You may recall the days of dusty blackboards, pink erasers and composition books, but today's students likely wouldn't recognize your antiquated ruler - unless they had a picture of it on their iPads.

The face of American public education has changed substantially over the years - from classroom curriculum to school policies to student behavior.

Technology, technology, technology

If you thought that school was simply reading, writing and arithmetic, then you haven't met the computers, tablets and internet servers of today. Technology comes standard in today's public schools.

In fact, according the National Center for Education Statistics, 97 percent of teachers had at least one computer located within their classroom every day in 2009. Along with computers, LCD screen projectors, interactive whiteboards and digital cameras were also commonplace as learning tools in the classroom.

The rules are more complex

When you were in school, your biggest fear may have been that pink tardy slip or a detention sentence after school. But today, rules and policies in public schools span beyond talking in class and skipping third period.

Now, schools have instituted anti-bullying policies, lunch nutrition standards, smoking, drug and alcohol policies; guns and weapon policies, school prayer prohibitions, sexual harassment and sex education policies; computer use policies and a host of other rules, guidelines and mandates.

Learning isn't limited to the classroom

Forget a starched-collar dress code in today's schools. Learning is more casual than ever; In fact, students may not even have to turn up in the classroom. Distance and online learning is more prevalent than ever before — even in K-12 schools. According to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, 31 states, plus the District of Columbia, had statewide full-time online schools in 2013.

Utah is one of the 31 states that offers K-12 online learning. According to the director of utahonline.org, Laura Belnap, online schools are beneficial because students can customize their own learning without repeating concepts they already know. They also can work at their own pace without having a traditional Monday - Friday schedule.

Kids are worried about more than grades

If you remember stressing out about pulling an A on that science test, kids today can relate. But you may not be able to relate to what's stressing out today's students.

Violence and crime in schools is a bigger issue than ever before. In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, during the 2009-2010 school year, more than 33 school-associated violent deaths were reported, 18 of which happened on school property. Other issues, like bullying and drug and alcohol abuse, are also common concerns.

Curriculum is focused on higher education

Remember when a high school diploma helped you get a decent job after graduation? Those days are long gone, as more and more entry-level careers require a two or four-year degree.

Because of this, schools are less likely to teach skills tailored to post-graduation trades and vocations; instead, they are focused on improving standardized college entrance exam scores and readying students for university courses.

There's no such thing as one-size-fits-all "Standardized" education these days is anything but. In fact, programs and resources for students with disabilities have increased substantially over the past few decades.

According to the 2012 Digest of Educational Statistics, the number of students receiving special educational services for disabilities in the 2010 to 2011 school year was 6,419, nearly double the number that received services in 1976 to 1977.

To learn more about online education opportunities in Utah, visit utahonline.org.

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