Sturbridge+Village+MT08

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 : Schooling =


 * Example 1 : New England was one of the few places where the majority of children went to school. Most of the children who went attended the one-room school within walking distance from their homes.**

//Pri Source evidence :// In the early nineteenth century, New England was one of the few places in the world where the great majority of children went to school. Most of them attended one-room district schools within walking distance of their homes.


 * Example 2 : They schools were held mainly in the winter time, but some children could not go since their families needed them back at home to help with the chores. But there was also a term in the summer. Some children went to school every day it was in session, while others only attended when their parents didn't need them.**

//Pri source evidence :// School was held for ten or twelve weeks in the winter months, usually beginning after Thanksgiving. For young children, whose work was not needed at home, there was also an eight-week term in the summer. Some children went to school nearly every day it was in session; others attended only when their parents did not need them at home.


 * Example 3 : They were taught reading and writing, arithmetic, geography, history, and English compostition.**

//Pri Source evidence :// Here they learned the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, and sometimes went on to geography, history, and English composition.


 * Example 4 : The teachers didn't need a full education to be able to teach. They were hired by neighborhood committees. Some knew about what they were teaching, while others barely knew anything. Some of the teachers were talented while others used harsh punishments to keep their classroom in order.**

//Pri source evidence :// Teachers did not need college degrees or credentials, and were hired by neighborhood committees. Some were knowledgeable, while others barely knew their subjects. Some were skillful instructors, while others relied on harsh corporal punishments to keep order in the classroom.


 * The schools back in the 19th century were very different from the schools in the 21st century. Many of us take a bus to our schools while the children then had to walk. Some of us even live in a different town than the school we attend. Our schools are also not one-room buildings. They consist of many different floors and rooms. Our schooling also goes year- round, not just in the winter. Most of our parents no longer do chores like theirs did, either, unless you live on a farm nowadays, so they won't exactly need us at home. We are also taught reaading and writing, arithmetic, geography, history, and English composition. So there isn't really a difference there. However, the way teachers are selected then vs. now is completely different. Teachers now need to have a full college education to be able to teach and are not hired by neighborhood committees. All of them now know what they are teaching while the ones back then didn't always. I think that life in the 21st century is better than life in the 19th century because we get a much better education now than they would have had the chance. The children then needed to be at home to work, which was preventing them from getting the education they deserved. Also, the teachers now know what they are talking about when they teach a class so the students would actually be able to benefit from it. And since the schools are more than one-room the students at different levels will be able to do activities at their levels. Overall, I think the schooling in the 21st century is much more beneficial than the schooling in the 19th century.**