After raising children and working in education for 30 years, Newhall resident Anna Scott published her autobiography in June “the Good Old Days,” as she calls them.
Throughout her time as a mother, grandmother and educator, the 89-year-old observed the evolution of how children were raised, contrasting them with her own childhood experiences. As she wrote the book in part to share with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she titled it “Grandma, Tell Me About The Good Old Days.”
Scott began college at the age of 40, and within 10 years, finished with her doctorate degree in education. She spent the next 25 years teaching elementary school, eventually becoming a principal. From there, she taught at a college in Georgia before moving to California with her husband.
“I’ve watched my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and even the students at the schools I’ve worked in,” said Scott. “They’re all different from how my children were raised and how I was raised.”
The biggest difference Scott sees between generations is the integration of technology, Scott said. Her story highlights how older generations didn’t have smartphones and other electronics, which she said is the biggest thing that sets her generation apart from younger ones.
She added how her grandchildren would ask how older generations “survived” without technology, which Scott said was a big influence for writing the book. She wanted to show her grandkids and other children it was possible to grow up without the use of electronics.
“The things that are being done today with technology are great,” Scott said. “We learn from younger people about (technology), but that isn’t the way things used to be. The book reminds kids of that.”
Scott said her purpose for writing the book is to share the importance of the values she was raised on, which she said were honesty, hard-work ethic and self-reliance. She added she felt those values were being lost in the younger generations.
“When I’d ask a kindergartner what they wanted to be when they grew up, they never had an answer,” Scott said. “When I was in kindergarten, I had an answer.”
Scott said she has some ideas for future publications, but nothing specific at this time.
“When I was growing up, I didn’t have everything people have today and I’m happy,” Scott said. “I want kids to grow up to be happy and thankful when they look back on how they grew up.”
