (much later in most states), and then it was a basic skills level test.

There were no female administrators until the mid 80's. Teaching and Nursing were the only acceptable occupations for females.

There were no interscholastic sports for midwestern females during the 60's and early 70's. (There were girls teams prior to World War II.) Title IX did not really have a serious impact until the 90's.

Standardized tests were administered to evaluate student progress, and were only considered to be one indicator of progress. There were no "high-stakes" tests until the use of graduation tests.