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Nothing has changed in my 71 years -we all go to the movies and cheer our hero’s -the only difference is the people sitting around me are cheering the —assassins, pirates, gangsters and witches -instead of those who protect us from them
Typing was a great class, work in my field used computers and most guys my age did not take typing, that was seen as a class for girls. Knowing how to type on a keyboard and not hunting and pecking was an advantage in those early computer days.
We had buses in our large rural school district and I did not walk to school. My parents didn’t bat an eye though when I rode my bike by myself, 1 1/2 miles, along isolated corn fields to summer recreation at the school five days a week in summer. I was 11.
Halloween found us walking in groups of kids, no adults, miles from home. Tree forts in the woods and climbing trees so high the branches bent. Crossing a field to jump a fence and read a book under a stand of pines, and no one knew where I was. As long as I was home for lunch and dinner, the rest of the time was mine. That world doesn’t exist anymore. I’m lucky I lived it and lucky I survived it.
BBCjunkie:
11.
well, there's more to that.
skills were dropped as a "requirement".
the Principal said that voice-command was the future.
of course, she was (and is) correct. the elective remained.
I took typing in 9th grade. It is a skill that I still use to this day. When I joined the military, I was in telecommunications and learned how to type on a teletype. That 9th grade typing class gave me a bit of an advantage. Years later, I taught a couple of typing classes. And after I got out of the service, I got a job doing data entry (terrible job). It all began with that 9th grade class. At my peak, I could probably type about 50 words a minute (less than 5 errors) on a teletype which is slower than a typewriter. Now, I don't know how fast I could type. I haven't taken a timed test in a long time.
I'm noticing that the vast majority of comments are reminiscing on how US culture was better in times past. I'm not saying that is untrue, but I have to wonder if maybe the past is being romanticized to seem better that it actually may have been?
Also, I'm not sure an African American person who was turned away from businesses or forced to the back of the bus not that long ago (when many of this forum would remember) would have the same fond memories?
In full disclosure, I'm not retired but I like to visit this sub forum for the great discussions and information. I really learn a lot from you all!
Some of the changes were good ones. More equal footing for many; disabled access, stuff like that but when did we become so scared to have our kids go outside?
When my kids were growing up (1990's), I tried to do the old fashioned birthday parties and everyone had a blast. We gave out a different color of T-shirt and that was their team. No one knew it at the time but it was fun.
Some of other moms looked down on me, I know.
I also picked a neighborhood where we knew the neighbors and the kids would be safe playing outside.
They also have a program here where kids can graduate with a 2year college diploma before they graduate high school!
I have my questions about that.
In the somewhat rural Appalachian town in which I was raised, it was a godsend for students to be able to earn college credit while attending high school as for many of them, it was the only way that they could have afforded a college education. (In Ohio, this program is called "Post-Secondary Option.") It was also a great way to prepare college-bound students for the faster pace of college instruction and the heavier loads of course work associated with it.
The only difference between when I was in high school and the present is is that an entire associates degree can now be earned at the local state university branch and not just credits to give students a financial and educational "jump start" towards a degree.
Typing was a great class, work in my field used computers and most guys my age did not take typing, that was seen as a class for girls. Knowing how to type on a keyboard and not hunting and pecking was an advantage in those early computer days.
I took two years of typing in high school. About 1/3 of the class were boys during the first year, but the second year, there were about 60 girls and two boys. Am I mistaken, but weren't the keys on manual typewriters more widely-spaced than those on keyboards today? I could touch-type very well on those old typewriters, but my hands are way too large to do it on a computer keyboard. I mostly use my two forefingers to type on them. I've searched for a keyboard with wider spacing on the keys, but they don't seem to exist. There are keyboards that are much larger and with extra sections of keys, but their basic keypads are no wider in their spacing.
Another thing is that ever since I shifted to Windows 10 from Vista several years ago, the spacing seems much more difficult to get right. I often have to go back and correct words where the symbols are jammed together and when I try to delete a letter, often, the letter that seems to be next to it is the one that gets changed. It just isn't possible that my finger coordination could be slipping, as years go by. Anyone else noticed this?
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So, what changed society?
