What Are The Activities At The School In The 1950's

Previously, education was reserved for the wealthy. There were also a few smaller schools for parents who chose to send their kids. For example, Huck Finn was not required to attend school, but chose to partly because his dad did not want him to. Although, as the 1900s came closer, more public schools were becoming more numerous and states were beginning to require school attendance. By 1920, all of the states required students from ages 8 to 14 to attend school for part of the year. These schools were one-roomed school houses with classes ranging in all ages. Kids walked to school everyday, most walked around four to five miles round trip. Students learned with limited school supplies, sometimes only a slate, chalk, and a few educational books. School discipline, however, could be rather strict. Teachers were allowed to smack kids with rulers and other objects. Another difference from today’s schooling is the lunches. There was no such thing as a school lunch program, so students usually carried their lunch to school in metal

Schools on the homestead started in the late eighteenth century, each consisting of only one room. The setup of the schoolhouses was rather unadorned in construction and often unembellished. As a result of more school houses being in rural and secluded most did not have water or sanitation. Due to this, wells were converted to toilets and snow from winter was melted into water. When these were not options, teachers often relied on nearby homesteads to provide water. During this time, teachers had often lived in the schoolhouse in a separate section or lived with a family in one of the homesteads. The typical school day for a child in the eighteenth century totaled a seven-hour time period. Starting from nine in the morning to four in the afternoon, students were required to be in the school building as mandated by the law. A multitude of the parents refused to permit their children to attend school. Preferring them to continue working on the land given to the family, even if it went against the law.

At this time, school was only open during summer and winter. There was a morning session lasting from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the summer and from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the winter. From there, students and headmasters would get a two-hour break for lunch and play. The afternoon session would then begin at 1 p.m. and finish at 5 p.m. (“BLS History”). Contrary to this school’s set schedule, Thursdays were a bit different. The Thursday morning session ended at 10 a.m. for a church service. Afterwards, there would be an opportunity for lecture over English heritage (“BLS History”).

A low income school in New Haven, Connecticut started the new year telling students they would be attending school until 4:15 P.M. four days a week. New Haven teachers in an unprecedented move allowed their teacher unions to take over the rewriting of their contracts. This provided the teacher with more freedom with curriculum and time management. Although the final outcome was beneficial the origins of the extended day was not welcomed.

Sherman Institute opened its doors in 1902, a century and a half before the birth of Lorene Sisquoc. An off-reservation government boarding school for Indian children, Sherman Institute aimed to rid young American Indians of their languages and cultures. Following the lead of Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Supervisor of Indian Schools Estelle Reel, founding Sherman Superintendent Harwood Hall and his staff crafted a curriculum rooted in low expectations for Indian students. Industrial, agricultural, and vocational classes prepared students for lives of domestic service and menial labor. The daily rhythms of non-reservation boarding schools proved to be a shock for many young Indians. Students lived according to a tightly regimented, military-like

There were exactly 83 days that Brick Memorial High School gave its children to use for whatever they wanted. We were able to be young and dumb (to a degree) with no repercussions or scoldings from adult authorities. I would say that the majority of kids spent all 24 hours of their days doing what makes them happy; staying out late for parties and waking up early to see the sunrise are a couple of things that my friends and I did over this past summer and look forward to doing next as well.

families, often attended school in the summer.In urban areas of the United States, schools were

Since the early days of the American one-room schoolhouse in the 1800’s and early 1900’s, students stayed out of school during the critical farming months, but contrary to popular belief, the months which students missed school were not the summer months. In an agrarian community, crucial months on a farm are in the spring and fall, during planting and harvest. In fact, students spent more time in school during the summer months (PBS NewsHour, Sept 7, 2014). according to historian Kenneth Gold (2014) the school calendar as we know it has more to do with nineteenth century school reform which worked to provide a nationwide standardized calendar than the needs of farming families. The choice of a long summer break was driven more by the sweltering heat in urban environments before the days of air conditioning when the wealthy could leave the city for cooler county air. The results of this school calendar reform look much the same today as they did then. Students are in

This paper includes a reference list of literature relating to the pros and cons of changing a five day school week to a four day school week. In general, the literature seems to indicate that most of the reasoning behind this change is to lower energy and fuel costs as well as cut budgets to an affordable rate. Academic progress is evaluated in some cases and discussion of what decisions have been made in the use of the fifth unscheduled day have been researched. Some suggest to use the “off” day for professional development as well as an opportunity to offer additional student extracurricular activities. The difficulty of finding childcare for the unscheduled school day seemed to be an issue that was more prevalent in suburban school districts rather than rural districts. Each individual school district had to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the shortened week and decide what worked best for their students, teachers, community.

These experiences were not confined to the late 19th and early 20th centuries but reach well into the present. Nor has the theme of such occurrences changed much over the years. Each of these boarding schools and its students possessed unique qualities that were shaped by a multitude of conditions, including the cultures of the tribes represented, the location, the era, and the schools' directors. Yet each of these institutions also symbolized an education that removed the students from their homes, their families, and their indigenous communities. The curriculum and the physical work associated with the schools form one of the commonalities shared between schools regardless of the time period. Another trait among the schools is the students'

“In constructing the daily time-table, the first task of the teacher is to provide adequately for the constant or fundamental subjects. These should be allotted the periods of the day that are most favorable for the type of work involved” (Monroe, 1913). All subjects’ performance rates peaked in the afternoon. “Afternoon reading instruction produced the greatest increase in reading scores as compared to morning instruction. Perhaps due to findings of this nature, …administering the SAT only in the morning may discriminate against some students” (School Start Time Study, 2001).

Academy schools and high schools had their similarities and differences in the 19th century. Their focus was to properly prep students for after either academy school or high school for the work force or to go to college. Academy schools focused on mainly religion and the curriculum. Although during the civil war there was a decline in attendance for the school. The high schools had public funds and was state supported. Like the academy schools, high schools focused on the curriculum for the students’ education. They also established schools just for young girls. These two different types of school have had their differences and similarities but have helped shaped schools in today’s times.

The typical length of school-days during the 20th and 21st centuries are fairly interchangeable. For instance, both time periods range from 7:30 start times to 3:00 dismissals. Many students are involved in extracurricular activities that start before the bell, or run after school. After a long day of school and extracurriculars, that can lead to very little time to be spent at home, working, or pursuing hobbies. The courses that were offered tend to stay the same, with more advanced courses appearing progressively. Currently in public schools, there are programs for

    With these long school days children don’t have much time to go out and be a kid.  By the time children get home and finish all their homework, there really isn’t much time for sports or spending time with friends and family. Long hours of school put too much pressure on students.  According to the state, students are supposed to have three and a half hours of homework a night. Students are assigned about 17 hours of homework a week. There is a total of 168 hours in a week and 64 of those hours are taken from us by school and homework.  Out of the 24 hours in a day school, homework, and sleep take 18 hours, which leaves students with just 6 hours to do things.  Combine that with sports and after school activities, the average practice for most sports are 2 to 3 hours, which leaves the student with only 3 hours for themselves. If you add dinner into the equation which can take up to an hour ,then students only have two hours a day. Some students also have chores which can take up to an hour or even sometimes more.  What can a student do with only 1 hour of time a day for their personal goals.

School has changed tremendously over time. School was a lot different back then than it is today. Going to school was not offered to everyone. It was only offered to the upper-class. Boys and girls were schooled separately, but today our schools are diverse and have many different kinds of races. Technology did not even exist a hundred years ago, but today, we use technology everyday in our school work. Through the course of history, education usually matched the needs of society until recently where a gap has occurred between high school and the real world in what skills and content is taught versus what is needed.