How Teaching Was 15 Years Ago

So I have a student teacher this quarter and we spend quite a bit of time talking about the profession and what it takes to be a teacher today.  In our conversations I started thinking about what really has changed in my career from 15 years ago.   Here is a list of 15 changes from my first year 15 years ago:

1. Not one single student had a cell phone.  Neither did the teachers.
2. We shared a computer in our area that was on a cart.
3. We had to "reserve" the T.V. on a cart that had the VHS player
4. We didn't have a DVD player, but we did have laser discs (picture a DVD 10 times the size)
5. Grades weren't online - kids actually checked in with their teacher regarding their progress
6. We had grade level secretaries
7. Our school had one computer lab
8. No one ever said the words "common" and "core" next to each other
9. Over half of the parents came to conferences, now it's a quarter
10. YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter didn't exist
11. The number one drug moving through schools was marijuana - now it's heroin
12. To borrow a school computer for the weekend meant monitor, hard drive, keyboard, and mouse
13. The schools first digital camera to a 3-1/2" hard disk to save pictures
14. We didn't have security badge activated locks on any doors or security badges
15. We were allowed to use chalk.  Yes, you are reading this correctly.  No chalk.

Wow.

I.

Feel.

Old.


But I am still surviving social studies.