Alina Arkhipchuck by Saira Munoz
Alina Arkhipchuck (a student in the 1970’s)
Although it may seem as if time hasn’t brought too many changes to education, going back in time proves otherwise. Alina Arkhipchuck, a high school student in the 1970’s, shared a whole different educational experience than a high school student today. The most obvious visual difference was of course the attire worn. As time has moved forward, teenager’s interests have changed leading to a difference in after -school activities. As education has evolved and subjects have broadened, so has the atmosphere in a classroom, along with subjects being taught and homework being assigned. School spirit has always been projected in assemblies, sports games, and school events but the way they’ve been projected has been slightly altered over time. One of the most important differences from today’s high school students would have to be the world events affecting students in the 1970’s. Today we are affected by the events just as important, but entirely different. It may not have been that long ago, but there has been so many changes and growth in public schools that the students have also shown these drastic changes.
Unlike today, where the dress code restricts short skirts and tank tops, the clothing worn back in the 1960’s was much more restrictive. The ladies were not allowed to wear any sort of pants at all, except for physical education, and if they did otherwise, their parents would have to come pick them up. Some girls attempted to blend the rules by wearing “koolats,” which were skirts cut like pants, and they were also sent home. Not only did it have to be a skirt, but it also had to be knee length; no mid-thigh skirts that we wear today would make the cut. The guys on the other hand didn’t have too many restrictions and wore tight jeans that were pegged and corduroy. Most of these pants were worn in light shades and the majority of the brands were Levi; especially popular were the button Levi’s. Friday was a dress-up day, but not to the extent we show today with our spirit day gear. Unlike today’s high school students, teenagers back then would be more excited to dress up fancy for school events, such as student-mother tea.
Over the weekends, school kids wouldn’t go out and party like we do today; instead they would go bowling, hiking, to the park, or just riding on their bicycles. Most popular was attending football games on Friday and Saturday nights with friends or family. These games were either held at Cascade or Everett High School; there weren’t any home games with other schools at the time even though the teams would play with other districts. The school colors, crimson and grey, weren’t well liked in the 1970’s so the students would wear mostly more white and red incorporated in to the football games. Spirits were high at these games with the help of the cheerleaders who were called Bruinettes back then. Usually after the games, dances were held in the school’s gymnasium most of the students wouldn’t miss it. But the biggest dance no one was sure to miss was homecoming. A Bruinette would be chosen as homecoming queen and awarded the big chrysanthemums at the dance, which today we replaced with a crown, sash, and much simpler flowers. One other fun activity was the local fair, which the students would skip school to attend. Since transportation consisted of buses and walking instead of the majority of students driving their own cars like we do today, a school bus would drive all the kids to the fairgrounds and they would ride on the carousals and roller coasters until they got sick and enjoyed every moment of it. For events such as these, girls wore pants and weren’t punished for it.
The atmosphere of the classroom was a lot stricter back in the day than it is today since teachers had more authority than they do today. The students would be very quiet with no one making a sound or moving around because students knew they would be put in their place if they were to be disobedient. There was a variety of students in the classroom like there is today, with the goofballs and the school-driven students who would learn and get scholarships. The “goof-offs” were usually sent to the office and spanked with a paddle as a punishment for their behavior. The spankings were pretty rough, especially when executed by male teachers who believed in putting disobedient students in their place, even if it meant picking them up and throwing them against the lockers or “having them by the neck.” This was called teacher correcting and was meant to show teacher strength with students. This was meant to gain student respect and allow students to focus on their school work.
Although there are a few similarities with subjects taught and homework distributed, there are a few changes clearly visible. At the beginning of the year, the students were given books they were expected to take care of like now, but since there were no computers or copy machines to type up and print notes, all the notes were handwritten from the chalkboard and homework was always done by hand. Instead of backpacks, students carried around yellow paper folders, decorated with a picture of a football player or basketball player. They were only about 25 cents so when they wore out, it was easy to purchase a new one and replace it. The four main subjects in school were English, math, social studies, and government and in all four classes, the students would have book reports which they would have to present in front of the class. There wasn’t too much homework, unless one was studying for a big test. Classes like home-economics and shop class were restricted for their corresponding genders; there were no boys in home-ec cooking with the girls, and no girls in the shop class working with wood or mechanics. The home-ec class had a few differences from today since the teacher would simply give the girls a grocery list that they would take to the grocery store and come back with the ingredients to make cookies or whatever else they dreamed of.
Assemblies were also prepared during the 1970’s but the students back then were more restrictive towards such events. The students would dress up in their spirit colors, sing the cheer song, and the staff would give speeches about school pride and that would consist of a successful assembly. The leadership kids put more time and effort into planning the annual food drive collecting canned goods and delivering baskets during Christmas time, since they saw it as more important than organizing pep assemblies with games and competitions that would entertain an audience for a few minutes. The focus back then was on helping others since more people didn’t have a lot of money themselves.
Students in the 1970’s were being affected greatly by the Vietnam War. Many were “scared to death” of the Soviet Union, known to us today as Russia. There would be many drills where the all school students would have to practice getting under the tables from fear that Russia would blow them up. There was a lot of “nuclear talking” and when JFK was killed and the Vietnam War started, all the senior boys had to enlist in the army and there was a greater amount of fear and worry. Representatives would come to high schools like they do today and there would be pushup contests and pull-up contests to recruit the boys. Students would hear every day of the kids they had gone to school with getting killed, and the guys would be hesitant to join the army since they had a feeling they would die. When the soldiers would come home and have parades, they would be booed and spit upon for being “baby killers.” There was no pride in our troops like there is now; people were very bitter towards them. The subject of war was pushed under the table at school and most teachers didn’t want to talk about it either. It was a subject of fear and dread that everyone tried their best avoiding.
All in all, although there are some subtle similarities in our public schools back then and now, there are more differences. With time, changes and more changes happen starting from attire to how world events affected the students, and so on. The differences are what shape each generation’s education and school experience, and each generation will have something new and fascinating to share the next.
Although it may seem as if time hasn’t brought too many changes to education, going back in time proves otherwise. Alina Arkhipchuck, a high school student in the 1970’s, shared a whole different educational experience than a high school student today. The most obvious visual difference was of course the attire worn. As time has moved forward, teenager’s interests have changed leading to a difference in after -school activities. As education has evolved and subjects have broadened, so has the atmosphere in a classroom, along with subjects being taught and homework being assigned. School spirit has always been projected in assemblies, sports games, and school events but the way they’ve been projected has been slightly altered over time. One of the most important differences from today’s high school students would have to be the world events affecting students in the 1970’s. Today we are affected by the events just as important, but entirely different. It may not have been that long ago, but there has been so many changes and growth in public schools that the students have also shown these drastic changes.
Unlike today, where the dress code restricts short skirts and tank tops, the clothing worn back in the 1960’s was much more restrictive. The ladies were not allowed to wear any sort of pants at all, except for physical education, and if they did otherwise, their parents would have to come pick them up. Some girls attempted to blend the rules by wearing “koolats,” which were skirts cut like pants, and they were also sent home. Not only did it have to be a skirt, but it also had to be knee length; no mid-thigh skirts that we wear today would make the cut. The guys on the other hand didn’t have too many restrictions and wore tight jeans that were pegged and corduroy. Most of these pants were worn in light shades and the majority of the brands were Levi; especially popular were the button Levi’s. Friday was a dress-up day, but not to the extent we show today with our spirit day gear. Unlike today’s high school students, teenagers back then would be more excited to dress up fancy for school events, such as student-mother tea.
Over the weekends, school kids wouldn’t go out and party like we do today; instead they would go bowling, hiking, to the park, or just riding on their bicycles. Most popular was attending football games on Friday and Saturday nights with friends or family. These games were either held at Cascade or Everett High School; there weren’t any home games with other schools at the time even though the teams would play with other districts. The school colors, crimson and grey, weren’t well liked in the 1970’s so the students would wear mostly more white and red incorporated in to the football games. Spirits were high at these games with the help of the cheerleaders who were called Bruinettes back then. Usually after the games, dances were held in the school’s gymnasium most of the students wouldn’t miss it. But the biggest dance no one was sure to miss was homecoming. A Bruinette would be chosen as homecoming queen and awarded the big chrysanthemums at the dance, which today we replaced with a crown, sash, and much simpler flowers. One other fun activity was the local fair, which the students would skip school to attend. Since transportation consisted of buses and walking instead of the majority of students driving their own cars like we do today, a school bus would drive all the kids to the fairgrounds and they would ride on the carousals and roller coasters until they got sick and enjoyed every moment of it. For events such as these, girls wore pants and weren’t punished for it.
The atmosphere of the classroom was a lot stricter back in the day than it is today since teachers had more authority than they do today. The students would be very quiet with no one making a sound or moving around because students knew they would be put in their place if they were to be disobedient. There was a variety of students in the classroom like there is today, with the goofballs and the school-driven students who would learn and get scholarships. The “goof-offs” were usually sent to the office and spanked with a paddle as a punishment for their behavior. The spankings were pretty rough, especially when executed by male teachers who believed in putting disobedient students in their place, even if it meant picking them up and throwing them against the lockers or “having them by the neck.” This was called teacher correcting and was meant to show teacher strength with students. This was meant to gain student respect and allow students to focus on their school work.
Although there are a few similarities with subjects taught and homework distributed, there are a few changes clearly visible. At the beginning of the year, the students were given books they were expected to take care of like now, but since there were no computers or copy machines to type up and print notes, all the notes were handwritten from the chalkboard and homework was always done by hand. Instead of backpacks, students carried around yellow paper folders, decorated with a picture of a football player or basketball player. They were only about 25 cents so when they wore out, it was easy to purchase a new one and replace it. The four main subjects in school were English, math, social studies, and government and in all four classes, the students would have book reports which they would have to present in front of the class. There wasn’t too much homework, unless one was studying for a big test. Classes like home-economics and shop class were restricted for their corresponding genders; there were no boys in home-ec cooking with the girls, and no girls in the shop class working with wood or mechanics. The home-ec class had a few differences from today since the teacher would simply give the girls a grocery list that they would take to the grocery store and come back with the ingredients to make cookies or whatever else they dreamed of.
Assemblies were also prepared during the 1970’s but the students back then were more restrictive towards such events. The students would dress up in their spirit colors, sing the cheer song, and the staff would give speeches about school pride and that would consist of a successful assembly. The leadership kids put more time and effort into planning the annual food drive collecting canned goods and delivering baskets during Christmas time, since they saw it as more important than organizing pep assemblies with games and competitions that would entertain an audience for a few minutes. The focus back then was on helping others since more people didn’t have a lot of money themselves.
Students in the 1970’s were being affected greatly by the Vietnam War. Many were “scared to death” of the Soviet Union, known to us today as Russia. There would be many drills where the all school students would have to practice getting under the tables from fear that Russia would blow them up. There was a lot of “nuclear talking” and when JFK was killed and the Vietnam War started, all the senior boys had to enlist in the army and there was a greater amount of fear and worry. Representatives would come to high schools like they do today and there would be pushup contests and pull-up contests to recruit the boys. Students would hear every day of the kids they had gone to school with getting killed, and the guys would be hesitant to join the army since they had a feeling they would die. When the soldiers would come home and have parades, they would be booed and spit upon for being “baby killers.” There was no pride in our troops like there is now; people were very bitter towards them. The subject of war was pushed under the table at school and most teachers didn’t want to talk about it either. It was a subject of fear and dread that everyone tried their best avoiding.
All in all, although there are some subtle similarities in our public schools back then and now, there are more differences. With time, changes and more changes happen starting from attire to how world events affected the students, and so on. The differences are what shape each generation’s education and school experience, and each generation will have something new and fascinating to share the next.