The "envelope-pushing" really began in the mid-60s. That's when the British rock group Beetles took the country by storm. Boys began letting their hair grow long- Beetle-style which put them in direct conflict with school dress codes. But the more schools tried to clamp down the more rebellious kids got. I could tell things were starting to get crazy just before I graduated and just a couple years later I'd see kids going to school in clothes that would have been unthinkable when I there. I regretted graduating so soon because it seem school became a lot more fun and less work after I left. School integration was also a factor here. When they brought in minority students they said they would have to adjust the curriculum until the minority students from poorer schools "caught up". Well this "adjustment" just became institutionalized and public schools have been permanently "dumbed-down" ever since. They dropped hard courses in math and science and fill kid's days with fluff stuff like "art of film"- where they watched movies every day. Damn!- I would have gladly traded Physics and Geometry for watching movies. But this is why U.S. students now compare poorly with those in other countries. Another way our country is going down the tubes.