Two generations with many similarities

The year was 1962 and it was a warm 6:00 am morning in Keosauqua Iowa and high school senior Charlene Holland was just waking up. “I would rush outside to feed stock then come inside and clean up. I would then ride the school bus to school which was a 20 mile trip,” Charlene said. 

Meanwhile in the year 2021 senior Carter McCann is rolling out of bed around 7:30 am. “After waking up I take a shower then drive 7 miles to school where I make sure I am there by 8:40am,” Carter McCann said.

Now at school Charlene attends her classes. “School was not challenging though it probably should’ve been, but I seemed to pass my classes without studying much. College wasn’t a thought so I didn’t try to excel. I passed all my classes and hardly tried. I think if I tried I could’ve done more,”  Charlene said. 

Charlene attended a public high school where there were fifty students in her graduating class. While at Carter’s private school there are one-hundred-twenty-three students in his graduating class. Charlene attended and graduated from Van Buren County High School, a small public high school. Carter graduated from The Haverford School, a very prestigious private all boys school which is recognized nationally. 

“I seek out challenges academically. So school was challenging,”

Said carter mccann

“I seek out challenges academically. So school was challenging,” Carter said. 

Carter always knew he wanted to go to college which may be why he would always sawt out the most challenging classes Haverford had to offer. While for Charlene college was never a thought. “Most of my peers attended college and became doctors, attorneys, and teachers, but for me college was not an option as we could not afford it” Charlene said

The modern high schooler from a suburban city and a high schooler from the 1960s in a small town definitely had very different priorities and struggles. Since the age of eight years old Charlene was working on her family farm while still going to school. “ Mother and I would use the pump handle to pump water for the cows, but they would always be drinking faster than we could do it,” Charlene said. 

Carter, now a high school senior has never had an official job. “I tutor sometimes. When I have time and am asked to, I will tutor,” Carter said. 

One thing both students have in common is school spirit. Charlene was a cheerleader so always cheered at her school’s basketball games against other local schools. Carter was a rower and very much enjoyed that. “I often would attend the basketball games at Haverford. I believe they are a great way to support your peers and to bond with them,” Carter said. 

“Seeing the whole town and my peers at the high school basketball game was amazing. The games would always bring the town and school together,” Charlene said. 

“From my own perspective from my high school experience I was pretty much unsure of myself, but I pretended I had it all together. I was fairly popular. I ran in a group of people that were popular.”

Charlene said

A lot of things have changed from 1962 to 2021, but one thing that remains is the love for school sports and cheering on your peers. 

“From my own perspective from my high school experience I was pretty much unsure of myself, but I pretended I had it all together. I was fairly popular. I ran in a group of people that were popular.” Charlene said “I enjoyed my time in high school” 

Charlene seemed to somewhat stroll through her four years of high school enjoying all of her time. 

“I have a smaller group of really close friends. Just hang at each other’s houses playing video games,” Carter said. 

Carter seemed to run in a different social crowd than Charlene. While Charlene hung in a bigger crowd of people Carter seemed to hang out with a smaller group of friends which he was very close with. The modern high schooler seems to not be too different from a high school student from the 1960s. Both students have similar core values and a similar schedule. Both students worked, did an extracurricular activity, and attended class for the day. The main difference from Carter and Charlene seems to be college. In modern time sixty-six percent of high school students attend college, while in 1962 forty-seven percent of students attended college.