Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before school. Pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.
1957-Vice Principal comes over, looks at Jack’s shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2007-School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counsellors called in for traumatized students and teachers.
Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1957-Crowd gathers, Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007-Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.
Scenario: Jeffrey won’t be still in class and disrupts other students.
1957-Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. Returns to class, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007-Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.
Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbors car and his dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1957-Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college and becomes a successful businessman.
2007-Billy’s dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy’s sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy’s mom has affair with psychologist.
Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1957-Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.
2007-Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violations. Car searched for drugs and weapons.
Scenario: Pedro fails high school English.
1957-Pedro goes to summer school, passes English and goes to college.
2007-Pedro’s cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro’s English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.
Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from the 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle, blows up a red ant hill.
1957-Ants die.
2007-BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computer confiscated, Johnny’s dad goes on a terror watch list and is never allowed to fly again.
Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1957-In a short time Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2007-Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.
Us Girls..Our Views 
I’m not sure if you wrote this Joy or if it was originally an email forward, but it’s great! I love it!
My Dad is in his mid-70’s and I grew up hearing so many of these scenarios that you described. (He graduated from high school in 1952). He spoke often about class bullies and fistfights that would even have members of the teaching staff cheering in the crowd. He told of lighting off firecrackers in the middle of downtown, and the the hell he had to pay whenever he got in trouble anywhere in town. He knew that by the time he got home his father would already know. He tells stories of bringing guns to school during hunting season and hunting with his teachers and fishing during the fishing season. There was always about two weeks straight every fall that he just didn’t go to school because he was hunting, none of the other boys did either. Venison was a commodity, especially following the heels of the depression.
I often wonder whether these times were better or not, but I do know that there are so many things out there right now that I’m fearful about when I think about the culture my children are growing up in. It’s not the mainstream ones like predators, or the internet, but it’s other things like the fact that we’re working on our 2nd generation of medicated kids when really we’ve created a culture that requires a short attention span for survival. Have you walked into a restaurant lately? You can’t go anywhere where there isn’t media and messages being pumped at you…our kids are adapting…evolving…and we’re doping them to death without knowing what those drugs do to their little bodies 20 years from now. It scares me as a parent, it scares me as a teacher. There are some medications that are appropriate, and then there’s just overuse and over prescribing…
Then again…how many years ago did that Pink Floyd song come out? I guess this isn’t really THAT knew a thing…. 😉
You are so right. It is so sad that I can’t even hope that my kids will be able to learn about life in any way that I would consider normal.
I keep trying to figure out how I can arrange for my kids to walk / ride bikes to school and the library, develop lifelong immunity to chicken pox, and learn how to earn and handle their own money, but I’m at a loss. The way things are going, they will learn in school about deviant sex before they need their own house key or bike lock. But from what I hear, I’m the one who’s nuts.
So sick and so sad, it’s not so bad here but its getting like that faster than I can say the word “fast”
Makes you think huh – got similar one will send to you, this is awesome thanks for sharing!
No Jen, I didn’t write it. It was an email forward but I had to pass it on. I thought it was sad in a way to where we’ve come to. On one hand we’ve come a long way but was it the right way to go?
Whoever did write it hit it on the head. I was in school in 1957 and that’s just how it was. We have come a long way but we are losing our direction very quickly. I’m glad you posted it.
Sad, but true. You can’t discipline your kids anymore without fearing the abuse word be used, but yet everyone today is saying kids’ problems are in part b/c of lack of discipline!
The reason there is harsh discipline today is because we have school shootings, kids killed in fights, and a huge increase psychological issues with kids in the US today versus back then. It is very sad, but true. I think woman going to work has a lot to do with kids going downhill, and the media.
My dad was born 1944 and my mom is 1951, so I have heard that this is how it was back then and I am so jealous every time I hear about back then! Sounds like so much more security and families were closer and saw each other more often than they usually do today. They weren’t as many emotionally unstable people it seems! People work too much today.