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How Seasons and Weather Effected Schools in the Old West
Seasons
Seasons had a profound affect on those children that were fortunate enough to go to school in the days of the American old west. Classes were usually held 6 days per week, everyday except for Sunday. The school year typically began in October and ran through May. This seasonal 'school calendar' reflects the main planting and harvesting seasons and weather conditions. However in many parts of the west the exact dates and months would vary to reflect the regional seasons and weather conditions. It was not uncommon for teachers to declare the school closed for several days or weeks when agricultural conditions such as planting or harvesting warranted. Hours
School hours varied greatly, usually at the discretion of the individual teacher. However the one thing that probably most affected school hours was daylight. Since many students had to walk several miles to get to and from school, starting and finishing times were often determined to allow these students to travel during daylight. Winter
One room schoolhouses were found from Montana to Texas. The effects of winter on education in them certainly depended on their location and the time of year. Almost all one room schoolhouses had some source of warmth, usually a wood burning stove. It generally became the oldest male student's responsibility to see to it that the stove heated the room properly. This would entail several trips daily through the snow and wind to the wood pile behind the school. Summer
There was little that could be done for those really hot days, especially in southern areas, when the temperatures climbed to well over 100 degrees. Teachers would open windows and doors, but for most frontier children the heat just became a fact of life.
Seasons and weather could sometimes effect students so adversely that the teacher might deem that it was just too hot, or too cold for the students to 'learn' and let classes out early. This, of course, was a rarity, but generally welcomed by the students. |
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