We had a teacher who, if he found you nodding off in class, would make you stand on your desk.
Dang, if a teacher ever laid a hand on me, I’d be out of that school so fast. Because I’d be kicked out for smacking them right back. Don’t test me. 
Haha , @ChoatieMom! My boys can carry their single shell and both their oars to launch and then back to the boathouse, trailer or car ( not that that is anything remotely special- all scullers do ) but when they were young and just starting out they’d say, Mom, grab my oars! And, I would say , Mom, please grab my oars… then I would find an innocent way to whack them with one or both. OMG, I’m so sorry. Did I just hit you?
God did not place me on this earth to carry your oars, my darling little pisher…
I wonder if “screw crew” is still a thing at my BS. No paddles but if you wracked up demerits for not signing in to breakfast etc., you had “screw crew” on Sundays which involved several hours picking up the cigarette butts left all over the lacrosse field by the chain smoking (and very successful) coach, or taking rocks out of the riverbed and bringing them to the top of the banks. The next Sunday we would return the rocks to the stream bed again. We swept sidewalks in blizzards - activities that were frequently pointless but a very effective deterrent. The person in charge of these activities was also in charge of the most intractible boys who actually adored him. Don’t ask how I know these things lol.
Another major difference? The school saw no need to inform your parents how you had spent your Sunday. I felt this was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
I’ve been whacked by a vice principal with a paddle with holes in it. Not sure it’s a fond memory but it does make me feel old!
The workout facilities BSs have today kill me. They’re totally amazing…
We were told to run up a mountain.
My dad said they had to build the mountain, and then run up it. And then they had to dig the lake before they could swim in it. =))
One of the family ‘old saws’ started with a semi-senile great uncle. He would always ask us all how school was going and then tell us how easy we had it and about how the boys at Mount Hermon School had to haul rocks up a giant hill and build their own chapel. To this day, someone will snark about that when a bunch of us are together and anyone complains about work or school or going to church or anything along those lines… “Oh yeah? did they make you haul rocks” … “Oh yea? At least you get to just sit there and didn’t have to build the place.” Now I am visualizing a “South Park” style parody with the NMH of today… LOL
Mount Hermon’s Chapel is beautiful. Thank you to your great uncle. Have you ever visited it?
+100 to NMH’s chapel and the whole campus.
Definitely the increase in parental communication is a huge change, as well as the facilities “arms race” that seems to be going on.
I went to bosrding school for a year in Europe during the '70’s. It was more formal and politeness was expected. At the school, we sat in the same seat all day and the teachers floated between classes. No pants allowed for girls. Students didn’t chit-chat at breaks - less “social” and more serious by today’s standards. Meals were not a huge buffet like you have today. You had one choice for dinner - if we didn’t like it, tough! No ice cream machines or dessert sections, no pizza ovens. We did have coffee! Dessert was once a day. No snack bars. People listened to records with headphones - only few had record players. Had very little communication with parents. We were expected to make our beds & tidy our rooms each morning. W were very independent. Kids would smoke outdoors back then without getting into trouble. >:)