Do We Remember School Fondly? Traditional Cache

Many kids spend a great deal of time complaining about having to go to school, about their classes and homework, about how strict their teachers are, about school food... pretty much complaining about anything that remotely has to do with their education. What kids don't realize is how easy they have it, at least when compared to their counterparts from years ago.

Admit it. We chuckle to ourselves whenever we hear an older relative state this or something quite similar. We may have proclaimed it to our children ourselves. But regardless of how many miles we slogged through the snow, carrying 40 text books and our lunch box, our experiences are quite luxurious compared those of the schoolchildren of pioneer times.

Few of us can say we attended a one-room schoolhouse, for instance, yet as Michigan and the Midwest was being settled, the one-room schoolhouse was the norm. Usually built of logs or bricks, these tiny schoolhouses were attended by children from miles and miles away, not just the immediate vicinity. The schoolhouses served as more than just centers of education, however. They were often used for town meetings, church services, and even for funerals.

Many schools had assigned seating, but not the alphabetical-by-last-name seating system that some teachers today employ and definitely not "sit wherever you want." Instead, the genders would be segregated, with boys sitting on one side of the schoolroom while girls sat on the other. The younger children had to sit closest to the front of the room, closest to the blackboard and where the teacher or schoolmarm (occasionally schoolmaster), could keep a closer eye on them.

One-room schoolhouses also did not have the amenities taken for granted by today's schoolkids. There were no personal lockers; instead, cloakrooms near the entranceway stored the children's outerwear. Oftentimes, there were two cloakrooms, one for each gender to preserve modesty. There were no water fountains. Instead, the schoolroom was equipped with a bucket of well water with a dipper for any student who might be thirsty. There were no ducts or heating systems to keep the winter chill away. Instead, one-room schoolhouses were equipped with a wood stove, usually located in the center of the schoolroom although occasionally these were placed in the front, closer to the schoolmarm. Each day, the boys were expected to carry in a day's supply of wood. Air conditioning during the hotter months? Unheard of. There was also no cafeteria or classroom lunch bin to store students' lunches in a refrigerated area. Instead, students would bring their lunches packed in metal pails, which were kept in the cloakroom until it was time for the midday meal.

School lessons varied considerably from what children learn today. There were no electives, no honors options, no exploratory courses, and definitely no computer science, business, or fine arts. Instead, the schoolmarm would focus on the "Three Rs": Reading, (W)riting, and (A)rithmetic. Children grades 1 through 8 attended at the same time, memorizing stories, poems, or lessons written out on the blackboard and then repeating them aloud to the schoolmarm. There were no notebooks or fancy binders with sorting pockets; instead, children usually had small slates on which they practiced their penmanship and copied down the lessons on the blackboard.

Schoolmarms at one-room schoolhouses did more than just teach, however. They enforced discipline, something that was vital in an atmosphere where children of different ages were working on different assignments all at the same time. Schoolmarms regularly assigned chores to children who misbehaved in class or who simply were not performing to expectations. Parents expected the schoolmarm to discipline unruly and misbehaving children; that was her job, not the parent's job.

That's not to say that parents were not involved with the school. There may not have been a PTO, or a need for room parents, but parents were involved in a number of ways. Each family paid a portion of the schoolmarm's salary, at times paying in goods like corn, tobacco, and wool, which she would trade at the local mercantile for items she needed. If the schoolmarm was not from the community, families would take turns boarding the her in their homes. Families also frequently invited the schoolmarm to dine. Imagine our children's faces if we told them that their teacher was not only coming over for dinner but would be living in our guest room for the next two months!

Of course, schools have grown far beyond the modest one-room schoolhouse these days, with complex districts fielding multiple elementary, junior, and senior high schools offering a veritable smorgasbord of courses. There are teachers' unions and PTOs and a gamut of before- and after-school activities. Every now and then, though, it's nice to remember the good old days of school with fondness.

Our thanks to April Gasbarre and the WAHS for their permission to place a geocache at this site.

Congratulations to HelloLola on her FTF!