Map Tour: The Quest for Universal Schooling
Maptour Page 6
"A New Model for Advanced Pupils"


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Illustration: Hamilton Central School, 1852

Try This:

  • Click on the "Related Materials" drop-down menu and select Illustrations - "Hamilton Central School, 1852."
  • Scroll down and examine the floor plan of the school.

Notice ...

  • The plan calls for separate entrances and separate floors for boys and girls, with the girls upstairs.
  • The girls section has a classroom with 180 places. The largest boys' room holds 28
  • There is a needlework room for girls, but nothing equivalent (such as a workshop) for boys.

Consider!

  • Boys have been perceived as less controllable than girls.
  • Gender segregation for schooling is consistent with mid-Victorian social standards.
  • Building layout – a sort of miniature map of a confined world – can tell us a great deal about social conditions.