The School of Scholars
Learn the 3 R's with Mistress MacDonald
I am a Colonial School Teacher.
I run a school called the Dame School. The day starts at 7:00 am. I teach lessons by rhyming and repeating until my pupils have memorized the material. We read out of a hornbook. I think reading is the most important subject because everyone has to know how to read the Bible. My class is one room where I have children from ages 2 through 12. I am a strict Mistress because i need to keep order in my classroom. If you misbehave in my class you are sure to wear the Dunce Cap!
Classroom Materials
Hornbook
It is a flat, wooden board with a handle. It has the alphabet and numbers carved into it. There is usually also a prayer or poem on it. It is covered with a thin sheet of animal horn to protect it.
Quill Pen
Made from a sharpened goose feather, it is what we use to write with. You have to dip the tip into ink to write and then blot the wet ink on the page with blotting paper.
Dunce Cap
Dunce Caps are worn by children who misbehave. The have to wear the Cap and sit on a stool in front of the whole class. Hopefully, it teaches the child a lesson.
Morning Routine
The Mistress will ring the bell to start the school day. Boys line up at one door and girls line up at the other door. Boys and girls sit on different sides of the classroom. School begins with scholars making their manners and the Mistress taking roll call. Any student not present for roll call is locked out of the school, even on the coldest of days.