Oh to be a parent in bygone days

[Whoateallthesoddingbiscuits]

Imagine the scene. You’re a parent of primary aged children. They bring home their PE kit once a week. Books and stationary are provided by school. They can take a non-specified pencil case if they want. Heck, they can even wear a yellow pony tail if they want instead of a navy one.

Homework might be a project on animals or transport over a term. Obviously, you’d still do things like reading, spelling, times tables. You can do maths or English with them if you want, without being told that there is only one way to skin a cat. If they know a great way to skin a cat, you accept it, rather than
confusing/boring the wits out of them by teaching them another ten ways.

There is no Google classrooms.
There is no email.
There is no WhatsApp.
There aren’t several additional messaging apps to check.
Instead, every couple of weeks there is a letter in their bag.

THERE IS HARDLY ANY ADMIN AND NO LAST MINUTE AD HOC REQUESTS

my one child started back yesterday (other is nursery)

I have had 7 messages already over the last day and a half from school about ordering meals related to a lunchtime autumn competition, having to resubmit due to substitutions/ allergies (my child has none), general form filling for permissions, surveys regarding RE, and classroom help requests.

Never had last minute requests when I was a child, agree with the OP that would be a blessing. Many teachers are excellent in the classroom, some are inspirational and never forgotten by their pupils, even so some cannot do timely admin (or the school office cannot).

I remember being hit along with whole class, we queued to be assaulted basically. And getting lines, 300of the fuckers for being loud at lunch, irony being I wasn’t even in school the day it happened. “For screaming and shouting in the dining room, I am writing this out 300 times”.

Having your desk

taken away and using your chair as a desk so you had to kneel on the floor or standing in the corner. All about humiliation and shame really.

Can confirm. I finally got the guts to start bunking off in yr 11 😂

I started teaching in Primary in the 80s there were no uniforms in any school I worked in except one CofE until the late 90s.

I was at primary in the 70s early 80s finished in 88. My mum never even had to walk me to school and it was a good mile and a busy road from age 5. Butterfly buns for the Christmas Party was the only input she had for me. Didn't come to sports days or plays etc. never heard me read and it didn't bother me. I had a massive detachment from my mum so this felt great! I've shown my kids and grandkids my walk to school! I think I was a full on helicopter parent with mine in the 90s and 00s.
But I agree today is pretty full on. And I think the Government doesn't fund education enough. It's quite shameful how much each school receives per child.
I know it's not about bearings and humiliations but they were harsh and I'm glad that is not allowed there were a lot more bully teachers and perverts.

Blackboard rubbers thrown at your head and metre rulers hitting any part of your body they could reach. And a lot of the time in primary you got hit for being poor, scruffy and thick - which looking back was probably ND or dyslexia.

My primary school in the 90s had uniform but they didn't give my parents a hard time for not getting us uniforms (mum refused to buy uniform for primary school as she, being Finnish, thought it was ridiculous, but she had to buy it for secondary school because it was compulsory there) and there were a fair few other children who didn't wear uniform, or only wore the jumper.

Teaching was more fun then too. I feel sorry for them today.

DH just shouted "And who will be bringing my board rubber back today! " - after it had been slung at someone.

It was relatively chill in the early 2000s, and without all the hitting the children nonsense.

My parents would not have had the education to help with my homework. Neither of them spoke a language or had been taught English grammar, Their idea of reading was the local paper or a fashion magazine. In fact they actually stood in my way when I was taking GCE, When I was revising for O levels my father made me get up and help m mother in the kitchen. So I learned to study in the local library or at a friends house. Any idea of staying on for A levels was quashed. I was supposed to get a job and contribute to the family budget. They didnt even come to my prize giving. My grandmother came.

PE in pants and vest. Awful. I would rather remember and wash a pe kit every day than have a child do PE in their pants.
I remember having to cover a hymn book with felt and sew it together and sew a pattern on the front but mother who could sew intricate patterns making her own clothes didn't help. Covering your exercise books with wallpaper or amazing wrapping paper or smash hits posters.

Everything you have described OP was pretty much my experience of primary school OP and I had a child there until 2017 I think. There was a parents WhatsApp group that I never bothered joining but the school sent letters home in book bags on a Friday. No emails, no apps, no texts. It was fine.
Didn’t really consider it has changed so much!

Please tell me it was the Fazer factory tour your DD went on!

Yes!! I hate the apps and notifications.

I also want to work in an office job in the 80s or 90s too. The expectation to be available and provide a service instantly is just daft.

would miss wfh though

My child has been back two days ive had FOURTEEN emails so far! Not to mention a after school parents briefing about what the school expects this year - happily skipped that one. Its crazy never used to be like this when my eldest was there was a termly newsletter!

I think Sunny Smiles was to raise money for children's homes in this country. There was another scheme for raising money for countries in Africa but I can't remember what it was called.
I do remember the woolly man coming to school. You brought in old woollens and he weighed them and paid something like a penny for a few ounces.

Yeah it was. She was rather underwhelmed by it tbh.

DS has not long left primary and it was very much as you describe! So must be area dependent.

This isn't bygone, this is rich. Rich people still do this shit.

KS1 and lower KS2 take them home at the end of the half term here. Make of that what you will.

That's disappointing :-(

I could definitely live with that!

I was terrified my parent would find out so I didn't do it at all, even though one of my best friends did. She finally led me astray and we then only turned up for SOME of the exams. I only got a few GCSEs and was told right off. (I did end up going to uni), but we were on roofs, in carparks, building dens in woods, handing out with questionable people, and in secondary would just buy a travelcard and pop off across the city goodness knows where, no phone, no contact until that evening.

I cannot even imagine it. I would probably die of stress before I saw my child that evening.

I let my 9 year old pop the local shop and had kittens. A balance is probably best!