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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, where were you in the 80s and 90s? Weren't you in school like the rest of us? We were fine, we went to school, did our homework, read for school AND for fun, and watched a lot of TV. Many of us then went to college, and are living regular lives now. Your premise is strange. [/quote]

No, I get what the OP is saying. They are asking how the generation of kids who were largely unsupervised for much of their lives turned out fine, contrasting those outcomes with the current culture of blaming poor parenting and lack of parental engagement with education on poor student outcomes.

I was one of those 70s kids who was a good student and watched a ton of TV. All of my siblings did too. However, although we weren't wealthy, my parents took us to museums, historical landmarks, and live theater. We also traveled (by car, always), and those experiences were impactful.

I agree with the PP who said that standards were lower. I still am not convinced that was a bad thing. I was an avid reader, old for my grade, and had an easy time in school from day one. In fact, I loved school. My brother was the opposite, yet it seemed that there was more room back then for late bloomers to come into their own without having their confidence and interest in learning squelched from a young age.

Schools and teachers were different then too. It wasn't just discipline. When my mother, a teacher, wanted to go back to work after being home while her kids were younger, she started as a sub. We used to have family celebrations when she would get "the call" because she wanted to be back in the classroom and the calls weren't all that frequent. Teachers were in the classrooms more, not absent or pulled out for training.

I also think kids were different. For many reasons, our lives were more independent beginning at a young age. Because we had more control over our activities and spent more time without adult supervision or judgment, I think we developed skills and qualities, like self-reliance, that made success more likely. I just read this study earlier today and think this viewpoint has merit. With more freedom and opportunity for independence, kids tended to be happier overall, which impacted their attitudes toward school.

[url]https://cdn2.psychologytoday.com/assets/2023-02/Children's%20Independence%20IN%20PRESS%20.pdf[/url]

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