Is+Life+Better+Now+Or+Then?+Joe

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 =SCHOOL=

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. Here they learned the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, and sometimes went on to geography, history, and English composition.
 * CURRICULUM-**

Now everyone in the world almost goes to school everyday. most kids have to take the bus and are to far away to walk because nowadays we have more houses and kids live farthur away. we have about the same cirriculum but more has happened in history since then.

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.
 * LENGTH OF SCHOOL-**

today school is for about seven and a half months and it begins around september 1st. also today parents make their children go to school instead of the kids going when their parents dont need them. kids today dont do the chores that they did in the 19th century because we dont have a lot of farms anymore and parents have gotten less involved in their kids lives.

Towns were divided into several school districts, each with its own schoolhouse. Some village or wealthy farming districts had larger and better equipped schoolhouses, but most schoolhouses were fairly small.
 * DISTRICTS-**

Today we still have school districts with their own schools. also richer and wealthier families can afford to send their children to private schools but most of our schools are just as big as private schools.

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.
 * TEACHERS-**

now you need to go to college for at least four years to become a teacher and you are usually hired by the principle of the school. all teachers have to know the subject(s) that they are teaching. now teachers cannot touch you in any way in school or they will probably be fired.

http://www.osv.org/explore_learn/document_viewer.php?DocID=146

__**1ST FORM- Then- Railway was a very prominent way of transportation it got people where they want to go quickly. Now- Trains are still one of the fastest means of travel but today we also have monorails that are like trains but move much faster and much smoother.
 * __ TRANSPORTATION

2nd FORM- Then- steamboats were another big form of travel back in the 19th century and it was very common to use those when going across long stretches of water. Now- we still use boats everyday of our lives but we usually use them for either recreational or working purposes. today we have speed boats which have engines in them so they travel much faster.

3rd FORM- Then- their last main form of travel was the stage coach the stage coach was a big cabin drawn by usually two or more horses. Now- today some may still travel by horse back but mostly now we travel by car.

CARS- Then- In 1888 the first car was invented. this made traveling long distances so much easier because all you had to do was sit and press down the pedals. Now- today cars go much faster, run much smoother and are much better on gas. it is the mostr common way of tranportation now and there are more cars than people. I think that life in the 19th century was fun but very difficult. If I had to choose between living now or then I would pick now because life is just so much easier with technology and what not. Back then if you wanted to know information about something you would have to spend a bunch of valuable work time reading a book. whereas now you can just go onto Google and type in whatever you need to look up and be done with it. Instead of walking for miles to go to school every morning you can just go on the school bus and get there in twenty minutes instead of an hour. So to conclude my Old Sturbridge Village project i would like to live in today's technologically advanced world.**
 * Conclusion