1961 Documentary – New York City Junior High Schools

The New York City Junior High Schools or Middle Schools as they are called now,  were once the breeding ground for a well-rounded education. My parents and grandparents were the products of the old New York City public school system and they never went to college. Yet they could read and understand Latin, had beautiful handwriting, could type, played and studied music and developed “the lifelong habit of turning to books for the information they needed.”

Brooklyn, NY Walt Whitman JHS 1961 Yearbook page

In 1961 students learned how to make things because the U.S.A. was still an industrial society and could actually design and manufacture useful products.

As shown in this 20 minute film, everyone learned about electricity, the elements of printing and participated in the novelty shop; where they could “build things for use and for pleasure.” There was what would now be termed sexism – girls learned millinery work, domestic arts, dressmaking, respect for manual labor and “neatness,” while boys learned the manly arts of metal, wood,  print, plastics and electrical wire. But up until the 1970’s gender work roles were applied in most of the fields of employment.

The children were taught “ideas and facts in citizenship, current affairs, history, geography, and government, to appreciate democratic ideals.”

Okay, maybe they were brainwashed.

But compared to today’s middle schools, they got a fine education. Continue reading →