Early Tumwater-
What were early schools like?

There isn’t a lot of information about the earliest schools in Tumwater. We can assume that for the first few years, while the pioneers were struggling to survive, there was little time for education. There was too much work to do building houses and tending farms. Their parents and older brothers and sisters probably taught children at home. Later, perhaps a group of five or six children might get together to learn their lessons at a pioneer’s house or shed.

As more settlers came to Tumwater, schoolhouses were built and teachers hired. Pioneer schools were much different than schools today. The earliest schools only had about six to ten students, since the families living near New Market were few and far between. Some children may have had to walk or ride horses several miles to get to school each day. School was only held for three to six months a year, during the wintertime. In the summer, children were needed at home to help on their parent’s farms. This is the reason we have summer vacation today!

Early schools were plain, one-room buildings, usually built by parents. The first schoolhouse was said to have been on Bush Prairie, near David Kindred’s house. There were no grades in pioneer schools. Children of all ages were in the same classroom, taught by one teacher. Students moved through their lessons at their own pace. Older students were expected to help the younger ones.

This school was built on Bush Prairie, near today's Olympia Airport.

Teachers sometimes traveled from far away to teach school. They often boarded, or lived with, the family of one of their students. Teachers didn’t have to have the same kind of training that they do now. Usually the only requirement was that the teacher had finished school himself or herself. Sometimes the teacher wasn’t much older than the students! Young women were allowed to teach, but were paid much less than male teachers. If they got married they were forced to leave their jobs.

Pioneer children learned the "Three R’s" – Reading’, ‘Ritin’, and ‘Rithmetic. Pioneers believed it was important for their children to learn to read so that they could read the Bible. They also thought it important to learn arithmetic, or math, in order to become successful farmers, shopkeepers, and craftspeople. Students also learned fancy penmanship, history, geography, as well as manners and morals. There were few textbooks, so teachers used Bible stories and verses to teach children how to read and behave. Children were supposed to sit up straight and pay attention to the teacher. If they were not polite or didn’t learn their lessons, the teacher would punish them by hitting them with a cane or making them stand in the corner with a dunce cap on. Sometimes children played pranks on their teachers, but they were usually sorry afterwards!

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