Challenges and Evolution of 1900s Schools

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Schools in the 1900s were very, very different. They faces many more challenges than they do today. They were racially, and sexually discriminatory. They were often in poor repair, badly positioned, and crowded. Although, some good things were in these old schools, such as the open-air school, which was a lot more Earth friendly than schools back then, and even now. These are just short details about these old schools, and over the next few paragraphs, I’ll tell you about them. First on the list, Sexual discrimination. Women in schools were primarily teacher, but even then, the few male male teachers there were, they were paid nearly twice as much as women for the same amount of work. Women also had very strict rules to follow. They were …show more content…

These early schools to say the best, were absolutely awful. They were badly located, exposed to noise, and the dust and danger of the highway was unattractive. As well as this, the average child spent a couple years in school, and barely learned anything. They were taught just basic grammar, and math, even the white kids. Teachers had little formal training, and were barely smarter than the kids they taught, but higher quality teachers entered classrooms, which was a vast improvement to school in the 1900s. Most kids were supposed to go to school until they were 16, but most never made it past the 8th grade. Also only 11% of children ages 14 to 17 were enrolled in a high school, and only 6.3% graduated. Sometimes, students could be up to 25 years old! Another problem with schools is the fact that most were one roomed, and very crowded. Also, of the 151 day school year, the average student went 50 days less than …show more content…

Most schools were built to house as many students as possible, although, not necessarily comfortably. They were also made to filter in the most possible natural light, since things like lightbulbs did not exist, or wre not readily available. About 45% of the long walls of schools were large windows. For a little of extra light, three to six candles were mandatory in a classroom. One advancement to schools, and other buildings as well, was early ventilation, and heating. Good ventilation was required in schools. A new type of school, called the open-air school, was a great step towards the schools of today. They allowed even more natural light, and great ventilation, As well as focusing on outdoor learning. They often put emphasis on physical health, which they believed would help with things like mental well-being. They were very functionalist. They focused on a more child-centered design, which would allow students to adapt quicker than they usually would. Open-air schools were also quite eco-friendly, for obvious reasons. These open-air schools were a very big step in the right direction. Alas, we come to an end. Those old schools were so much different than those we have today, and shaped our society into what it is now. Yes, there were some problems, but they all got fixed in the end, and I, myself, will end this

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