 | Chapter Ninth Our Schools Papers of Philena Carkin |  |
9. Chapter Ninth
Our Schools
When I went to Charlottesville in the
spring of 1866, the various schools that had
been opened for the benefit of the Freedmen
were wholly independent of each other. Each
teacher admitted as many pupils as he or
she could accommodate without regard to
educational qualifications: for in spite of
the fact that it was unlawful in Virginia
to teach a slave to read, many of them had
tasted the forbidden fruit in one way or
another, so there was quite a material
difference in the attainments of the
applicants for admission to the "free schools"
as ours were called by the colored people.
Miss Gardner had been quick to
recognize the necessity of better organization
and placed the matter before the committee.
The result was that I was sent to take charge
of the pupils collected under her care, with the
exception of thirty of the more advanced
of what was later styled the High & Normal
department of the school. In addition
to the thirty or forty pupils that came under
my care from Miss Gardners room I admitted
a sufficient number of outsiders to increase
my number to seventy or more. A year
or so later the schools were systematically
graded — two rooms being devoted to the
Primary department, from which the pupils
graduated into the Grammar School and
from there to the High School.
It must be explained here that the status
of this school was not the same as that of a
High School in one of our northern cities or
towns. As a High School it was simply a dream
of the future, but the object was to make it
a reality as speedily as possible.
The branches taught in this grade were
Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Grammar with
composition, Geography, Natural Philosophy
History, a little geology etc. etc. It was
necessary that the languages, higher
thoroughly understood those branches which would
be of most importance in their every day
lives. So the branches taught in the two
upper grades differed less in kind than in
degree.
The pupils in the Primary
department learned to read write and spell
and were grounded in the rudements of
Geography and Arithmetic. The two teachers
in this department — Mrs. Gibbons and Mr.
Lewis followed the methods of Miss Gardner
by whom they had been themselves instructed,
so their classes always entered the Grammar
School well fitted to take up the work which
was expected of them there.
As years passed, the grades advanced
somewhat, but owing to the difficulties of the
situation, the schools could not in the
few years we spent there be raised to the
level of the same grade in the North, but
the few branches studied were thoroughly
understood not only as regarded the facts
themselves but the causes undelying those facts
and many of them had beautifully soft
and clear voices so they were easily taught
to be fine readers and speakers. Aside
from this they were, like pupils everywhere,
some proficient in one branch, some in
another, and some seemingly mere dullards,
although we avoided as far as possible admitting
pupils of the latter class, as it would have been
a waste of our time and the means of the
Society to to give instruction to such when
those of better ability were waiting to be
taught. We were supposed to give our time
to such as would be useful in the uplifting
of the race. The dull ones were not to be
neglected in the end, but our first object was
to push the bright adult pupils forward as rapidly
as possible that they might serve as teachers
for others younger or less brilliant.
In the early years of our work there it was
suggested that each teacher give a name to
his or her school. Miss Gardner was a great
admirer of Thomas Jefferson so her schoolwas named
recently martyred President mine was
called the "Lincoln School" The primary
school under Mrs. Gibbons was called the
"Major Savage School in honor of a Union
officer who died a prisoner in Charlottesville
and whose remains were interred in the
cemetary just beyond the buildings of the
University of Virginia. The Primary
school taught by Paul Lewis was called
the John Brown school after the hero
of Harpers Ferry.
When the new school
house was built it was named "The
Jefferson School" as it had now become
one school of three grades with a Principal
and sub-teachers. Our school hours were
from 9 A. M. until 12, and from 1 to
4 P. M. every week day except Saturday
Our holidays were Thanksgiving Day,
Christmas week, the Monday after Easter,
and the Monday after Whitsuntide. The
Christmas holidays included New Years, or
Emancipation Day.
Many of our pupils came long distances
— from two or three to five or six miles to school
I remember one boy of 18 or 19 year who lived
five miles away, and attended school regularly
although he had to earn his living by working
at his trade — shoemaking — in the evening
He told me after he left school that he hardly
knew how he lived at the time. There were
many others who made a similar struggle in
order to enjoy the privilege of attending school.
To them the old adage "Knowledge is Power"
was full of meaning, and they felt its truth
in all its intensity. They felt that the power
of their white superiors lay in the education
that had been denied them,
so they feltthought that no labor was too arduous
and no sacrifice too great, so that they
might drink of the cup held out to them
by their friends at the North.
The colored people are naturally very
musical and our school exercises were usually
opened and closed with singing. The songs
were various in their nature. Sunday school
of the events of the Civil War were the most
common. Mrs. Howes "Battle Hymn of the
Republic" was a favorite. For special occasions
we wrote the words of songs which were
adapted to well known tunes. It was a
pleasure to do this, they all seemed so pleased
with a song prepared expressly for them
Miss Gardner and I each fitted words
to the once familiar tune "Kingdom Come"
and many other popular tunes were made
to bear similar burdens. I don't know how it
happened that the old plantation hymns
were never sung in our schools. Perhaps they
carried with them too strong a savor of the
old slave days. However that might be, some
of our pupils in after years travelled the
world over singing these old slave melodies
before vast crowds of enthusiastic listeners.
It would be hard for one educated in our
public schools to understand the confusedideas
many of the freed people entertained
concerning the relation of cities and
facts and many other circumstances. I
happened to mention one day that I came
from Massachusetts. "Is Massachusetts in
Boston?" queried one of my pupils. In the
minds of some of these people, Boston meant
the whole North. All their hopes seemed centered
in this great, all-embracing Boston. I will
relate another little circumstance which
will give an idea of their hazy views in regard
to historical facts. One day in our reading
we came upon something relating to Bunker
Hill so I told them about the great battle that
was fought there is 1779. "Where you there?"
Do you remember about it?" were the questions
asked. To their minds all wars were included
in the Civil War which meant so much
to them. At another time I was explaining
the lines on the map of the earths surface
to a class in Geography. I was careful to speak
of them as imaginary lines, but the adjective
evidently did not impress itself upon their
minds as it should have done for at the end
think that "ships at sea would get all tangled
up in the equator." These incidents will
serve to show that we had to begin at the
very bottom of every subject taught. Even
the common, ordinary words we used in
explanation of facts often conveyed a different
meaning to their minds from that intended.
The first day I taught in school I dismissed
them for the noon day recess at twelve o-clock.
"Shall you have school this evening?" they asked.
"No" said I "There will be no school in the evening."
At one o-clock I rang the bell, and about a dozen
or fifteen pupils straggled in. "Where are all
the others?" said I. "They said you wouldn't
have school this evening." was the reply. So I
learned the meaning of the word "evening" as
they understood it.
One day when two
or three women — parents of some of the pupils — were
calling on us, the conversation turned upon a boy
who had many very peculiar traits, and I happened
to remark that he was a "great rogue." They seemed
mush shocked and one of them said that she
"I didn't mind it at all." In fact "I rather liked a
rogue." This was more shocking still until
Miss Gardner, who was quietly laughing to herself,
said, "They think you mean a thief." and
explained to them the different meaning we
gave the word in the North. So my
reputation was saved from the stigma of
encouraging a thief.
The work of taking care of the
schoolrooms was performed by the pupils under
the supervision of the teachers. The girls did the
daily sweeping and dusting, and the boys cut
the wood, and made the fires. When there
was a regular cleaning up the boys and
girls were both pressed into service. Occasionally
some of the older boys would do a little job
of carpenter work, or other repairing, like
setting panes of glass or fixing a refractory
lock, rehanging a door etc.
The text books used in the school were
shipped to us from the rooms of the
Society in Boston and sold to the pupils
credited to the Society as such a part of
our wages. After the Society co-operated
with the local school board the text books
of the State of Virginia were introduced
into those departments that fell under
their supervision.
Very soon after I began teaching
in 1866 I opened an evening school for
adults holding a two hour session three
evenings in a week. I kept this up
for about two years until we had trained
some of the more advanced pupils to take
up work of this kind. In this class I had
pupils from twenty to more than sixty
years of age. The very oldest attempted
nothing beyond reading and writing, but
many of those of forty years and under
made remarkable progress. One woman
who did laundry work told me she kept her
books on her ironing table and learned her
lessons while she worked, and nearly all these
adult pupils found it necessary to pursue their
were in earnest and determined to overcome
all obstacles. I remember when I reached
home one summer, I found a letter awaiting
me which had anticipated my arrival by a
day. This letter was from one of my evening
pupils — a woman named Johnson, who, six
weeks before could not form a single letter with
her pen. It was a wonderful satisfaction to her
to be able to send me the first letter I received
from the South during my summer vacation.
It will be readily understood that there
wasn't time in the few brief hours I could
devote to this evening class to give instruction
in many branches. I taught them to
read, spell and write, and they learned the
rudiments of Arithmetic. Some of the
brightest pupils became quite proficient in the
latter branch through decimal fractions.
This seems a very meagre education but it meant
much to them, and they showed that they
appreciated my efforts to help them in
every way they could. Their efforts to show
their eagerness. They blossomed out in the
form of gifts of articles, which they thought
would please us, and which we often felt
they could ill afford. We were the recipients
of numerous pieces of gaily decorated china
ware — cups and saucers, plates, vases, mugs etc.
and sometimes articles in silver were given
us. Now and then some one would
select a book or picture as an offering. Flowers
and fruits were showered upon us in their season
and the amount of cooked food that was
brought us at certain times would have
enabled us to set up a boarding house. I had
a rough table which must have been at least
seven feet by three, and I now recall one
Christmas when it was loaded with food from
end to end. Chickens fried and roasted
boiled ham, roast pig (or shote as they called it)
baked fish, oysters, salads, sweet and white potatoes
squashes, parsnips, turnips, onions, cabbage, apples,
oranges, bananas, grapes, raisins figs, dates nuts
pies, cake, blanc-mange, custards, bread, rolls,
Virginia Sally Lunns, with plenty of candy
to sweeten us up. Nor did they show their
devotion to us in gifts alone. They got up
feasts, and picnics, and barbecues and every
kind of entertainment in their power for our
amusement, and frequently some of the
young men who owned musical instruments
would bring their violins or guitars and give
us an evening seranade. Each summer when
we left for our annual vacation early in July
they bade us God speed with sad faces and many
tears, and they welcomed our advent in late
September with many demonstrations of joy
It may be true that as a race these people are
apt to be careless and thoughtless, but I can
testify that they were ever thoughtful for us, and
spared no pains to make our life among them
as pleasant as it lay in their power to do.
As every circumstance of our lives in Charlottesville
was in some way connected with our school work
it is not necessary to give further special
attention to this subject.
| Chapter Ninth Our Schools Papers of Philena Carkin | |