One of my strongest memories from elementary school is the scent of bleach on our desks in the morning. I loved it when the teacher would tell us to put our heads down for "quiet time." I'm not quite sure where this fit into the school curriculum, but I treasured those moments of silence.
A quick side note: I may be a child of the '80s, but these mid-century schoolroom items seem as familiar to me as Commodore 64 and Thundercats. We also watched filmstrips and handed in papers written on typewriters, and learned how to use abacuses (abaci?). Alas, Sidney Poitier was nowhere in sight.
