Oh yes, it's not just the schools.. schools are social institutions that reflect the zeitgeist.
I went to school before TV was so pervasive. and at a time (a dark time!) when mothers were discouraged from working out of the home (and when it was economically possible to support a family (a large family!) on a single paycheck and 40 to 44 hours salary.
and i came from a culture that valued education --and reading,and the arts. (it was a struggle for my parents to afford school tuition.. my father brown bagged his lunch, and took a thermos of tea to work (so he didn't have to buy a cup of take out) all so the family could afford the schools.
this kind of commitment to schooling is factor--
in the 1950's things were different.. (in good ways, and in bad ways, too!)
and there was an element of luck.. my parents moved to a neighborhood they could afford.. and the neighboord catholic parish school waa lucky enough to have a Teaching order (and well educated nuns)
(not all nuns who are teachers are well educated..most states do not require parochial school teachers to meet the same standards as public school teachers!--and many a catholic school nun has no more than a HS education!)
and (getting border line political) there was a different attitude about schools and schooling (and none of this "zero tolerance crap' that expects a level of perfection from kids that adults couldn't meet!)
There is change too, in teachers.
when i was a kid, teaching, like nursing (and even being a doctor or lawyer) was considered (or at least presented to us) as a vocation.. something you were called to. not a job, but a way of life.
there were other vocations (religious life was one vocation we were always stressed to consider!) --some people had jobs, but lucky people had a calling .
and this didn't mean forgoing financial rewards (no one thought doctors were poor!) but it was a different attitude.
many of my teachers were nuns, but not all of them.. and some were quite well off, but taught because it filled a need in them. (the art teacher came to our school in a car with a driver! she didn't have to teach.. she wanted to--
that idea, that you would teach for the love of teaching, for the love of your subject, for the love of children was a factor.
I know there are still teacher out there who teach because they too, have a vocation. (god knows they don't chose to teach to get rich!) but for many, (or so it seems) it is a good civil service job.. good hours, summers off...good pension. (a very different set of reasons to become a teacher.)
(my ex became a teacher (in 'title 1" schools as a way to avoid the draft. he was a good teacher.. but it was a job for him. (and he couldn't wait to quit!)
