1845
Fisher School
1800s School Day Program
A Typical 1800s School Day
This May marks the eighth year that the Historical Society will provide all of Westwood's third graders with the unique opportunity to step back in time and spend a day doing the things that school children did in 1868. This very special program was designed by Joan Swann and Elaine Nye working with the district's curriculum coordinator. It is staffed by retired teacher volunteers and coordinated by Joan Swann, Irene Buonopane and Barbara Hayes.
The
program recreates a typical day in the life of a student in the year
1868. The school day begins at 9.00 at the Fisher School and lasts
until 1:30. A hand bell signals the beginning of the school day which
includes authentic lessons on on oral reading, memorization, recitation,
figuring on slates, mental arithmetic, penmanship using ink and quill
pens, a spelling bee, and a history lesson that teaches the students about
the history and restoration of the schoolhouse and challenges them to
think about and compare classrooms past and present.
After the children finish their day at the schoolhouse, Art Gearty, former Downey Principal, leads them to the old Westwood Cemetery where they visit the graves of Robert Steele, drummer boy at the Battle of Bunker Hill; John Buckmaster, first Westwood resident buried in the cemetery in 1752; members of the Colburn family; and Ebenezer Fisher for whom the schoolhouse was named.
The children are required to do some advance preparation. To begin with, they are expected to dress in clothing that is appropriate to the period. Girls are expected to wear dresses or skirts (long preferably), cotton blouses, bonnets, shawls and pinafore aprons. Boys are expected to wear cotton pants, cotton or flannel shirts; no printed T-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatpants or baseball caps. Students bring their lunch in a basket, small metal pail, large cloth napkin or bandana. The foods should include only things that were available in the 1800s, thus eliminating things like fruit rollups, gummy bears. Twinkies and so on.
To provide a permanent record of their day, students are asked to bring their own copybook to use for lessons during the day. During recess, the children play games that were popular during the mid-19th century, including jump rope, marbles, bean bag toss, and hoop rolling.
At the end of the day, each scholar receives a personalized certificate that marks the successful completion of the 1800s school day - a unique and memorable experience that would be envied even by Laura Ingalls Wilder!
Westwood
Third Grade School Program "1800s School Day"
The Fisher
School has been transformed with its antique school desks, teacher's desk,
dunce cap and stool, ready to welcome each of Westwood's third grades for
an "1800s School Day."
Girls dressed in long dresses and
bonnets and boys wearing suspenders "make them mind their
manners" to the schoolmarm as they enter. Each of the eleven third
grade classes will visit the Fisher School for a day in May for reading
lessons from McGuffey's Reader, problems figured on individual slates from
Warren Colburn's 1847 Intellectual Arithmetic book, penmanship with quill pens and
ink, participate in a spelling bee, old-fashioned games at recess, and a walk through
Westwood's historic cemetery. This annual event is led by retired
volunteer teachers Helene Bier, Irene Buonopane, Art
Gearty, Barbara Hayes, Holly Perry, Nancy Saumsiegle, Fran Petrakos and
Joan Swann, and complements Westwood's third grade local history
curriculum.
