Slate Scribbles

Part of my role as historical interpreter is to portray a one room schoolhouse teacher. I have done a lot of research on the history of education in Minnesota as well as on the pedagogy of the 19th century educator. All of this has helped with the delivery of my interpretation to the extent that children take me so seriously I have made dozens cry (unintentionally) when I tell a child in particular to stand with his or her nose against the wall for disrupting my classroom. There is probably a special place in hell as recompense for humiliating 21st century children, but on the bright side they really get a feel what life was like for a 19th century child.

21st century teachers often speak to undisciplined children in the hallway outside of the classroom, away from everyone else, to discuss any poor choices that child is making, in case you were wondering. 19th century teachers utilized public humiliation in order to discourage further bad behavior not only from the child in question but from everyone else in the classroom as well. Talk about a teachable moment one will never forget, but there is a reason this went out of fashion!

When not torturing small children, I entertain guests who visit buildings at their leisure on living history days. If I am scheduled to work in the school, I always place slates and slate pencils on the desks of the schoolhouse for guests to write on if they so desire. Many visitors jump at the chance to scribble on a slate, especially young children.

Side note: The question I am asked most frequently is, "What is the "chalk" made of?" Slate pencils were made out of either soft slate or soapstone before chalk became prevalent sometime between the early 1900s and the 1930s as best as I can find in my research. Also, the term chalkboard was not commonly used until the 1960s when green chalkboards began to replace blackboards in schools, but I digress.

Back to slates... At the end of the day, I always find entertaining scribbles on a few of the slates. I used to just erase them, but then I had the brilliant idea of taking pictures of the slates. The newest ones can be found at the top, the oldest at the bottom:

Oh, look! An 1889 iPad!

The honey harvest inspired some bee sketches.

Here, kitty, kitty!

We get all walks of life as visitors. Their doodles never cease to entertain.

Sound advice! 

Some people see faces in everything.

A little geometry in the one room schoolhouse. 

Technically, this is correct. ;)

This was drawn by an adorable and precocious little boy. It was like talking to a miniature adult!
He seemed to only partly buy into the fact that I was from the nineteenth century.

Cheese, anyone?

Grandma, I am so glad you love Nora, who I am assuming is your granddaughter.
However, manuscript letters should never be used in my classroom once you have learned scripted letters.

This is an original work of art complete with artist's signature!

I swear I had nothing to do with this. Now, to work on that penmanship...

If you think about it, this silly statement sort of makes sense.
Again, penmanship needs perfecting.

This is a map of my schoolhouse, community Christmas tree included, which is an exercise the beginning
scholars would have practiced but with geometrical shapes instead of three dimensional depictions.

In 1889 many textbooks taught about the planet Vulcan, supposedly discovered by French mathematician
Urbain Le Verrier in the mid-19th century, as part of our solar system. Mercury's odd orbit created some
confusion when testing Sir Isaac Newton's theories of motion and gravitation. It was not until Albert
Einstein hypothesized his theory or relativity in 1915 that scientists were able to fully explain Mercury's
orbit, thus disproving Le Verrier's theory of a planet between the Sun and Mercury. Even a German
textbook kept in this 1889 schoolhouse includes Vulcan in the list of planets!

Here we find yet another original work of art.

While this is a great 21st century book, I do not think my scholars in the 19th century will be able
to find such an object at the general store in town.

Clearly someone was not working on his or her lessons, and from the poor grammar, penmanship, and art
skills displayed here, this person should really stop goofing off and do his or her school work. ;)

This young boy worked very hard on his penmanship while visiting the schoolhouse. However, he did not
get to practice much grammar as can be seen by a lack of capitalization in the word thanks.

Translations are welcome.

Happy holidays would not a be a common phrase heard in the 19th century around Christmastime.
Happy Christmas would be something commonly heard, though. Again, we need to work on grammar;
holidays need not be capitalized in this sentence.

I like the nails used to form the cross. Baby Jesus in the manger is a nice touch as well.

What a sweet message left for other guest yet to stop by for a visit!

While the first kindergarten in the United States opened in the mid-19th century in Wisconsin, it really was
not until the mid-20th century that kindergarten classes were a common phenomenon. In the late 19th
century, kindergarten classrooms were mainly autonomous associations around the country. While some
larger, urban school districts began adopting these associations into their districts during the late 19th
century, many rural one room schools did not include kindergarten classes until well into the 20th century.

Dear Miss Meredith, while I appreciate your attempt at being studious, we need to fix a few things. First
off, you should work on your penmanship; there is no excuse for using manuscript letters when you clearly
know scripted letters. Secondly, please work on your spelling and grammar. Lastly, please study your
United States history as The Pledge of Allegiance was not written until 1892. Since my schoolhouse
interprets 1889, your poem would not be recited in my classroom. Cordially, Miss Poepping.

Miss Evelyn took notes while listening to me talk about Johnny Appleseed during our Apple Fest.
She was very attentive, but we many need to work on her penmanship so that she does not print
the rest of her life.

I am fairly certain this is Hagar the Horrible.

I met a lady who had studied Icelandic. That would be a fascinating language to learn.

Penmanship shall be perfected!

It is nice to see children are utilizing modern technology in a 19th century classroom. :)

Quite a few people write their names on the slates along the lines of so and so was here.
I hope that because I took a picture of this individual's signature, I can cash it in for the money
it is worth according to the message.

A large number of people make jokes about how the slate is an 1889 (the year of the schoolhouse
interpretation) iPad. One teenager decided to draw a few iPad icons on the slate after his parents joked
about it. My favorite part is he added Angry Birds in the top left corner.