I got a lot of reaction to the School then vs school now column I wrote for The Oakland Press and for OCM a few weeks back. It came in the way of phone calls, tweets, facebook posts, direct e-mails and the comments sections of OCM and The Oakland Press. A few people thought I was complaining about how school was back then or that I had really jaded memories. Others thought I was complaining about how school is now and that I was pining for the good old days. I laughed at some of the stories that the readers shared and I finally got my comfirmation that yes, indeed there was nude swimming in Metro Detroit High Schools in the generation previous to mine (I still shudder at that one).

The truth is, I never really had a goal or any specific message in mind when I wrote School Then VS School Now. I just wanted to share old stories that seemed normal at the time but would never fly in the classrooms today. Like all visits to the past, some moments are hilarious while some are painful and awkward. Sometimes it's great to see how far the schools have come in putting our kids in a comfortable learning environment. Sometimes I think the schools could use a little more 1950's respect and discipline. Anyway, I wanted to keep the subject going as more and more people are giving me great stories.

My husband told me that in his HS they had several options for gym class. Students could sign up for Team Sports (baseball, football, basketball, dodgeball), Weight Training (stretching and weight lifting) or Individual Sports (tennis, badminton, archery). He said that his school had an option called Combatitive Sports (boxing, wrestling, Karate) a year before he entered high school but that they cancelled the program. I asked him why they cancelled it and he recalled that, predictably, fights spilled over from gym class into the halls after gym and kids would show up to their next hour with bloody noses and black eyes! No wonder it was canceled! It must have been a nightmare to have a 95 lb sophomore pitted against a 225 lb jock in a boxing match! Those classes must have been a haven for bullies.

Link to original article.

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