The
Evolving School Experience
by Isabel Cheng
Teachers and students recently shared their school experiences to compare how much things have changed in education . Schools are constantly evolving and changing to improve the life and education of students and teachers .
“ Computers , online work , and smartboards are all something I didn ’ t have back then ,” said Ms . Lynn , an SLAS math teacher who went to school in the early 1980s . “ In the past , there were no smart boards . Instead , classrooms had black chalkboards that teachers had to draw on with white chalk .”
Ms . Lynn also mentioned that there were no computers or phones when she was a student . “ The first few versions were just coming out and no one had them .” At that time , computers were so rare and expensive that only one of her classmates had one her senior year .
Ms . Lynn also said that all her work was in hard-copy form . “ Besides having to write everything by hand , I also had to graph by hand . Back then , there were no websites like Desmos or Excel to help me .”
Grade seven student Arina Petrunya said that she could not imagine what life would be like if she could not type all her work . She mentioned that not only would she make a lot of mistakes , but her hand would also hurt because of the amount of homework she receives daily . Arina said her handwriting was so bad that sometimes she fears her teachers are not able to read it .
History teacher Ms . Marlee graduated high school in 2017 , and she thinks the behavior of students was very different . “ Compared to the past , I feel that students in this school are
Photo Source : Library of Congress , between 1914 and 1918
a lot more focused during class . When I was a student , kids were commonly more disrespectful .”
In addition to the change of behavior in class , teachers have also felt that students currently do different activities during lunch compared to the past .
Ms . Marlee said when she was a student , everybody was enrolled in clubs and played sports during lunch .
In contrast , most SLAS students today sit and use their smartphones after eating . They prefer to stay indoors and play video games or do their homework . A small minority of kids go outside to socialize in groups or play sports .
7 | SLAS TIMES