Schooling in the
1800s was a lot different from the way we think of schooling now. Everything about it was different, from the
buildings, to the curriculum, even to the teachers. Their way of thinking was much different from
ours, not that that is a bad thing at all.
They just were not as advanced on the Frontier as we are today.
One
thing that was extremely different about Frontier schools was the building that
they taught in. Most schools were called
“One-room Schools” that consisted of only one room. They were typically an old abandoned log
cabin or something similar. This was due
to lack of land and money to build a new building. In the one-room schools, the students were
placed in a certain order. The younger
children would sit in the front and the older children would sit in the back,
girls on one side and boys on the other.
In the middle of the room, there would be a wood or coal-burning stove
that would be used during winter for heat.
The
one-room schools put a strain on education in a way. Because there was only one room, students of
all ages would have to be taught at the same time. Most schools did not have a kindergarten, so
first thru eighth grade were all taught in the same room. So the older kids had heard each lesson at
least eight times, allowing them to be able to assist the younger children who
might have been having trouble with their studies. The curriculum that was taught in frontier
schools is very similar to what we do today, but theirs probably was not as in
depth as ours is. Their curriculum
consisted of reading, spelling, writing, math, and history/geography. They learning much like we do: memorizing,
reciting, and oral drills. Classes were
taught in ten to fifteen minutes to each grade.
Many
families did not seem to realize how important schooling was until a little
later. They thought that learning was
less important than using an ax and a plow for the boys, or using a loom and a
spinning wheel for the girls. After they
passed a law in 1819 saying that elementary school was required, they had no
choice but to go. However, when they
went to school was different from when we go to school. Their school year was based around farming
because most of the boys had to help with getting the crops up. Because of this, girls were more educated and
graduated earlier, around the age of thirteen or fourteen, whereas boys would
not graduate until they were eighteen.
Teachers
in frontier schools were also much different from our teachers today. Most schools have different teachers for each
subject, but all schools have different teachers for each grade, but not
frontier schools. They had one teacher
that taught eight different grades in the same room. Granted, those eight grades did not have very
many students, but the number ranges greatly.
Some schools only had 3 students enrolled, but others had 50.
The
teachers in one-room schools on the frontier had to be very well educated,
organized, and have a lot of patience.
At first, all teachers were male, but later, the male teachers realized
that they could get a job in a factory or on a farm and make a lot more
money. They also came to the conclusion
that since women raised children in a household; they would also make a good teacher. Women, or girls would probably be more
fitting, could train to be a teacher after finishing the eighth grade. It only took six to twelve months to train,
so the youngest teacher could be fifteen.
Teaching in this time period would have been a lot of responsibility,
especially for a young woman at that age.
Frontier
schools were much different than our schools today. From the building, to the lessons, and even
the teachers. Everything is so different
now from what it was back then.
Education has changed a lot over time, and we should be thankful for
that. Education is very important to
everyone, some people just do not realize it.
This three different pages from the same website. I learned a lot of background information
about school in this time period, I learned how much female teachers made compared
to how much male teachers made, I learned about the lives of students and
teachers and their relationships in and outside of the school building, and the
school buildings themselves.
I learned about the lessons they taught in school and how
things worked in a one room schoolhouse on this website.
This website gave a brief outline of what a school day would
look like in most frontier schools.
I learned about why they started letting woman teach instead
of men on this website.
This website gave good information on who went to school and
a good comparison of urban schools vs. frontier and rural schools.
This source gave information on the
importance of going to school, what the schools would look like, and their
school supplies.
I used this article about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her books
to see what it was like to live in this time period. It gave me a lot of background on the time
period and information on what the schools were like.
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| One-room school house |
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| One-room school house with children of all ages |
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| Little House on the Prairie - one-room school with younger children in the front and older children in the back |
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| Frontier School |
