Was high school easier in the 90's/early 2000's compared to today?

[Buzz Rules]

Was high school easier in the 90's/early 2000's compared to today?

 

[Travel60]

Socially....probably yes. Less social media and maybe more constraints on blatant rudeness.
Educationally, I don't think so. For schools in a lot of areas, standards have eroded so more students could make it through.

 

[mousefan73]

Socially I feel 90s were harder graduated early 90s here. Very much cliquish, popular crowds, the whole jocks vs nerds thing. Today yes you have social media and the possible abuse that goes with that, but I feel today everybody finds their tribe and is happy. Back then people were looking to find the next best tribe.. Back then if you were gay forget it,, today it's almost cool to be "pan".

I also think academically it has gotten harder for those on the college track end. Also my friends kids had so much more homwork vs what we had. mor maybe we didnt do it lol.
The college entrance process was 10000% easier back then.

 

[barkley]

I also think academically it has gotten harder for those on the college track end.

here it's changed such that EVERYONE is on the college track-you have no choice. when my oldest attended in the early 2000's our district had already opted for all high school students to do second tier instruction (exceeded state requirements/met the minimum requrements for pulic 4 year colleges and universities) but a handful of years back (maybe around '15) they upped their instruction to meet the standards for 'reccommended coursework for highly selective colleges and universities'.

 

[Kitty 34]

I don't know. I went to high school in the early 70s having climbed Mt Everest to get there and back carrying twelve different books in my arms!

 

[slo]

I graduated in 1988 and I can definitely say that HS was harder for my girls than it was for me. Their classes were harder, the content was more advanced and the expectations were more. Their HS experience was my HS experience on steroids - LOL!

 

[sam_gordon]

Some parts were easier, some were harder. Both then and now have their good points and bad points.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I graduated in 1996. I think that not having Social Media made it easier in that aspect. I know expectations were very high at my high school - it was pretty much pounded into us that college was what everyone had to do after college.

 

[Meriweather]

I graduated in 1972, no idea how it is today. I don't know anyone in high school.
My kids didn't seem to have a problem......1997 and 2000 graduates, but no cell phones, no social media.

 

[jo-jo]

I don't know. I went to high school in the early 70s having climbed Mt Everest to get there and back carrying twelve different books in my arms!

And since it was Mount Everest, of course it was in the snow!

 

[CGB]

I think easier and harder in almost all aspects, and it's mostly due to this Digital Communcation Age. I work in a jr/sr high school. Social media can keep us connected, but it has intensified problems like bullying, tiktok challenges, etc with adolescents. We have issues between kids that start on-line and then blows up at school. And kids know it too... ask them if they've seen bullying or stalking on-line and they'll all nod enthusiastically. And they won't state the apps you're thinking... it'll be ones you probably don't use. We've had issues from kids sharing nude photos to videotaping fights. And that starts as early as 5th-6th grade. Cell phones are almost their own category. We want to be able to contact our kids whenever we need, which is a positive.... but the phone is also a major problem in classes. Schools are constantly struggling with how to handle that distraction.

*How* I teach today is quite different than 20 years ago also. While digital advancements have made certain aspects of teaching/learning subjects easier (i.e., researching *credible* sources on the internet, bibme, google forms, videos, subject area software and platforms, etc.), the expectations of student achievement have increased. Then, we use MORE ditigal solutions to increase skills of kids who struggle. (I pushed last year to bring in more non-digital options to get the kids OFF the chromebook.) Ultimately, some advanced students are able to fast-track their college classes through programs at our local junior college, which is a positive. Thankfully, in our area, we've also had a recent push towards offering trade school options that allows kids to take classes during their junior/senior years. However, it's hard on all the kids to get their feet under them... especially with the real world changing so rapidly.

I graduated in 1988 and I'm so thankful we didn't have cell phones or social media. Computers were just beginning to appear at that point (I took a BASIC class my senior year). Our kids graduated in 2008 and 2012 when the internet & computers were in full swing, but kids weren't carrying individual chromebooks yet. Cell phones were in play, but facebook was still the only main social media. Today... it's a whole different rodeo. And I'm wary that artifical intelligence is going to upend the whole boat all over again, in positive as well as negative ways.

 

[anniemae]

I think so. When I was in high school you just went to school. Then senior year you sent out some simple applications and went to college if you chose to do so. Now it seems like everything from middle school on is all about "getting into college." The pressure is immense. Kids go on college tours where they visit multiple states during the summer and tour college campuses. Kids take college prep classes, have to write essays, take sports because it looks good for college applications etc. I never remembered all that. Like I said, you filled out a simple application and that was it.

 

[mjkacmom]

I think it’s much harder, especially with college admissions and scholarships. Math track starts in 7th, as does foreign language. Many colleges want to see rigor with honors/AP/DE classes. Students need to find some passions and show continuance. My kids pulled all nighters in HS, I assure you that I never did. I took some honors classes, topped out FL with spanish 3 and math algebra 2. My kids took AP Spanish, AP calc, AP stat. My kids attended the same HS we attended, so it easy to compare.

 

[EllieJedi]

I think there are more college track programs probably than there were when I graduated in 1988. I started Spanish in 6th grade, and HS algebra in 8th grade. I was in Honors classes for math, science, English, social sciences and Spanish and probably averaged 4 hours of homework a night. There were nights I remember being up until 11 from when I came home at 3:30 though. For Math, my HS only went through Calculus and my HS did not offer AP.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

Yes. We moved when daughter was entering 5th grade. Even in elementary school, kids already have their group of friends. There was already the popular crowd and the athletic kids and they didn't let anyone new in their groups. Academics definitely harder. When entering 6th grade, all the parents wanted to talk about is how to get into the 2 major colleges in our state (very competitive). In High School, it's all about AP/Honors classes and dual enrollment. If you want to get into our state university or sought after tech university, you need to have 7-12 AP classes plus dual enrollment. It's like colleges want you to be a college student with college level classes before you enter college.

 

[tvguy]

Well, it certainly is different. My oldest graduated High School in 2005 and back then Internet sources were not yet allowed to be sources for school papers. And technology has changed. During the pandemic here every public school child was given a tablet or laptop and districts set up Internet hot spots in areas where students had no internet access. So from a digital standpoint, it is easier.
As for in the classroom experience, not sure. The school year is several days shorter now here. Students get a week off for Thanksgiving now, instead of just Thursday and Friday, and they get a week off for President's Day instead of one day, so that's seven fewer instruction days.

 

[sam_gordon]

The school year is several days shorter now here. Students get a week off for Thanksgiving now, instead of just Thursday and Friday, and they get a week off for President's Day instead of one day, so that's seven fewer instruction days.

Just because they change the length of the breaks doesn't mean the number of instructional days has decreased. They could start school earlier in the year or have them go later. A quick Google search shows California still requires 180 educational days.

 

[tvguy]

Just because they change the length of the breaks doesn't mean the number of instructional days has decreased. They could start school earlier in the year or have them go later. A quick Google search shows California still requires 180 educational days.

Yes. 180 is the minimum which many districts are at now. Most used to be 190. My kids were in private and their instruction year was 200 (they graduated in 2005 and 2009).

 

[jo-jo]

Not exactly on topic, but the talk of kids now with tablets and such, I remember as a kid in the 60's and 70's. Having to go to library and having to pay to photocopy pages for a paper. Libraries would get notice of a class doing a paper on X and all the books on that subject no longer could be checked out.

I thought erasable ink right up there with invention of fire.

 

[jimmymc]

I think you have a wider range today. On the low end, schools are more likely to push failing students along, while in the past they had no problem making you repeat a grade or go to summer school. On the high end, students are taking 6 AP classes their senior year and graduating with an entire year's worth of college credits. In extreme cases, I've seen students take night and summer classes in addition to these and finish their associate's the summer they turn 18.

Socially, I'd say students are more accepting of each other today. Cliques aren't as strong, in-person bullying is down, and it's cool to join niche clubs and have hobbies. You're more likely to get hate from strangers online than the popular kids.