19 Ways Going to School in the 1980s Was Completely Different Than How Things Are Now

Then: This was their Google.

Now: The answer to pretty much any question is always at their fingertips — no matter where they are.

Then: Many felt like cold and bleak cells of boredom.

Now: There's so much color and many teachers take it upon themselves to go all out when decorating.

Then: Teachers wrote with actual chalk on chalkboards.

Now: Even the chalkboard has been replaced by a major technological upgrade thanks to Smart Boards.

Then: Many schools didn't offer sex ed to students, and if they did, it was very basic — leaving the kids to figure things out for themselves.

Now: Every school district is different, but many offer sexual education classes starting at a young age that encourage children to ask questions and learn about their bodies.

Then: You didn't have to be the best at everything and your schedule wasn't packed with practice for every sports team imaginable.

Now: Between thinking about college applications at an early age and cramped schedules, kids feel unprecedented pressure to be perfect at everything.

Then: Any chatter during class, especially with the opposite sex, was typically done through passing notes.

Now: Kids have their cell phones and have all tried to master discreetly texting their friends under their desks without the teacher noticing.

Then: A locker was place to stash your stuff — and hopefully not to be stuffed into.

Now: Their locker is an extension of themselves and a way to express their personalities — accessorizing this glorified hunk of metal can cost more than their actual school supplies.

Then: You got whatever leftovers or squished sandwich your mom put in your brown paper bag and only the lucky ones had a plastic or tin box.

Now: Lunches are packed partially for the child's enjoyment and partially for the social media "likes."

Then: All of the latchkey kids walked home alone and entertained themselves until their parents came home.

Now: There is always a playdate, car pool, or arranged activity from pretty much the second the school bell rings.

Then: If you didn't want your parents to find out about a bad grade, you just hid it and avoided going home for as long as possible.

Now: Many parents have online access to homework and grades. It can even feel like they find out things before their kids do!

Then: Cursive was a thing that kids didn't just learn but actually had to use for long formal assignments.

Now: Kids are speed typers and computer geniuses who would never consider turning in an official paper written by hand.

Then: After rounds of handwritten drafts, kids would head to the fancy type writer for any big class assignments.

Now: Forget about a stack of typed pages! Kids today design PowerPoint presentations with motion graphics and impressive layouts for big reports.

Then: Back-to-school prep involved a combination of new Lisa Frank gear and whatever else was left over from the year before.

Now: There are official lists of all of the stuff you need to buy before the first day of school.

Then: This milk-like substance was once a coveted school supply item for covering up mistakes so you wouldn't have to rewrite an entire paper just because you one misspelled word.

Now: Kids have no use for this considering they can just hit the delete key.

Then: Even if you didn't think you were going to use it in real life, at least what you were learning made sense — or it had the potential to if you really thought about it.

Now: Thanks to Common Core, both you and your child are left completely dazed and confused.

Then: Siblings rocked hand-me-downs and matching outfits — or pretty much whatever else their parents told them to put on.

Now: Thanks to social media, Etsy, and the ease of online shopping, what a child wears to school — even from a very young age — can be a complete reflection of their individuality.

Then: Learning to spell and handing in assignments with all correctly spelled words actually mattered.

Now: Sure, learning to spell is important, but it isn't a massive deal considering kids are growing up in a world of spellcheck and autocorrect.

Then: There was a lot of pressure on this day to get the perfect shot since it was going to be sent to relatives as a chance to see how big you've grown this year.

Now: Picture day has lost its luster a bit considering that it feels like parents document every moment of their kids' lives now.

Then: When you were bored in class you would zone out, stare out the window, or daydream — you'd do pretty much anything but pay attention to what the teacher was saying.

Now: Some things will never change — even if the tactics of dealing with the boredom do.