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"Same Place Different Time"
Click to view CuringAutism's profile Posted by: CuringAutism // 1 week ago // viewed 1,406 times
Deerfield, Illinois // embed media
Last updated: 1 week ago

I'm raising my kids in my hometown, and they are attending the same elementary school, middle school and high school that my sister, two brothers and I did. This gives me a great perspective on the similarities and differences of school "back in the day" and today. Here are some of my thoughts.

Same:

1) Bus still picks up outside the house

2) Excellent public education, paid for by high property taxes (Deerfield, IL is ranked 3rd best place to raise children in America this year, also the reason my parents bought a house in this neighborhood 40 years ago.)

3) Lasting friendships

4) Close families with high priority on children and many stay in the town with multiple generations within miles

5) VERY safe with good relationships with police and fire departments established in schools at young ages

6) Very high standards strived for and MET consistently by teachers and students of varying issues and abilities with 98% going to college

7) Great sports programs, Yearbook, Art Classes, Dance, Cheerleading, and Debate Teams

Different:

1) Very technologically advanced with computers for homework, email and Internet by students parents, teachers, and administration, and many other innovations like cell phones, printers, faxes, scanners

2) More hot lunches and actives brought into the schools, easier to coordinate with computers

3) Kids have much more homework now than before. For example, 1 -2 hrs /night middle school with a little work on weekends, now 3-4 hrs/night middle school and large assignments on weekends

4) Great sports of all sorts plus ...and many varied extracurricular programs from bowling to rocketry to Pokémon Trading Card Club to Art Classes to Yearbook to Debate Teams to Karate Clubs to Computer Clubs to Photography Club to Video Club... and many more being added all the time!

5) After school and on weekends kids mainly used to spent time playing "Kick the Can", "Ghost in the Graveyard", "Horse", and "Running Bases", while now kids maining stick to organized activities, prearranged play dates and indoor supervised play.

In summary, growing up today with more technology and global competition means growing up faster by being exposed to much more at younger ages, smarter and more worldly as it is easier to travel and families are more spread out, and more open minded with the increased diversity and Internet exposre than growing up when I was a kid.
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Tags: school, education, back_to_school
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