the old school

the old school

Views, values, or traditions from an earlier or old-fashioned era. Typically describes one who is resistant to change or new ways of doing things. John is of the old school—he still believes in the effectiveness of corporal punishment. My grandmother belongs to the old school, believing everything one cooks should be prepared from scratch.See also: old, school

the old school

COMMON If you say that someone is of the old school, you mean that they have traditional ideas and values and are old-fashioned. As a builder of the old school, he did not always see eye to eye with designers of new houses. She belonged to the old school, preferring the formality of surnames even with colleagues. Note: You can say that someone is an old-school type of person, especially when talking about the job that they do. At 65, he is the last of the old-school managers, a holder of traditional values in a world dominated by younger, more sophisticated men.See also: old, school