Education in the early 1900s

In the early 1900s, the wealthy children attended private academies. The schools were houses with a few rooms in them set aside for classrooms. They were small, with only about three or four pupils in each grade. One teacher taught several grades in just one room. In the private schools, girls and boys were not together. They went to separate academies. Some of the subjects the girls learned were reading, spelling, history, arithmetic, geography and penmanship or handwriting. Sometimes they learned manners and dancing, French, drawing and how to walk and act like a young lady.

The public schools, on the other hand, were free and mostly attended by the kids who were not rich. Boys and girls were at the same school. There was a class for each grade level with about 20 to 30 kids in each class. Most of the subjects were the same, but the teachers were harder on the children in public schools. If the kids did something wrong, the teachers would hit them with paddles or rulers, or box their ears. They also had lessons in archery and tennis, got to play basketball and learn how to swim.

In 1910, 79% of children were enrolled in American schools. In 1905 the average school term lasted 151 days, during which the average student attended 105 days. By 1918 all states had passed laws requiring children to attend at least elementary school. Most kids never finished the 8th grade. They went to work in factories, farms and coalmines to help their families. Some went to high school and a few went to college. At the beginning of the century about 2 percent of Americans from the ages of 18 to 24 were enrolled in a college. In those days, very few women went to college (about 1/3 of the pop. of college students) , especially since in America, there were only 11 colleges for women and it was difficult to accepted. Sometimes, if there was room in men's colleges, they would be accepted, but usually only in the summer when the men were working.

History of Women in America:
http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm

The History of Education in America:
http://www.chesapeake.edu/Library/EDU_101/eduhist_20thC.asp