More about my schooldays
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (342110)
Rockingham, Australia
April 8, 2022 8:30pm CST
I used to go to school in Western Australia on a school-bus that brought in farm kids from around the district. Roads were unsealed and the buses would get full of dust or covered with mud in winter. My first day at school was very scary as it was for lots of others. There were no kindergartens in those days and school was the first time most of us had spent much time away from home without family somewhere nearby. I was lucky to have my brother and sister travelling with me on the bus.
I remember one winter when somehow dozens of kids got drenched on their way to school. Our classroom was full of girls, many of whom were sitting in their petticoats (yes, we wore petticoats in those days) with jumpers, shirts and skirts all lined up in front of the fire which sat in the corner of the room. There were few phones so teachers had to do what they could to get the clothes dry and the school day underway.
Photo is of a class photo from 1926. My uncle is on the extreme left of the middle row.
14 people like this
14 responses
@Juliaacv (51385)
• Canada
9 Apr 22
I am struck at the size of the class.
I imagine that this was in a one room schoolhouse, with one teacher.
Those teachers must have been so organized and strong willed to take on that many children for such a long day.
And it obviously wasn't all teaching, she was helping with keeping them warm and tending to many other things I'm sure such as keeping the fire going for the school.
I remember my best friend's mother was a teacher. She taught my Dad and his siblings at the one room schoolhouse. She also taught my older brother grade one before they closed the schoolhouse.
She used to tell us that playing the piano was as necessary a skill as being able to teach as so much was done around the piano and many times that was the only diversion when it was storming and the children couldn't get a break to go outside to play. She was multi talented.
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@JudyEv (342110)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Apr 22
It says Class 3 so probably this was one class but there would have been nearly as many I guess in the other classes. I can believe the piano-playing bit. And they had to deal with cuts and scratches - all that sort of thing. When we were first married and went to the far south-east, there was still a one-room school down there. They sent out a first-year-out teacher to cope but he did really well.
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@LindaOHio (181717)
• United States
9 Apr 22
Great story and pic. Great to remember those days when we actually dressed like girls instead of in hole-y jeans and cut-off T-shirts?
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@LindaOHio (181717)
• United States
10 Apr 22
@marlina The year that I started public school the parochial school went to uniforms.
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@changjiangzhibin89 (16789)
• China
15 Apr 22
Kids today have good learning conditions ,which is a far cry from yours. The fact that your brother and sister travelling with you on the bus was a bonus for you !
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@RebeccasFarm (90474)
• Arvada, Colorado
9 Apr 22
I love that photo Judy. You are great to have these photos
How you describe that school with the fireplace reminds me of a tiny school I once attended in Ireland when I was a child. It also had the fire and it was still quite cold
How you describe that school with the fireplace reminds me of a tiny school I once attended in Ireland when I was a child. It also had the fire and it was still quite cold1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (90474)
• Arvada, Colorado
9 Apr 22
@JudyEv You did and I wouldn't trade it for today's situation
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@DaddyEvil (137602)
• United States
10 Apr 22
Most of the kids didn't look happy to have their photo taken. I wonder if they were just bored waiting for the photographer to actually take the picture?
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@DaddyEvil (137602)
• United States
10 Apr 22
@JudyEv Yeah, everybody considered getting their picture taken something serious.
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@wolfgirl569 (108161)
• Marion, Ohio
9 Apr 22
Be glad you had those petticoats that day 
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@JudyEv (342110)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Apr 22
@wolfgirl569 That's true and cut out any one-up-man-ship. Everyone looked much the same.
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@JudyEv (342110)
• Rockingham, Australia
9 Apr 22
I did think perhaps that nowadays they would ring parents to come and get soaking wet kids, particularly if there were 40 - 50 of them. And if a child got sick or whatever, they just had to stay at school till home-time. At least the country kids had to stay.
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