It may sound great to only have to go to school for three months of the year, but what if you’re ambitious and want to be a doctor or lawyer instead or working on a farm? What if the children’s parents or guardians really needed them at home? Do you think all children should have been required to go to school for nine months in the 1880s? Should Anne Shirley have been allowed to quit school in Anne of Green Gables?

Many well-read, intelligent people in the 19th century didn’t have much formal education. How do you think they would become well-read? How would people educate themselves?

Why would women teachers be paid less than men? Is it legal to do so today?

The Province provided funding for two-thirds of the cost of a school. Costs included teachers’ salaries, equipment, and repairs to the schoolhouse, but the school district provided the other one-third through taxes or voluntary subscriptions to the teachers’ salaries. That meant that poorer districts, where people didn’t have as much money, couldn’t afford a large salary for the teacher. What do you think the result would be?

Do you think sixteen-year-olds were old enough to teach in the 19th century? Do you think sixteen-year-olds today could do so?

What are the advantages of a one-room schoolhouse with all grades in one classroom? The disadvantages?

School Licence Transcript here