14 Skills Pennsylvania Boomers Learned in School That Are No Longer Needed

If you’re a Pennsylvania boomer—or any American boomer—you probably learned some skills in class that felt like a big deal at the time.

You sharpened pencils by hand, practiced perfect cursive, and hoped the filmstrip wouldn’t break halfway through science. There were no tablets or smartboards. Just chalk, rulers, and a whole lot of patience.

But flash-forward to now?

Many of those school lessons are long gone. Kids today don’t even know what a card catalog is.

Here are some of the old-school skills boomers learned in class that modern-day life no longer requires.

Penmanship Class

Remember sitting for what felt like hours practicing perfect cursive?

Boomers learned how to loop their Ls and curve their Gs with military precision. Cursive was a big deal.

Teachers handed out worksheets with dotted lines. You’d trace over letters until your hand cramped and the paper ripped.

Some even got graded on how pretty their writing was. Seriously—neatness mattered.

But today? Most schools don’t even teach cursive anymore. Kids are typing before they can spell. And when they do write, it’s often in messy print or emojis.

Typing on a Typewriter

Learning to type was a rite of passage.

Boomers sat in long rows in typing class, fingers hovering over clunky keys, waiting for the bell. Every mistake meant starting over. There was no delete key—just whiteout and frustration.

Speed and accuracy were everything. You’d hear the clack-clack-clack of keys and the ding of the carriage return over and over.

Students even had to memorize where their fingers went—home row was gospel.

Now? Most people type on glass screens. Auto-correct fixes the typos, and voice-to-text does the rest. The rhythm of a typewriter is long gone.

Using a Card Catalog

Before Google, there was the library card catalog.

Rows of tiny drawers, each stuffed with index cards. You had to look up a book by title, author, or subject. It was like playing detective—with paper.

Boomers learned the Dewey Decimal System like it was a second language. Finding one book could take 15 minutes if you were lucky.

And when you finally found it? You had to write down the call number and then go searching for it on a dusty shelf.

These days, you just type the title in a search bar and click. Some kids have never even touched a library drawer.

Home Economics Class

Home ec was serious business.

Boomers learned how to sew on buttons, bake biscuits, and plan balanced meals. Some even had to carry around fake babies to learn about parenting.

It wasn’t just cooking and cleaning—it was life prep.

Girls were often expected to master these skills. Boys? Not so much. It reflected the gender roles of the time.

Today, many schools have dropped home ec or renamed it “life skills.” And while cooking’s still useful, you don’t need to make a perfect pie crust in gym shorts at 15.

Shop Class

If home ec was for the girls, shop class was for the boys.

Boomers learned how to use saws, drills, and sanders. They made birdhouses and bookends like mini-carpenters.

It was hands-on learning, and students took pride in building something from scratch.

But as schools shifted to tech-focused education, shop class started disappearing. Insurance costs, safety concerns, and budget cuts didn’t help either.

Now, most teens build things with coding, not wood. And fewer people know how to fix a chair than ever before.

Memorizing Phone Numbers

This might sound wild to anyone under 30, but boomers could rattle off a dozen phone numbers without blinking.

Your best friend’s house, your grandma’s landline, the pizza place down the street—you just knew them.

If you forgot one? You were out of luck. No one carried a contact list in their pocket.

Memorization was part of school too. You learned emergency numbers, area codes, and how to use a rotary phone.

Now, most people don’t even know their partner’s number. If it’s not in your phone, it might as well not exist.

Writing Checks and Balancing a Checkbook

Boomers didn’t have online banking. They had ledgers, pens, and a strong grip on math.

Schools taught students how to write checks properly—complete with the date, the amount in numbers and words, and a neat signature.

They also learned to balance a checkbook, which meant tracking every deposit and expense by hand. Miss one and you were in trouble.

While checks still exist, they’re fading fast. Most people use debit cards, apps, or online payments. And balancing a checkbook? That’s what your banking app does automatically now.

Diagramming Sentences

This one gave a lot of students nightmares.

Boomers had to break down every sentence into parts—subject, predicate, direct object, and so on.

You’d draw lines and angles like a tiny architect, trying to figure out where every word fit.

It was all about structure. Teachers believed it helped you understand grammar better.

But today, hardly anyone teaches this anymore. Language arts classes are more focused on writing style and reading comprehension.

Plus, most adults can’t diagram a sentence now—and they’re doing just fine.

Using Slide Rules and Long Division

Before calculators were allowed, boomers had slide rules.

They used them to figure out math problems, especially in science class. It took patience—and good eyesight.

Even basic math meant doing it the long way. Long division, multiplication tables, and solving by hand were part of daily life.

Some teachers wouldn’t even let you use a calculator until high school.

Now? Kids can solve equations with a phone or laptop. And most won’t ever see a slide rule unless they find one in a grandparent’s attic.

Filmstrip Projectors and Overheads

If you were a boomer, you remember the excitement of a filmstrip day.

The lights went out, the reel clicked to life, and the narrator droned on about frogs or ancient Rome.

Teachers used overhead projectors too—transparent sheets, dry-erase markers, and a lot of smudging.

Boomers sometimes had to operate these machines for class presentations. It felt high-tech back then.

Now, everything’s digital. Projectors are smart, lessons are on PowerPoint, and students are more likely to use iPads than push reels.

Making Flashcards by Hand

Studying meant scissors, index cards, and a stack of flashcards taller than a soda can.

Boomers made them by hand—writing the question on one side and the answer on the other.

You’d flip through them before a quiz, hoping some of it would stick. It was time-consuming but effective.

Today, students can use apps like Quizlet to make digital flashcards in seconds. They can even add images, audio, and share them with friends.

No paper cuts. No lost cards. Just study and swipe.

Learning Cursive Signatures

Cursive wasn’t just for penmanship—it was for your identity.

Boomers were taught to develop their own unique signature, and you practiced it over and over. Signing your name was a milestone.

Teachers said it was important for checks, documents, and being an adult.

But now, a lot of forms don’t even need handwritten signatures. People sign with their finger on a screen or click a button online.

Some young adults don’t have a signature at all. And that once-prized skill? Kind of optional.

Taking Notes With Shorthand

Shorthand was the text messaging of the past.

Boomers learned special symbols and squiggles that helped them take notes super fast—especially in business or journalism classes.

It was its own secret code. You’d hear something in class and jot it down in what looked like hieroglyphics.

Stenography machines even used it in courtrooms and meetings.

Now, most students just type everything or use speech-to-text tools. Shorthand is rarely taught, and unless you’re a court reporter, it’s pretty much obsolete.

Learning To Read Analog Clocks

Boomers grew up with analog clocks on every wall. You had to know how to read them—no digital displays or smartwatch faces.

Learning meant understanding the hour hand, minute hand, and how to count by fives.