19+Century+Compare+and+Contrast

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EQ: Is life better now or then?

Figure out whether your life is "better" than someone living in the early 19th century using the [|data base] of 19th Century (1800-1899) primary and secondary source documents from Old Sturbridge Village. In class we will discuss what "better" means. Hmmmmm....you must utilize at least two primary and two secondary sources.

General guidelines:

Pick two topics that you will research. Find four things from the 19th Century about each topic. Find a primary source example for each. Compare and contrast them with the 21st Century Come to a conclusion on whether life was better in the 19th Century or the 21st Century

=Topic School=


 * Example 1**

School back then was very crowded and had only one single teacher. This made individual much harder because the teacher can't get around to everyone. They also went to school at different times. instead of one large school year with no vacations, they had two smaller ones. One in the summer and one in the winter while the rest of the year was left to housework and chores with the family. From my primary source I learned that it depended on when your family didn't need your help as often. That was when you went to school.


 * Example 2**

Books were also very difficult to find since school wasn't as high a regard as family was. When you did come across good learning books, they were often expensive. The chances of you going to college were very low because often times you couldn't afford it or you would go on to make your own practice like farming or blacksmithing. Books also weren't very full of knowledge like we have now. They didn't have high levels of algebra or calculus especially for young kids in school.


 * Example 3**

Everyday materials that people needed for school were also carried differently since the schools were set up differently. They would carry their books at the hip instead of in their hands and would have books like the bible instead of a science book. Things like blackboards also had just been invented and were very rare to find and also difficult to work with. According to a primary source, you had to scrub them down with rags and use hard fat chunks of chalk. The usage of a blackboard had much more labor than it does now. We also use a more whiteboards now than blackboards. Which are easy to replace and clean. Just use an eraser or buy a new marker not scrub them down like a chore.


 * Example 4**

Teachers would also keep their classes in order with easy and simple rules that the children could follow. Most of them are common rules like ours. Speak when you are called on, always pay attention, do your homework, etc. However punishment was different. The rooms were shaped so the teacher could see everything and if someone misbehaved they would get yelled at or be hit with a ruler or some kind of blunt wooden object. This is how teachers would keep order in their classroom.

Sites: http://www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/evolving_classroom/index.html http://www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/evolving_classroom/blackboards.html http://www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/evolving_classroom/books.html http://www.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?DocID=146 Topic food

Example 1: People had to constantly organize and keep there farms under control if they wanted to run a successful farm. Everything needed to be inspected and cleaned properly before they could be put to use properly. If one thing went wrong that could mean no eggs or no milk for the day so you always to be on top of your scheduale and know what is happening to your farm. http://www.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?DocID=1161

Example 2: Women also played a part in getting and making food. Without them, no one would tend to the garden and grow vegetables which you need to sell and cook yourself. Women also grew different types of herbs. Herbs could also be used to sell but were commonly used to heal wounds which is very important to ones safety and health. Certain herb combinations were like modern day band-aids to us, a crucial part in todays society. http://www.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?DocID=1030

Example 3: You also had to know what season it was and when were good times to plant certain foods, when to stock up on foods, and when to sell them. For example, meat would probably be good to sell during the winter because people need a lot of meat during the winter because vegetables are scarce since it is cold and plants die out. It wouldn't be smart to start growing plants in November because they will just die out so you have to be able to plan what you do with food based on the seasons. People couldn't just go to a store and buy things like we do now no matter what season it is, they had to plan ahead what they would do with there time. http://www.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?DocID=2045

Example 4: Food often times dictated what people did. Farmers had to farm crops for other people to make bread. People sold beef so they had money to buy coal to heat a tavern in the winter. If a lot of farmers didn't have much to sell during the winter, then people who needed wheat to bake food couldn't buy the wheat and there goes that persons job. If a family couldn't afford a certain kind of meat, then they might not have enough food for the winter. In this way, farmers had a lot to do with the economy of the nation and the outcome of peoples futures. http://www.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?DocID=778

Conclusion: I think that life now is better because not so much of our lives are devoted to making a living on the farm to get food. We can just buy some a local supermarket. Food also ins't a problem to get. Most people don't have to labor over making butter. We also have a large variety of food that we didn't have in the 19th century. We can take out transfat and have aftificial flavors and everything. Now, people believe more in what we know rather than what religion tells us is true. So education now is more accurate and kids are being better prepared for challenges we may have in the future that the 19th century kids couldn't fix. We can also use past mistakes to learn from that the people of the 19th century couldn't have learned from which is why we have a better life.