The Year 2000

I'm down here at the main library downtown doing some research for my other blog, and I found this little gem. I'm a fan of "future" predictions for years that have since passed, and I was a student at Olympus Jr High. In fact, Mr Gill was a teacher there when I was there in the 90's.

The article was writeen by Robbie B Snow, and appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune, Friday, October 15, 1976.

Is the World going to be around for the 21st Century? What is it going to be like?

Those were the questions asked of Gregory Gill's eighth grade English class at Olympus Junior High School.

It seems the odds are about even for survival and also pretty close on the atmosphere being livable.

"Is there going to be the year 2000? Are people going to survive that long? The way things are right now and how bad they are getting, we don't have a chance," is how Jamie Gallegos sees the future.

Greg Short has a somewhat more optimistic outlook.

"The world will unite brcause if we didn't we would all be destroyed. We will need to combine technology to survive."

Schools are going to change. Educational television will replace the teacher.

"Education will become a fun word to hear. Remember when parents dreaded the word television? Well, now the television is a form a communication. You are taught to read and write by a television set. There are no schools or boring classes," said Linda Peterson.

"All the schools will be teaching the metric system. It will be harder to do school work and even harder to find a good job and do income tax forms," explained Melissa Whipple.

"Everyone will have his own computer and stay home to learn," said Phil Moser.

With all those computers working so hard, energy will still be a question and Jeff Smith doesn't see the problems getting any better.

"I think when the year 2000 comes we are going to have so many problems in the world over energy and oil, that we might have to go back to the horse and carriage days."

Greg short wants scientists to find new energy sources such as sand for fuel and plants for elecricity.

In the year 2000 Deanna Criddle thinks :that a man will have walked on Mars and woman will have landed on the moon."

Family life is going to take a big step, according to the students.

"I feel that the year 2000 will see people going to live in the sea with glass cities. They will go to school in the summer and will learn how to scuba dive and mine the ocean floors," said Gary Yenchik.

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