ZEELAND, Mich. — Back to school. Back in time.
Ottawa County has six schoolhouses from the late 1800s to mid-1900s that still exist today to help us understand what education used to look like.
You can find one in Holland, Spring Lake, Coopersville, and two in West Olive. The largest one is called the New Groningen Schoolhouse in Zeeland, which was built in 1881 and stayed active until 1951.
“Education was extremely important in the area," said Debbie Albert, the Zeeland Historical Society's Board Chair. "In Zeeland, as well as in Groningen, one of the first things that they built was actually schools in those areas because they valued education so much.”
While they took education very seriously, it wasn't necessarily a priority in that time period.
“Some kids only went to school for three months out of the year," Albert said. "If their parents needed them at home, maybe to help with a new baby that was coming, or farm work, or what not. So, we make the assumption now, 'Oh, a 10-year-old, that's a fourth grader or fifth grader.' That was not necessarily the case. It was based on skills that kids came in with.”
The basic subjects were still the same — reading, writing and arithmetic.
However, the way they learned was much different.
Teachers were much more firm, and the school day had a stricter routine.
"The girls were usually admitted first," Albert said. "Then the teacher would allow them to come into the classroom. They'd have to stand next to their desks until everyone had entered the classroom. then the teacher would come to the front. She'd maybe say, 'Class be seated.' They had to sit down. The day always started with a flag salute, and maybe a prayer.”
Times were also different, so they pushed the boundaries a bit when it came to disciplining students.
Robert Boehm, a docent at the New Groningen Schoolhouse, said, “They did make such a device which is called the Board of Education, applying to the seat of knowledge." He was referring to a paddle used to...well, you can figure it out.
If not, Boehm will explain — "Usually it was a boy, most generally. They could be taken into the basement, and then the teacher would give them a paddle with this particular device.”
While education has evolved, the core values have stayed consistent.
Albert said, "They memorized a lot of things that were important to get them through life. They learned cooperation by working with each other regularly. I think just, in general, it's important to preserve our history.”