50 Vintage School Items That Prove We Peaked Decades Ago

The introduction of technology into the classroom has been one of the most significant changes that pushed out many of the seemingly primitive teaching tools and methods on this list. Even though technology has done a lot to enhance learning and make it more efficient, it still feels bittersweet to remember the things in schools many of us grew up with.

That’s why we’re reminiscing about some of them with teacher and co-host of Inside Voices: A Teacher Podcast, David Grant.

The nostalgic things he remembers that are no longer used in the classrooms are blackboards and chalk, overhead projectors, the TV being wheeled in, and old workbooks.

Even though Grant misses having a chalkboard and cleaning it at the end of the day, he believes that the tools they now have at their disposal are much further advanced.

"The tech we now use makes life easier and opens up new avenues of learning that weren’t accessible before. I think we also need to be preparing young people for life in the 21st century and an ill-equipped classroom is the first step to defeat this pursuit."

However, he doesn't think that classrooms without the now-obsolete things are better per se. "I don’t think I had a bad education without new tech because the world didn’t have them and I wasn’t needing to be prepared to use them. I learned transferable skills, which have equipped me to learn how to use new tech later in life. However, a classroom without new technology today would potentially be a hindrance to 21st-century learners in ways it wasn’t for me 20 years ago," he explained.

Since everything is evolving so rapidly, it's inevitable that the things we now consider up-to-date and modern will also be seen as old and obsolete by us in the future. So we were curious to know what Grant thinks will be the things to disappear from classrooms next.

"I think writing in workbooks and jotters won’t completely disappear but it will continue to dwindle. I also think written exams will move towards a more ‘building a body of work’ type system. I think things like smart boards and panels will be integrated into the walls and things like laptops will be replaced by smart desks, etc."

Teachers Ashley Marquez of the Teach Create Motivate podcast and Fernanda Sandoval of the YouTube channel That One Happy Classroom also previously shared with Business Insider the things they noticed going obsolete in most classrooms.

Just like Grant, the first thing of the past that Marquez mentions is chalkboards. "The only reason you may see chalk is during outdoor lessons with sidewalk chalk, but as far as chalkboards go, they're really less common now," she said. "Even small chalkboards that students used to have at their desks for quizzes or lessons have been replaced with whiteboards."

Fortunately, the teachers’ punishment of writing lines (aka writing out ‘I will not sleep in class a hundred times) is also disappearing from classrooms, albeit not entirely. Many students, including Bart Simpson, think it to be completely pointless. 

In hindsight, it might have a counteractive effect too, like children learning to hate writing, which should actually be seen as a creative and enjoyable pastime. Even though I am no longer a student, I’m glad that this once-popular punishment is no longer widely used. 

Speaking of writing, Marquez says that some schools no longer teach cursive if it’s not a mandatory part of their curriculum. She explains that it’s due to the increasing demands on teachers to meet school and state standards. “I try to make time for teaching cursive, but it's definitely not taught in every classroom like it was when I was a student," she said. "I don't put a ton of emphasis on it, but I do think it's important to learn if I'm able to fit it in the day."

Every ‘90s kid probably remembers TV carts, which universally signaled the long-awaited movie time. Over time they were replaced by projectors. "If your teacher rolled that cart into the classroom, you immediately knew it was going to be a fun activity or a movie," Marquez said. "The TV carts are very rare now. Most classrooms now don't even have a TV. Almost everything is done through the computer that's projected onto the wall or screen."

Lastly, even classmates’ birthdays and the treats that come with them are a bit more different these days. “In a lot of schools, parents now have to do a lot more before bringing in cupcakes or other snacks for a birthday. It's a whole process," Sandoval said. "They can only bring in store-bought foods and have to check with the school to ensure nobody in the class is allergic to any of the ingredients."