One of the most awesome things about this forum is the wide variety of people brought together here by this common interest.
For a break from current politics and college admissions..
In my World and especially at that time, it was nearly unimaginable that someone would leave high school without knowing how to drive or even without having a DL.
We had drivers ed taught in school during regular school hours. Took the written test right there in the classroom at the end of the course. They issued a drivers permit if you passed (majority did. Any who didn't were rescheduled to test again).. I remember being very upset because I fell for a trick question that i knew the answer to but it was written like a CA ballot initiative. So I had the blemish of one wrong. We were allowed 8 wrong and still pass.
Behind the wheel training before and after school and on Saturdays. Two students per car with an instructor. And talk about a different time, the instructor had a sawed off baseball bat he'd poke you with if you screwed up. It was my turn to ride in the back directly behind the driver, let's call him Jeff. Well Jeff was coming up to a stop sign on a back city street doing 30 and not slowing down. I glanced at the instructor who was scanning both ways, no cars coming. I braced up. Jeff flew past the stop sign and the instructor put his brake pedal to the floor. The car slid sideways through the intersection, tires screeching to a sudden halt. POW! Jeff got hit right in the head with the bat!
Reality was us farm kids were mostly driving pickup trucks around the farm by the time we could sort of reach the foot pedals. My middle brother was short and would drive moms 1970 Chrysler New Yorker by looking over the dash but under the steering wheel. We had a pasture a mile down the road so a kid or two would get sent to check on the cattle water tank.. A deputy brought him and our sister home one day and told dad to buy them a Honda 3 Wheeler
I bought my first motorcycle at 9 and was driving on Township and County roads. Was on my 4th by the time i got out of High School. Bought my first pickup when I was 15. Got my driver's license on my 16th birthday
Started making the 100 miles trip to the Twin Cities right after my 16th birthday hauling firewood and peddling it door to door in the more affluent neighborhoods. $250 to $300 per load. $20 for gas, $20 for a helper (between 14 -16 years old), $20 for food for all day for 2 of us. Cut and split wood in the winters Monday- Thursday, skip school at noon on Friday. Peddling a load per day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Good work for a 16/17 year old October through February.
Never gave much thought to school, good place to socialize and grab lunch.