Ah, the old peanuts in the coke (or pepsi) bottle trick. Remember it well.
When sanity ruled there were three classes before lunch and three after lunch. With an hour off for lunch you day matched closely with a working parent day, Classes started at 9:00 and ended at 4:00. No air conditioning in those days made summers unpleasant enough without starting at 6:00 and ending at 5:00 like some schools today. Busing schedules make a lot of things untenable not like my school where one bus handle it all.
Yes! I remember the school year started after Labor Day and ended sometime in May. We had three whole months vacation away from school and homework assignments to rest our weary minds.
But our parents had to contend with us being around the house and on a new daily schedule during this time. For some of us, it meant we could get a real job and make some quick money to buy that car or save for whatever else our hearts desired. Others got invitations to spend and experience a week with grandparents, relatives, or others in diverse places. It broadened their horizons they said. (It sure did for me, a week with grannie and I was glad to be back home.)
Never rode a school bus because I lived within the city limits where the school was situated. Students within the district but outside the city limits got bussed to school. I don’t even know if they were charged a fee for this service. All I remember is I walked or biked until I bought my first car. I still remember the exact number of minutes it took me to get to school in time for the first bell.
And I remember a certain school bus route loaded with students from the rural dairy farms always arrived barely in time for the first bell. The bus driver must have been on a tight schedule because those students (having milked, fed the cows, and finished other chores at the dairy farms) were stilled dressed in their bib overalls and boots splattered with wet cowsh*t and other assorted stains when they arrived at school. I still remember the fragrance of cowsh*t, chewing tobacco, and cheap aftershave in the morning air as I watched them exit the bus and scatter out to the vocational arts buildings to spit and whittle the day away. The scene looked like the aftermath of a 4th of July horse parade. I have no knowledge of who cleaned up the mess each day. I hope they cared enough to issue the poor bus driver a shovel, broom, and industrial strength deodorizer to cope with any emergencies though. I have no knowledge of when and how they got back home since some had afternoon jobs with employers in the community.
Anyway, I think our public schools have lost focus. They do not strive to teach the three basic fundamentals and education we received during this time. They tend to bend to political pressure and instead focus on teaching political correctness in areas outside their educational bounds. I could name a few instances being taught today, but I think you know what I mean. I was never questioned about my gender, morals, or religious beliefs by my teachers as are the students of today. Both school administrators and parents worked together to concentrate on the educational needs of the students before releasing them to into our society. Conflicting schedules have always been one of the issues. Today, graduating (releasing) failing and illiterate students does not seem to be an important issue anymore. Retention is barely uttered within the halls of our public schools and grading is next to go because all students have been taught they are all equal.