What was schooling like in the 1900s

Private schools were usually houses with a few rooms used as classrooms ThinkQuest. The classes were small and one teacher usually taught several grades in one class.

Also, boys and girls did not receive their schooling together; they were dispersed into separate academies ThinkQuest. Only wealthy children could afford to attend such schools. Public schools were quite different. School was free and many students who attended were in lower socioeconomic levels ThinkQuest.

The boys and girls received an education in the same school in much larger classes separated by grade level. Most of the subjects were the same at both schools, but teachers tended to be a little tougher on children in public schools. Some children were not able to go to free public school because they had to stay home and work to help their families.

This was a time when education was not necessarily a top priority for all Americans ThinkQuest. For the younger classes, the desk seats were flat planks of wood which were attached to the body of the desk and on some desks they folded up to make it easier to get in and out.

The oldest and largest children had chairs but the desks themselves were essentially the same. I suspect that all the children had chairs in private schools which charged fees, but I can't be sure. All the desks had lids to lean on while reading or writing. The design was ideal as we had somewhere to keep our pencil boxes, etc. There was a coal fire in each classroom in winter. All the fireplaces had to be cleaned, which was a the job of the caretaker. Every winter evening he would also have to fill each coal scuttle with coal and firewood.

Old exercise books were used for paper. One of my teachers hid away some of the coal in a cupboard on mild days for use later when it was cold, but when the headmistress found out, the teacher was reprimanded. She could also have been describing Victorian schoolrooms as shown in various books and museums. In fact her school was built in the last year of Queen Victoria's reign to earlier Victorian plans. Page based on the recollections and notes of the webmaster's mother with additional research and editorial work by the webmaster.

The late s also saw substantial growth in schools for African-American children. During the early years of the 20th century, the prevalent model of schooling was an 8-year elementary school and a 4-year high school.

In , a different structure for schooling was introduced, based on a six—three—three system. The 20th century also saw a series of reforms that changed what schooling looked like. Then, a private school typically consisted of average houses with rooms used as classrooms. Boys and girls were taught separately and mostly wealthy children could attend to go to these schools.

Now, private schools can be religious or offered as an alternative way of learning where classes are usually smaller. The establishment of school systems across Canada during the 19th century followed a strikingly similar form and chronology due to the complex and often competing ambitions of both official educators and parents. Within this similarity, however, were some notable differences related to important social, cultural and political distinctions.

The education systems of Quebec and Ontario are shaped by complex historical and cultural specificities that cannot be examined in any detail here.