Who here had grandparents who got a college degree?
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@Jolly said in Who here had grandparents who got a college degree?:
Sorry, none of my folks had money.
That maternal grandfather lost his parents in a trolley accident at age 9. His sister raised him, and his brothers agreed to pay tuition. He worked for room and board.
Can’t imagine MIT was all that pricey in the 20s.
Dad did it with the GI bill.
Only non-witches get due process.
- Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
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On my mum's side, no.
On my dad's side, I'm pretty sure yes. Public school, Executive Director of Unilever. What the hell happened?
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@Horace said in Who here had grandparents who got a college degree?:
Nope. One side farmer, the other side alcoholic entrepreneur. College degrees have gone from special to ubiquitous in two generations.
Considering the quality of college graduates today, with the exception of STEM fields, I'd say a high school graduate of 65 years ago may have been better educated than the average college graduate today.
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My paternal great grandfather had a doctorate in music from Heidelberg (he was American born of German parents). It then skipped two generations, until me and my brothers. My uncles (father's brothers) both had doctorates, but my dad didn't finish college though studied at Pratt for two years. My mother's family was Polish country stock, and I don't think any of them went to college, but I should ask mom.
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By the way my grandfather went to his 60th college reunion in 1988. He was alive for the 70th but no event was held.
Another fun story - he learned he needed trigonometry and calculus to get into MIT. Neither were taught at his highschool so the principal agreed to teach him both subjects, one on one, in his office.
Only non-witches get due process.
- Cotton Mather, Salem Massachusetts, 1692
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Cradle to grave at GE. Started in ‘28. During the depression they had no layoffs but cut everyone’s pay. Eventually he joined the air conditioning division, then just starting, and made a career in it.
They moved the division (and the family) to Texas in 1953. At the time there was a big wave of industrial firms (mostly northeast and Midwest based) moving south for cheaper labor. Analogous to the offshoring phenomenon in the late 90s and aughts.
He retired in 1970 and lived for another 30 years.
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By the way my grandfather went to his 60th college reunion in 1988. He was alive for the 70th but no event was held.
Another fun story - he learned he needed trigonometry and calculus to get into MIT. Neither were taught at his highschool so the principal agreed to teach him both subjects, one on one, in his office.
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@Jolly said in Who here had grandparents who got a college degree?:
Sorry, none of my folks had money.
That maternal grandfather lost his parents in a trolley accident at age 9. His sister raised him, and his brothers agreed to pay tuition. He worked for room and board.
Can’t imagine MIT was all that pricey in the 20s.
Dad did it with the GI bill.
@jon-nyc said in Who here had grandparents who got a college degree?:
@Jolly said in Who here had grandparents who got a college degree?:
Sorry, none of my folks had money.
That maternal grandfather lost his parents in a trolley accident at age 9. His sister raised him, and his brothers agreed to pay tuition. He worked for room and board.
Can’t imagine MIT was all that pricey in the 20s.
Dad did it with the GI bill.
One set of my grandparents didn't have electricity until the mid-50's. I don't think they ever saw a trolley.
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No one on my father’s side to my knowledge had much in the way of formal education - maybe grade three equivalent at most - although they were all tradesmen as adults - my paternal grandfather was a tool and die maker and machinist/mechanic. I think his father was a millwright.
Not sure about my mother’s side although I seem to recall my grandmother saying that my grandfather, like his father before him, had attended a military academy and studied engineering there before coming to Canada around 1905. The story of that side of the family is now lost.
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For those of you who may be wondering
This is a page from the 1950 US Census
Note, at the bottom, they have a "sample" of the people who are asked extra questions. The inclusion in the sample is determined by the position of the countee on the top half of the page.
One of the extra questions is, What is the highest grade of school that he has attended? Yes, I know, it says he, not she.
You might find your answers in the Census.
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Sorry for the extended story unrelated to the thread topic. Jon got me thinking of past generations, and ... well ... there you go.
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Interesting stuff.
As for me, first one to go to college. My dad had a (maybe) jr. high education. My mom did not go past third grade. Grandparents - I dont think that any of them had any more than a couple of years of school, if that. Different times, different country.
Interesting graphic on US graduation rates.
