Were children smarter a century ago?

[ucbalumnus]

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@JoBlue

My mother and several aunts and uncles of her generation did not have any formal education past high school but I was always amazed at the poetry and literature they knew and they were all very strong in terms of geography (possibly from having lived in the period encompassing 2 world wars). They all graduated from either public or parochial schools in the late 20’s or 1930’s and they all had a working knowledge of Latin as well.

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<p>Back then, graduating from high school was an educational achievement that only about a quarter of the people managed to do.</p>