Time has changed; people have evolved and the overall influence in high school culture has changed more than ever. But where did this start? When did a place where students go to get educated become an arena for dominance? Expressions dove through some history to find out.
In the early stages of the 20th century, especially in the roaring 20’s; a positive vibe was predominant during that era, in which dancing was a common fad. Independence was growing and with that came a greater sense for freedom. Teens were working as young as 14 at times, therefore students usually had a minimal amount of respect for education and more so on their current jobs. Higher education was available, however it was often taken for disregarded. Female teens did not get as much opportunities for higher education values than their male counterparts did.
Going into the 1940’s, things started to calm down. Another World War was starting and men as young as 18 (even younger if you include those who lied about their age) volunteered for the war effort. Students often did not spend their money on luxurious items, as the Great Depression came into play, families were deprived of money, and the main focus was subtle and focused towards education.
Emotions have changed as the 50’s came around. The war made boys become men, and their influence as teachers in high school came into a serious note as the Cold War started to heat up.
This was the era when owning a car made you a legend, where the term “teenager” was starting to become a thing, and everyone had a fear of atomic weapons. With the feeling of ducking under their desk a constant in the back of their mind.
Now we’re moving into the 1980’s. Girls wore brightly colored clothing, with colors like pink, red, white, abstract art, and so on. It was common for boys to wear sweaters with bright and dark colors. This was the era where music and slang was a growing culture among many teens. Idolizing the “rock gods” was a common practice, and the rise of drugs were surging.
Y2K: The world did not end, and a joy of happiness followed by khaki’s and turtlenecks were starting to come around as a result of the late 1990’s. Stereotypical cliques, such as the “jocks”, “nerds”, “preps”, “band Geeks”, and dozens more were starting to be used to generalize people. By now, high school was revolved around “who did what” and just trying to fit in.
The 2010’; now, in the year 2016, high school has changed greatly. Culture has been dominated by Electronic Dance Music, Rap, and Vaping. Students now have an academic focus with the prologue of having fun along the way. The influence has evolved around freedom, being yourself, and proving your worth. Things have come a long way in the past 100 years.
