GeoJournal

Dear Educator,

Many of you may already be starting classes. Or, if not, you are most likely preparing for that first day back to school. With a new year starting, we are taking a look at that very subject: school. School as a topic of content may not be something your students have thought that much about. But of course, it is a major part of all children’s lives. We think your students would be interested in having their attention drawn to school itself—after all, it is where they spend most of their waking hours. And they can relate historical content to their own lives, helping to get their brains flowing again after summer break! Speaking of summer break, that is where we are starting our journey this week: finding out why there even is a summer break in the first place. Then we will look at why school is mandatory, what school was like in the 1800s, the costs of education, and school segregation.

Summer vacation is over or nearly over in most of the country. People commonly assume that having summers off from school is related to agriculture. Is that true? Have students read this GNN article to find out.

Students may not realize that school was not always mandatory in the United States. Only the elite, wealthy class were well educated. Students may have only attended elementary school—if there was a schoolroom nearby. Others may have had only a rudimentary education. Many were illiterate. This week, have students learn a bit about the history of public education in the U.S. Emphasize the value of education for their future.

While school was not required, children did attend basic classes in the 1800s. This article explores what school was like for students in the 19^th century. Use the questions at the end to engage students in classroom discussion. You can also have students research the history of your school or the oldest school in your district. Were there one-room schools in your area? Are any still standing?

Education is expensive. Even though public school is funded through taxes, the costs of supplies and technology affect families. This article explores the costs of school, which are increasing. What do students and their families have to provide at your school? How does technology increase the costs to families?

Unlike today, racial segregation was a fact of life for Blacks and other people of color before the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education successfully ended school segregation. In 1896, the Supreme Court case Plessy v Ferguson had ruled that racial segregation did not violate the Constitution as long as facilities and services were separate but equal. In the Brown case, the Supreme Court ruled that separate fundamentally meant they could not be equal. These are important Court cases for students to further explore as they discover more about the civil rights movement. While that will no doubt be a subject for later in the year, now you can introduce the idea in this broader context of a tour through school itself, to help students make connections and examine the historical legacy that affects events today.