Attending school today isn’t the same as it used to be. I did some research and found some interesting information.
The first schools in Ormstown were held in the schoolmaster’s house. There was only one Academy and the rest of the 12 schools were tiny rural ones. In all of Ormstown there was a total of 13 schools.
In the early English schools, according to Robert Sellar’s history, the rural schools were one-room buildings, and the bathrooms were outside. You had a one-hour-long lunch and two 15-minute recesses. Either a senior student teacher or caretaker would have to make a wood fire for the school to be warm from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
In 1896 parents filed a complaint about students bringing firearms to school. The principal said that he would “…enquire into the matter and take such weapons from them and reprimand them severely.” Personally, I can’t imagine having to live this school life.
* This article was written by a student at Ormstown Elementary School. It is being published as part of a partnership between The Gleaner and the New Frontiers School Board.