Where I went to school:

"Tests were administered simply and effectively. There were no pre-printed forms. Multiple choice, true or false questions and such were completely unknown. For example the teacher dictated sentences in German and the pupils had to write their translations in the foreign language that was taught. Our time pressure was enormous, for we had to respond to the speed of the dictation. We could not return to re-read questions and think about the answers later. Test results were based on spelling and grammatical errors. Ten to twelve errors of any kind on a language test resulted in failure.

Our school had no logo, mascot, advisors, curriculum counselors, nurses, and resource officers. No lunchrooms, vending machines, copy machines, clubs, newspaper, sports teams, coaches or bands. We had no teachers aides or tutors. There were no loudspeakers, telephones, movie projectors or sound equipment to distract us. We had no invited speakers or demonstrations, seminars or parent-teacher organizations. There were no courses in self-esteem, sex or social agendas. We did not learn how to put condoms on fingers so we would know how to put them on something and into something else. We were deprived and unprotected in this cruel world.

But we learned a lot. And we did so at a fraction of what it costs today.

There were no school buses even though pupils came from far and wide. They came on trains, bikes and public buses at their own cost. We had to pay for our own books and brought our own sandwiches. Our textbooks became gray and severely dog-eared. Our information was condensed in these books; we focussed more on quality than quantity.

Instead of learning to mix drinks, we learned French. Instead of bouncing around in tutus, we beat our brains out with algebra. Our courses taught mostly facts and logic. There was no hocus-pocus of any kind. We had no distracting entertainment such as dances or assemblies. School felt like an army boot camp. In other words, we were totally deprived; we learned discipline and self-reliance. But even before Little Brother and I entered school we were the paragons of discipline and urgently needed some hocus-pocus. Unfortunately our school did not provide us with such relief.

Like in many other countries, this wonderful educational system has veered off track. Probably because Little Brother and I had left and there was no one who could be spanked. One American magazine recently mentioned the shocking illiteracy levels of the German youth, and that two successive car models of Daimler Benz had failed road tests. This article continued that: In Germany, some thirty percent of students leave school unemployable due to lack of reading, writing, and math skills.

Wait until no one wants to feed these unemployables. Then all hell will break loose. Again.

Nowadays students suffer through intense feel-good-about-myself yo-yo demonstrations by national champions. Lectures by drug convicts. Cons are glorified and the most qualified to tell our children Just Say No.

There was little opportunity for socializing during school. Breaks between classes lasted five minutes, with fifteen minutes for a mid-morning sandwich and fresh air. Classes were finished by noon after which the pupils returned home ...

There were no organized or coached contacts between the students after school either. All intercourse between them was between individuals pursuing creative and physical activities. There was no drinking, no shopping mall loitering or TV gawking because there were no shopping malls or televisions. Instead they visited, talked, roamed in the forests and pursued individual hobbies. They were close to their parents and were allowed to be children. To be children, girls did not paint their faces to attract boys. They did not even shave their armpits or legs, but were disgustingly sexy.

...There was not only no hocus-pocus in our schools, there were few, if any straight A pupils and no honor societies. We did not get publicly recognized for outstanding performance. Our motivation was not the carrot but the stick. We were not bribed to do well; we were punished if we didnt. Few pupils could achieve perfection in all subjects. It is an exceptional person who can excel in a wide range of academic courses especially since we could not choose them."

-- Not Again! (seenit@ww2.com), February 28, 1999

Answers

No.

You are forgetting that the genesis of the Y2K problem began with the WWII generation!

-- RD. ->H (drherr@erols.com), February 28, 1999.

"During this era only about five percent of the population graduated from a Gymnasium. Contrast this with the last senior class in the town where I presently reside. It produced sixteen valedictorians out of a total enrollment of three hundred eighty-five students. For their commencement speech these geniuses took turns reading a story."

-- Not Again! (seenit@ww2.com), February 28, 1999.

Not Again!,

Only 20 days ago you posted the same thing (with minor differences in wording) in thread OFF TOPIC. Would this ed. system have changed our future? Will we have this again? at http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000TXi ?

The last time you noted "OFF TOPIC" in the title; why not do us that courtesy this time?

If you're going to post off-topic, please at least refrain from repeating it.

-- No Spam Please (anon@ymous.com), March 02, 1999.