School days in the 1800’s

This article is dedicated to all of the children headed back to school in Middle Georgia! Most children will have new clothes, new bookbags, and be dropped off at the school or ride a bus. Most schools in the late 1800’s were one room school houses that were intended to school the children in a four to five mile radius which was considered to be within walking distance. Can you imagine letting your children walk that far to school? There were no roads and children crossed fields, creeks and whatever else they had to do rain or shine.

The poor teacher who was usually a young unmarried woman, had to arrive before the students to start the fire in the winter. Teachers were not allowed to be married and boarded with local families. No college degree was needed, you just had to pass an exam. Prior to the Civil War, most teachers were men so it is obvious why teaching was turned over to mainly women. Most schoolhouses had a pot bellied stove in the corner to heat the room. Forget any indoor lighting or plumbing. Oil lamps or open windows provided light and children would have to make a trip to the outhouse if the “need” arose.

Paper was scarce so children used slates and chalk to do their “cyphering ” on . Ask your child if they know what that word means. Some schoolhouses had a twelve inch high platform across the front for the teacher to see and be seen and to call students up to recite. Children usually from first through tenth grade all attended together. Some schools had hand made benches for the children to sit on, not everyone had desks, some had tables. Books were a rare and precious commodity. The children were often assigned a number of pages to read and the teacher would quiz them on what they had read on an individual basis.

Attendance was not good, especially with the older children in the early spring and fall because they were needed on the farms. Most schools had a summer and winter term so the children could get as much school time as possible.

Children would bring their lunches in a pail or folded cloth if they were fortunate enough to have something to bring to eat. Perhaps you were lucky enough to have a biscuit or an apple to eat. Water would be fetched from the well and everyone drank out of the dipper. After lunch the children played outside until the teacher rang the bell to call them back to class. If it was winter, the boys may have had to split wood for the fire.

The school day usually started at 9 a.m. and ended around 2 p.m. Remember there had to be time for the children to walk to and from school. Some schools had a big chalkboard at the front and if you were lucky, you had a school desk that had an inkwell for you to use ink to write on paper when it was available. Older students were expected to help with the younger students.

There is so much more to learn about the little one room schoolhouses that dotted the American landscape and I hope you will read some of the interesting stories online or at the library. If your kiddos complain about going to school share some “old school” history with them and remind them how good they have it! Happy Collecting and have a great school year!

HHJ News