I'm 28 years old...a typical "Cold Y" subset kid. Born in 1984 I'm among the last generation who actually have an understanding of what the world was like before the technological revolution. Before internet, smart phones, DVD's, playstations etc. and can actually remember small bits an pieces of the 80's...and not just as an influence of the 90's but the actual 80's. I remember when the Berlin wall fell in kindergarten and they came to change our maps, as well as sitting on my grandfathers lap when Reagan gave his goodbye speech in January of 89. Also being allowed in the voting booth with my mom in November 1988 as she showed me how to vote.

I had a conversation with my sister (born in 1992) about the teachers we had growing up. We both went through the exact same school system. However, beginning in 1989 and ending right around high school, I had the misfortune of almost exclusively having the tail end of the "bitter old hag" generation of teachers. As in teachers who were pretty much in their 60's and began in an era where it was ok to hit students and crush their spirits.

Heck I still remember my first grade teacher (she was born in 1927) recalling fondly how she used to spank and hit students in the hands with rulers back in the 1950's! Our bathroom passes were her old paddles from that era! And this was a running theme for me up until maybe the end of middle school (97-98) when I got my first batch of "young" teachers...mostly in their 40's from other districts. High school it started to get better as the old timers were retiring, but I still had a fair amount of teachers in their 60's. But I really enjoyed having my first fresh out of college 20 something intro to sociology and psychology teachers back in 2000 and 2001.

My education was so far different from my sisters. It was all fear based. Teachers would berate, insult, make fun of disabilities, single out, exploit weaknesses...it was like a drill sergeant mentality. We didn't fear bullies among our peers growing up because our teachers were our bullies!

To my sister this was unfathomable. She started school in September 1998, and by then the old grannies were retiring. Most...if not all of her teachers were loving, supporting, helpful 25-40somethings. Oral presentations weren't firing squads, you weren't called a "disgusting pile of rags" if you had hole in your sweater and your mom couldn't afford a new one.

It's astonishing. We're only 7 years apart, but I received an old school fear based education. She got a real education.

I kind of feel ripped off.

I also heard that as late as the 1980s, left handed children were forced to write with their right hand. I wouldn't be too shocked if this happened as late as the nineties in some schools.

So...

1990:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iQSdbzWtzvA/UE4a6U7Ey5I/AAAAAAAACcs/gUvWcIJG4i0/s1600/mean_teacher.jpg

or better still...
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-te_mZS4fnpI/Tv0npNpoqeI/AAAAAAAAIew/V7rdjooP4j8/s1600/mt.jpg

and

1998:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ohZSUVlfvEw/ThE3_Z6lupI/AAAAAAAABOg/gQaqujROcHU/s1600/honey.jpg

So...

1990:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iQSdbzWtzvA/UE4a6U7Ey5I/AAAAAAAACcs/gUvWcIJG4i0/s1600/mean_teacher.jpg

or better still...
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-te_mZS4fnpI/Tv0npNpoqeI/AAAAAAAAIew/V7rdjooP4j8/s1600/mt.jpg

and

1998:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ohZSUVlfvEw/ThE3_Z6lupI/AAAAAAAABOg/gQaqujROcHU/s1600/honey.jpg


exactly this

Don't you think this is a bit too much of generalization? What if you had teachers in their 30s/40s in 1990 ... or in their 60s in the late 90s? I remember older teachers in the late 90s which were also kind of old school strict... and even in the early 2000s.

On the other hand, I had such nice teachers carrying flowers during my elementary school time (1992-1997 = preschool-4th grade), maybe because they just weren't that old or just ---- nice persons!

I had the complete opposite experience from people here. I prefered older teachers. They were more kind, respectful and taught us more discipline than the younger ones ( I found the younger teachers often mocked the older ones, lack of respect,and they weren't as dedicated as the older ones)


Then again, my younger teachers are probably the same as most people's  (who posted in this thread) older teachers. I graduated high school almost 33 years ago.  In elementary school, I had a teacher who had fought in WWI  (not a typo, it's WWI)

Everyone's experience probably depends on where you lived, what school you attended and what type of teachers you had.

But I do feel bad for those who had a bad experience.

I'm 28 years old...a typical "Cold Y" subset kid. Born in 1984 I'm among the last generation who actually have an understanding of what the world was like before the technological revolution. Before internet, smart phones, DVD's, playstations etc. and can actually remember small bits an pieces of the 80's...and not just as an influence of the 90's but the actual 80's. I remember when the Berlin wall fell in kindergarten and they came to change our maps, as well as sitting on my grandfathers lap when Reagan gave his goodbye speech in January of 89. Also being allowed in the voting booth with my mom in November 1988 as she showed me how to vote.

I had a conversation with my sister (born in 1992) about the teachers we had growing up. We both went through the exact same school system. However, beginning in 1989 and ending right around high school, I had the misfortune of almost exclusively having the tail end of the "bitter old hag" generation of teachers. As in teachers who were pretty much in their 60's and began in an era where it was ok to hit students and crush their spirits.

Heck I still remember my first grade teacher (she was born in 1927) recalling fondly how she used to spank and hit students in the hands with rulers back in the 1950's! Our bathroom passes were her old paddles from that era! And this was a running theme for me up until maybe the end of middle school (97-98) when I got my first batch of "young" teachers...mostly in their 40's from other districts. High school it started to get better as the old timers were retiring, but I still had a fair amount of teachers in their 60's. But I really enjoyed having my first fresh out of college 20 something intro to sociology and psychology teachers back in 2000 and 2001.

My education was so far different from my sisters. It was all fear based. Teachers would berate, insult, make fun of disabilities, single out, exploit weaknesses...it was like a drill sergeant mentality. We didn't fear bullies among our peers growing up because our teachers were our bullies!

To my sister this was unfathomable. She started school in September 1998, and by then the old grannies were retiring. Most...if not all of her teachers were loving, supporting, helpful 25-40somethings. Oral presentations weren't firing squads, you weren't called a "disgusting pile of rags" if you had hole in your sweater and your mom couldn't afford a new one.

It's astonishing. We're only 7 years apart, but I received an old school fear based education. She got a real education.

I kind of feel ripped off.


Wow. What horrible schools did you go to? I was born in 1980 and when I attended school in the '80s and '90s I had teachers of all different age groups. And some were nice, and then there were those who weren't. Still, I never had any " bully" teachers. I had one teacher in High school back in 1995 who was in her 80s and she was the sweetest thing. I never figured out how they had let her teach at that age lol. I'd say there was definitely something wrong with the schools you attended, and I'm saying this just because I am much older and I was never given a "fear-based education" as you put it.

All of my teachers in elementary school (K-5th) were in their 50s, maybe one in her 60s. I didn't have any teachers in their 20s-30s until junior high, moreso in high school.

Just because a teacher is in their 50s or 60s doesn't mean that they were mean just like teachers in their 20s are not nice. It depends on the teacher. I have had teachers from every range-young, old, nice, not so nice, etc. It is obvious that some people are not cut out to be teachers-even though they have been doing it for ages. There are others who are born teachers. You also have some teachers who are tired. Teaching takes a lot out of a person-not to mention that the pay sucks.

In a former life, I was a certified teacher-K-6. The only did my student teaching & subbing. With that little bit of experience, I realized that I am not cut out to be a teacher. It would totally exhaust me. I know that teaching techniques have changed over the years. Are new techniques better then the old ones? I think some are but some are not.



Cat

I'm 28 years old...a typical "Cold Y" subset kid. Born in 1984 I'm among the last generation who actually have an understanding of what the world was like before the technological revolution. Before internet, smart phones, DVD's, playstations etc. and can actually remember small bits an pieces of the 80's...and not just as an influence of the 90's but the actual 80's. I remember when the Berlin wall fell in kindergarten and they came to change our maps, as well as sitting on my grandfathers lap when Reagan gave his goodbye speech in January of 89. Also being allowed in the voting booth with my mom in November 1988 as she showed me how to vote.

I had a conversation with my sister (born in 1992) about the teachers we had growing up. We both went through the exact same school system. However, beginning in 1989 and ending right around high school, I had the misfortune of almost exclusively having the tail end of the "bitter old hag" generation of teachers. As in teachers who were pretty much in their 60's and began in an era where it was ok to hit students and crush their spirits.

Heck I still remember my first grade teacher (she was born in 1927) recalling fondly how she used to spank and hit students in the hands with rulers back in the 1950's! Our bathroom passes were her old paddles from that era! And this was a running theme for me up until maybe the end of middle school (97-98) when I got my first batch of "young" teachers...mostly in their 40's from other districts. High school it started to get better as the old timers were retiring, but I still had a fair amount of teachers in their 60's. But I really enjoyed having my first fresh out of college 20 something intro to sociology and psychology teachers back in 2000 and 2001.

My education was so far different from my sisters. It was all fear based. Teachers would berate, insult, make fun of disabilities, single out, exploit weaknesses...it was like a drill sergeant mentality. We didn't fear bullies among our peers growing up because our teachers were our bullies!

To my sister this was unfathomable. She started school in September 1998, and by then the old grannies were retiring. Most...if not all of her teachers were loving, supporting, helpful 25-40somethings. Oral presentations weren't firing squads, you weren't called a "disgusting pile of rags" if you had hole in your sweater and your mom couldn't afford a new one.

It's astonishing. We're only 7 years apart, but I received an old school fear based education. She got a real education.

I kind of feel ripped off.


It's funny because my school experience is the exact polar opposite of yours. I was born in 1987, attended school from 1992 through 2005, and really loved all of the teachers I had in elementary school but found many of my junior high and high school teachers to be jerks (including one guy who, as I noted in a previous post, once nearly got into a fist fight with a student). Even though I do agree that school as a whole has changed since I started 20 years ago, I also believe that, even to this day, whether or not you have "good teachers" or get stuck with "bad teachers" is still the luck of the draw.

As an example, the oldest teacher I've ever had was our elementary school music teacher who was born in 1912. She taught to the tender age of 82 before retiring and was actually quite nice, though she could occasionally get grumpy if us students acted up (which was understandable given her age).

Just because a teacher is in their 50s or 60s doesn't mean that they were mean just like teachers in their 20s are not nice. It depends on the teacher.



Cat


That is exactly right. I agree.

I remember the stereotype of K-12 teachers being old, frumpy, and frigid. I was in elementary school from 1997 to 2004, and I think the youngest teachers I'd had were in their late 20s or early 30s. Most of my elementary teachers were from the middle-aged to older-adult age range. My second grade math teacher, was was probably in her 50s or 60s, was a strict, no-nonsense type whom all the second graders feared. My third grade teacher was probably in her late thirties at the time and had a "Ms. Thing" personality to her. My fifth grade homeroom teacher was the worst. She was a grumpy old thing whom I honestly thought just didn't know how to be nice.

The higher you climb the ladder within the K-12 education system, the more engaging and laid-back your teachers seem to get, as was my experience. That was the opposite of what I was expecting during my latter years in elementary school - I was expecting junior high/high school teachers to be meaner.

I was born in 1986 so pretty much the same as you, I still remember using computers with Windows 3.1 in school. Speaking of computers, our computing teacher in primary (that's elementary in the states) school was a piece of work: he would frequently yell at/abuse the kids, called me a 'bloody idiot' (he asked me to turn on the computer and I turned on the monitor not knowing the difference lol) and even called my friend a '******.' I think several parents complained about him and he may've got fired.

I had a mixed bag in primary school, but most were pretty fair, even though they knew how to discipline kids. The youngest was in her 30s, the oldest probably 50s or 60s. I remember one teacher who was in her 70s in the early 90s: so she was probably born before 1920. In high school I had some kind of mean teachers, the youngest was a Japanese teacher who was in her late 20s, most being at least middle aged.