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| Silver City, ID school house |
Any guesses why a school in 1892 is called a
“Standard” school?
This photo of the Silver City, ID school is what
prompted my post. Over the years my father had told me my grandmother graduated
from Nebraska Normal School. I hadn’t thought much about what the “Normal”
meant until I ran across this school labeled “Idaho Standard School”.
I spent several hours on the internet googling and
searching sites to try and find out the difference between a “Normal” and “Standard”
school. This is some of the information I dug up. Not all of it relates to the
two types of schools but I found it interesting.
The late 1700’s it was realized women were good role
models for their children. Therefore the rich began funding female academies
with emphasis on curriculum that was more than reading and writing, but math
and sciences.
I discovered there was also a “Common” school. This
type started in the 18th century and schooled the
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| Silver City, ID school from a distance |
children of that
community in a one-room school with one teacher. While most of the students in this century
were mostly white males, girls were also allowed to attend. It was usually the
family who didn’t think the girls needed an education. What was taught at a “Common”
school depended on the community and what they deemed valuable to their
children. It was also funded by the community.
In New England, what we now call High Schools were
called “Grammar” Schools. These schools were later replace by Academies and
then in the 19th century were called “Prep” schools. As in preparing
the young men and a few young women to continue their educations to go on to
Ivy League colleges.
By 1870 all states had free elementary schools. The first public high school was in Boston in
1821. After that more secondary education schools started up across the U.S.
Public school was only for grades 1-8. After that
prep, college, and universities were paid for by families.
Leaving those who
couldn’t afford to pay for more schooling an 8th grade education.
The earliest continuous school for girls was in New
Orleans. The Ursuline College was founded in 1727 by the Sisters of the Order
of Saint Ursula. It had many firsts:
1) Female pharmacist
2) Woman to contribute a book of literary merit
3) Convent
4) Free school
5) Retreat
center for ladies
6) Classes for
female African-American slaves, free women of color, and Native Americans
This school also supplied these firsts for the region:
1) Center of
social welfare in the Mississippi Valley
2) Boarding
school in Louisiana
3) School of
music in New Orleans
Most
colleges were started by religious groups to
teach ministers.They soon became a place where young men and eventually
young women could learn more about the world and society through
knowledge.
The need for trained teachers and not just someone who
could read and write started the “Normal” Schools in 1823. These were 2 year
teaching colleges for both men and women to become credentialed teachers.
As for the “Standard” School…After consulting a
historical society I was told that Standard could mean that the school adhered
to the state standard curriculum or it could mean the school was built
following the formula for building schools. Size and shape were always very
similar. The formula allowed the builders to know exactly where to place
windows and doors and how many windows needed to be placed on each wall so that
the maximum amount of light would be let into the building. Most schools were
16’ wide to allow light from the side windows to shine on all the desks.
I still don’t have a definitive answer for the “Standard”
school but the two versions I found make sense to me. My travels down the history of schools was
interesting and no doubt will become fodder for my next historical western
book, Henry: Letters of Fate.
I haven’t written the book but this is the premise:
Henry Whitehorse – Is half Indian and half Irish. He has dark brown hair, dark brown eyes.
Square facial features and a dimple in his left cheek that appears when he
smiles. He arrives at the reservation mission because of a letter sent to him
by his uncle, Samuel Whitefish. There
has
been trouble with the White teachers the mission has brought in and he
asks
Henry, who is studying at a university, to come home and teach at the
mission. And he falls in love with the missionary's daughter.
The author captured it brilliantly, and
the backdrop adds to the wonderfully plotted story filled with well-paced
twists and turns, as well as very likeable, endearing characters. For a trip back
to the raw, wild days of the silver and gold rushes, with a bit of romance
thrown in for added effect, this book is perfect.”
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