Going to SchoolGoing to School

in

New Hampshire

Look around you.

Can you find three things in your classroom that would also have been there when…

…your grandparents were there, or…

…your great grandparents, or…

…even your great, great grandparents?

Or to put the question another way…

If suddenly you found yourself in a classroom 100 years ago…

…what would feel familiar to you?

…and what might seem strange?

First…

Study the following images looking for ways that classrooms of the past are similar to or different from yours.

Classroom

Classroom

Classroom

Classroom

Classroom

Now…

Compare older school buildings with yours. Would you like to trade schools?

School Building

School Building

School Building

School Building

Next…

See what students used to study or do in school.

Have things changed?In what ways are they the same?

Geography (1831)

Reading (1816)

Arithmetic (1841)

Natural Philosophy (1829)

Manual Training (c.1887)

Millinery Class (1913)

Sewing Class (1912)

Recitation (1900)

Reading Group

Calisthenics (1899)

Girls’ Battalion (1899)

Track Team (1894)

Finally…

Look at the various messages schools have sent home.

Do they seem familiar?

Reward of Merit

Note to Parents (1831)

Attendance Certificate (1895)

Report Card (1854)

We leave you…

with a group picture that suggests the timelessness of teacher–student relationships.

Class Photograph (1899)

© 2008 Christopher MacLeod for the New Hampshire Historical Society