The reason why she said old school, is it does not have the declaration. Without it, the web browser will assume html 4 quirks mode. Yeah it works, but it is much better to be using xhtml 1.0 strick mode, html 4.01 strick mode or html 5. It is best to stay away from quirks mode or transitional mode for html 4 if possible. The differences can change how the layout of your web document is shown in the browser. Plus with html 5 new features can be used.