20s to 20s: An Interactive Photo Gallery

Created by Tori Thorp, Hannah Field, and Nicole Williams

As students of today look toward the future, it’s rarely wondered what it was like to be a student in the past. While few differences stand out when comparing classrooms from 100 years ago and now, there’s been lots of changes in teaching methods and society.

As teenagers, all the current students at West Albany have never experienced anything other than our Chromebook ridden classrooms, but our school wasn’t always like this. Social studies teacher Erik Ihde gives insight into how classrooms have evolved, stating, “Students have much greater access to information. A lot of this is because of technology. So much stuff was paper and pencil and there was no electronic access to information, whether it was class notes or those types of things, students had to access all of that by hand.” Ihde can also give information about test taking, and how curriculum has evolved apart from technology. “When I was in school, the concept of a test retake wasn’t really a thing, If you did bad on a test, your grade was lower,” Ihde explains.

As the school system has evolved, so has the younger generation’s understanding of technology and new, innovative ideas that have developed in the last decade. Social studies teacher Todd Zimmerman says, “the challenge of making sure that what you’re trying to help the students gain an understanding of is still relevant in modern society we have today.” As our learning resources are changing, administration and teachers are struggling to relearn their teaching styles and evolve along with things like Google Classroom and Quizlet.

Starting from the 2010 and dating all the way back to the 1920s, these interactive photos explore the changes that brought us to where we are today, as well as some other facts.

Click on each + sign circle to view information about the photo.


image source: https://acreelman.blogspot.com/


Image source: https://gendersociety.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/home-is-where-the-school-is/


image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Homeland_Security


image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldier


image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/cdhs/29028252365


Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_in_the_Schoolhouse_Door


image source: image source unavailable


image source: image source unavailable


image source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/hwmobs/38919236102


image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Air_Corps_Tactical_School_1930s.jpg


image source: image source unavailable


image source: image source not found