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wnylib

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100. My city junior high school (grades 7 through 9) had 800 students.

Fri Dec 13, 2024, 04:55 AM

Dec 13

The high school (grades 10 through 12) had 2000.

I don't know how many kids were in the grade school. It was K through 6. Class size was usually around 30 to 35. Baby Boomers.

I think that the grade school discipline was strict for 2 reasons. One, several of the teachers were near retirement age. They did not have education degrees. They had gone to what were called "normal schools," in the very late 1800s and early 1900s where prospective teachers received certificates for passing proficiency exams after brief subject training sessions.

The second reason for the school's discipline practices was the conservative time period. I started kindergarten in the autumn of 1954.

My kindergarten and first grade teachers were excellent. Very understanding and good with young children. The rest of the teachers, not so much. We learned our subject material, but endured some harsh practices that would not be allowed in public schools today.

In junior and senior high, teachers were still allowed to use paddles on students. Not every teacher did. Some were good at making subjects interesting and managing classroom behavior without resorting to them.

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What rule did you have in your school that students no longer have? Standing when answering a question. [View all] debm55 Dec 9 OP

No t-shirts jayschool2013 Dec 9 #1

Thank you jayschool2013, I remember also girls not being alowed to wear pants. debm55 Dec 9 #3

Ha! We girls around 5th grade '65 especially in NYC Winters got Feisty! "Why NOT?!!" Within a year we were allowed, all electric_blue68 Dec 11 #80

Girls were not allowed to wear pants. Diamond_Dog Dec 9 #2

See post above you. so am I. Even in the winter--no pants. debm55 Dec 9 #4

My school gave up on that rule after the 1968-69 school year. Eugene Dec 9 #20

I was in HS when the rule change. We were so happy. debm55 Dec 9 #22

My junior year in high school They allowed girls to wear pants but NO JEANS. We had to wear dressy slacks. Diamond_Dog Dec 9 #29

Thank you Diamond_Dog I remember those days. debm55 Dec 9 #48

67-68 girls wore denim under their flowing theatrical skirts in high school Brother Buzz Dec 9 #24

Remember. We called them Granny dresses. and you could wear jeans underneath. Thank you Brother Buzz for bringing back debm55 Dec 9 #25

We could wear them under our skirts when it was really cold. Also shorts under our dresses if we wanted to hang upside efhmc Dec 9 #35

Girls had to kneel on the floor and show their skirt would touch the floor. flor-de-jasmim Dec 9 #5

Yes I remember that. Thank you. debm55 Dec 9 #7

I experienced that at my all girls catholic school. kimbutgar Dec 10 #53

Woah! electric_blue68 Dec 11 #81

Skirts had to be below the knee and no patent leather shoes. BittyJenkins Dec 9 #6

Thank you Bitty Jenkins. i remember that. debm55 Dec 9 #8

You got a "G" in Ms. Watsons note pad for chewing gum. Lochloosa Dec 9 #9

Thank you lochloosa., debm55 Dec 9 #10

Sitting at your desk with your hands folded. debm55 Dec 9 #11

High school MoonlightHillFarm Dec 9 #12

Thank you very much MoonlightHillFarm. Very interesting. debm55 Dec 9 #14

A strict dresscode. redstatebluegirl Dec 9 #13

redstatebluegirl. I remember that.and asking for permission to use the restroom. When I was in the lower grades you had debm55 Dec 9 #15

Smoking was only allowed in the "smoking lounge". surrealAmerican Dec 9 #16

I remember that, My HS had a courtyard where kids could smoke. debm55 Dec 9 #17

As somene who hated the smell of smoke using the girls Lunchroom restroom in HS? Gak! electric_blue68 Dec 11 #82

Only one A per lifetime of a particular English teacher. Grr! And subsequently GRRR! GreenWave Dec 9 #18

Even if you really earned it? that is a shame. Thank you GreenWave. debm55 Dec 9 #19

One more DUer old enough to be of the "girls had to wear skirts... 3catwoman3 Dec 9 #21

Thank you 3catwoman3 and those vinyl seats on the bus were damn cold. debm55 Dec 9 #23

We stood XanaDUer2 Dec 9 #26

Thank you XanaDUer2 i so remember that. debm55 Dec 9 #47

Sit quietly at desk, raise hand and stand up to answer questions. Proper uniform with skirt below knees TommieMommy Dec 9 #27

I remember that TommieMommie. I went to Catholic grade school. And everyone sad in unison Good Morning Father_____ or debm55 Dec 9 #45

Boys: No blue jeans or tennis shoes. Had to wear slacks and dress shoes. FuzzyRabbit Dec 9 #28

Thank you FuzzyRabbit. I went to public JH and HS. We were still not allowed to wear jeans or tennis shoes. debm55 Dec 9 #46

No sneakers allowed except in Gym Class. Golden Raisin Dec 9 #30

Our Rule Went One Further ProfessorGAC Dec 9 #36

Professor GAC , I haven:t heard of Hush Puppies in years. I liked them. debm55 Dec 9 #43

thank you Golden Raisin. No jeans either until my last year in HS. Did you go to a Private School or Public school? debm55 Dec 9 #44

Public. Golden Raisin Dec 10 #50

Your jaw would have dropped at my HS. Specialized in Art & Music...we could wear within reason.... electric_blue68 Dec 11 #83

Thank you electric_blue68. That sounds very interesting. debm55 Dec 12 #88

Not a rule but Freddie Dec 9 #31

In my school girls had Home Ec and boys had Shop. Golden Raisin Dec 9 #37

True, my last year I was in HS The guys could take cooking and the girls could take auto repair--flat tires. oil , etc. debm55 Dec 9 #41

I imagine my HS was the same before I got there Xavier Breath Dec 11 #75

Thank you very much Xavier Breath. The last year of HS we had a similiar class of skills needed for everyday life. It debm55 Dec 11 #78

This message was self-deleted by its author debm55 Dec 9 #42

I'm female, Freddie was a very beloved cat Freddie Dec 10 #49

Sorry, about that Freddie debm55 Dec 10 #51

I think we girls had Home Ec but not sure. I don't have memory of hating it, and I was getting into Feminist.... electric_blue68 Dec 12 #87

That we could smoke on campus Picaro Dec 9 #32

Yes, my HS had an area where the students could smoke. debm55 Dec 9 #40

We couldn't chew gum in class, not that I was really into it surfered Dec 9 #33

I never wanted to either. But if you wanted to chew gum to relax that would be annoying. debm55 Dec 9 #39

My high school was like a medium security prison CanonRay Dec 9 #34

Oh my. That's wasn't good at all. debm55 Dec 9 #38

Pregnant girls could not attend school and had a special at-home curriculum. nature-lover Dec 10 #52

Thank you. In my district they would marry, one girl I knew was a sophomore or you went to these homes for pregnant debm55 Dec 10 #62

The girl I knew had to leave school but the father got to stay and go on as usual. nature-lover Dec 10 #66

The one I personally knew left to the home. The father was a football player. debm55 Dec 10 #69

I wasn't a smoker but CA high schools had a smoking section in the quad on campus Basso8vb Dec 10 #54

I didn't smoke either but the school had a student smoking section. debm55 Dec 10 #63

One of my seventh grade teachers tried to impose that "stand while answering" rule. malthaussen Dec 10 #55

Thank you Mal, When our name was called , we stood ---Catholic school. debm55 Dec 10 #64

A girl's skirt had to touch KT2000 Dec 10 #56

Thank you KT2000, Yes , no talking in class and no passing notes. debm55 Dec 10 #65

Having to copy a page out of a dictionary of you didn't finish your work kimbutgar Dec 10 #57

Thank you kimbutgar.I remember kids having to that on the side blackboards too, I will not____________ a certain amount debm55 Dec 10 #67

Old computers so just were in limited classes mvd Dec 10 #58

Had to take typing on a Royal typewriter. No computers back then. Thank you Matt. debm55 Dec 10 #68

Me, too. I graduated from high school in 1957. My typing class taught me the keyboard early. CTyankee Dec 12 #98

Same here. Thank you CTyankee. debm55 Dec 12 #99

We had to wear socks under sandals in high school. Wicked Blue Dec 10 #59

HAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHHA. Good for you Wicked Blue. debm55 Dec 10 #70

Gym suits and showers SARose Dec 10 #60

Thank you very much SARose, We had the blue one piece gym uniforms. After gym, the girls took a shower in the girls debm55 Dec 10 #61

If you mess with Mrs. Mudd... Harker Dec 10 #71

Oh no, did she get in trouble for doing that? She should have. debm55 Dec 10 #72

No, when I was a kid, corporal punishment was a daily thing. Harker Dec 11 #73

Oh my. Glad those days are over. Thank you Harker. debm55 Dec 12 #89

Not that I'm aware of. sakabatou Dec 11 #74

You are lucky. Thank you sakabatou. debm55 Dec 12 #90

A slide rule WestMichRad Dec 11 #76

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. Thank you WestMichRad. debm55 Dec 12 #91

Girls were strictly forbidden from wearing pants. We even played field hockey in little skirts as I recall. Walleye Dec 11 #77

Thank you Walleye. I remember that. debm55 Dec 12 #92

Boy's hair standards LogDog75 Dec 11 #79

That's good and thank you LogDog75, My HS never relaxed the standards. Short hair, no facial hair. debm55 Dec 12 #93

Hold the chalk so it does not screech on the chalkboard. KY_EnviroGuy Dec 12 #84

Thank you KY. I remember all three of those. debm55 Dec 12 #94

18 yr olds could excuse their own absences at my high school JoseBalow Dec 12 #85

Thank you JoseBalow. Now both boys and girls can sign themselves out for a job or appointment.I think it was 18 was debm55 Dec 12 #95

Girls had to wear dresses or skirts. Slacks for girls were not allowed wnylib Dec 12 #86

Thank you wnylib. Sorry but your grade school sounds terrible. In HS I did take drafting and the school was very obey in debm55 Dec 12 #96

My city junior high school (grades 7 through 9) had 800 students. wnylib Dec 13 #100

Thank you wnylib.Some schools are bringing back corporal punishment and some schools never did do away with it.Sad that debm55 Dec 13 #104

Girls couldnt wear slacks Figarosmom Dec 12 #97

Thank you Figarosmom. Yes, no slacks until the end of HS. We did do dodgeball in grade school and HS gym. debm55 Dec 13 #105

The girls would tear the fruit loops from the shirts of the boys. I remember Emile Dec 13 #101

I remember that . When I was in First grade a nun hung a boy in the clock room by using one of those loops from a coat debm55 Dec 13 #106

For punishment, you had to go outside and clap the erasers. dem4decades Dec 13 #102

My class had 'chores' on a rotating basis. One was going out and clapping the erasers. I liked that. then they got this debm55 Dec 13 #107

Girls had to wear dresses that came to their fingertips or longer. lark Dec 13 #103

We wore pants under our dresses. but removed them once we got in school . hahahaha I remember rolling up the skirts too debm55 Dec 13 #108