my high school had a smoking area, for the students.
there was no minimum age to buy tobacco.
in my tv area there was a 4th independent station that ran “slam bang theater” with icky twerp. i could see three stooges episodes and some off brand cartoons on weekday mornings.
you could get a hardship driver’s license at 13.
if a girl under 18 got pregnant she disappeared from school and never came back.
the standard school punishment was paddling and the standard paddle was a baseball bat planed down to three-fourths of an inch except for the handle and then had 3-6 holes drilled through the end to make sure that any paddling caused bruising (no kidding, those paddles were ubiquitous in every school district within 100 miles except for one or two church schools that either used dowel rods or leather belts).
bullying was considered an important part of childhood and children who complained about being bullied got swats along with their bully.
A teacher could have an affair with a 17+ year-old student (the undifferentiated age of consent in these parts) and if it was discovered it was the girl who got run out of town in disgrace (that happened 3 times from the time i was in 7th grade until i graduated).
ahhh, the good old days.