In reply to:
Teachers could hit you if you got it wrong, well into the mid-1950s. My handwriting improved with practice after Sister whacked my knuckles a few times with a ruler!
Agreed. Back then, "getting it wrong" included using the left hand to write with. When I was in Form 2 (Grade 6?), one of my teachers had personal recollection of such "correction."
On the subject of declining education, I think that most who post here would share similar views on the state of educational philosophy today. I am just profoundly grateful to have been raised by a bookish single Dad, who taught all his kids to read before they started school. My maternal grandparents played their part as well. If I asked "can I have (a lolly, dessert, whatever)", the response was always, "you can, but you must first ask 'may I'."
I guess that what I am trying to say is that I agre with your THIRST TO LEARN theory. I feel parents are still the best educational resource children have, and that when parents play their part well, even those of us without tertiary education need not feel "unlearned and ignorant."
