15 ’80s Classroom Tools Kids Today Wouldn’t Recognize
These old-school classroom tools were once essential, but today’s kids would not know what to do with them.
- Daisy Montero
- 4 min read
Classrooms in the 1980s looked a lot different from today. Many of these tools were everyday essentials, but now they feel completely foreign to students raised on smartboards and tablets. Here are 15 classroom items from the ’80s that would leave today’s kids scratching their heads.
1. Overhead Projectors
Dennis Sylvester Hurd from Minuwangoda, WP, Sri Lanka, Canada on Wikimedia Commons
These bulky machines used transparent sheets and light to display lessons on a wall. Teachers had to write or draw on plastic film using markers, hoping the bulb would not burn out mid-lesson. Most kids today have never seen one, let alone used one.
2. Manual Pencil Sharpeners
User:Tlogmer on Wikimedia Commons
Mounted on the wall and cranked by hand, these sharpeners made a loud grinding sound in every classroom. You had to twist your pencil just right to get that perfect point. Kids today have electric versions, or none at all.
3. Filmstrip Projectors
Berthold Werner on Wikimedia Commons
Teachers would load tiny reels and advance them slide-by-slide with a beep. The room would go dark, and everyone would squint at grainy images while taking notes. It felt like educational movie magic at the time.
4. Mimeograph Machines
Printhusiast on Pexels
These machines printed worksheets that smelled like chemicals and left purple ink on your hands. Teachers cranked them manually, and copies were never quite straight. Today’s printers feel like pure science fiction in comparison.
5. Chalkboards and Chalk
NEOSiAM 2024+ on Pexels
Teachers filled the board with lessons while students winced at every screech. Erasers would puff up clouds of dust, and no one liked cleaning the tray. Dry-erase boards and touchscreens have since taken over.
6. Card Catalogs
Alicia Fagerving on Wikimedia Commons
Research started with flipping through endless drawers filled with typed index cards. You had to memorize the Dewey Decimal System just to find a book. Now, kids just type keywords into a search bar.
7. Trapper Keepers
Yortizsoto16 on Wikimedia Commons
These loud, Velcro-fastened binders were a status symbol in the ’80s. They came in neon colors and wild prints, and kids guarded them like treasure. Many had built-in folders and organizers that made you feel like a CEO.
8. Slide Rules
ArnoldReinhold on Wikimedia Commons
Before calculators were common, kids learned to do complex math using slide rules. They looked confusing but felt powerful once you got the hang of them. Now, most students have never even seen one.
9. Cursive Alphabet Wall Strips
Antoni Shkraba Studio on Pexels
These posters stretched across the top of the blackboard, showing every cursive letter. Kids practiced loops and curves every day until it became muscle memory. Today, many schools skip cursive entirely.
10. Ditto Sheets
RDNE Stock project on Pexels
Ditto copies were slightly blurry, usually purple, and smelled like chemicals fresh off the machine. Students sometimes sniffed them for fun before doing their assignments. They were the homework standard of the ’80s.
11. Metal Lunchboxes
Claus Ableiter on Wikimedia Commons
These colorful, tin lunchboxes had bold designs, cartoon characters, and a matching Thermos. They dented easily but lasted for years. Today’s soft lunch bags just do not have the same charm.
12. Film Reel Projectors
DiscoA340 on Wikimedia Commons
Movie day meant threading actual film through giant projectors. The room had to be completely dark, and the film sometimes snapped or jammed. When it worked, it was the best part of the week.
13. Desk Inkwells
Twdk on Wikimedia Commons
Some older classrooms still had desks with built-in inkwells from earlier decades. While not in everyday use by the ’80s, they reminded kids of how far things had come. Today, they just look like strange cupholders.
14. SRA Reading Labs
Nicu Buculei on Wikimedia Commons
Students worked through color-coded reading cards stored in plastic boxes. Each color meant a different level, and you advanced at your own pace. The bright boxes felt like both a challenge and a reward.
15. Classroom Record Players
Warns, Norman S., Jr on Wikimedia Commons
Many classrooms had a record player used for listening activities, especially language lessons and audiobooks. Teachers would gently lower the needle and remind everyone not to bump the table. Digital audio has made this charming ritual completely vanish.