Men, Move Over

The changes evident all over America are becoming apparent in schools as well. Once a bastion of gender and racial exclusion, schools are now teaching adult skills to more women, and even Blacks and Indians.

Children in grade school can now learn about Indian culture, and get an early exposure to science. Exercise and fitness are encouraged, with outdoor activities including dancing. Less instruction, more cultural development.

While older boys are being exposed to industrial skills like machine shop, young women are being included in previously all-male activities. These help prepare them for colleges that are accepting more women.

Meanwhile, men's schooling is tilting heavily towards the new mainstay of American business. Engineering. Medical schools are also expanding rapidly, though scientific methods are still a novelty in the medical profession.
Women's schools, 1910

  Women at School
Changes in American education are nowhere more apparent than in the offerings for women. Higher education is not yet fully integrated, however, as separate schools are established that only admit women. Still, women are now being prepared for work in hospitals, being introduced to skills that nurses have never been taught before. Young black women are slowly being introduced to the white world, though they are still hindered by their disadvantaged starting position. Many of their grandparents were slaves.

Grade schools, 1910

  Expanded Curriculum
One-room schoolhouses are still the norm in rural areas, but more and more of America is being transformed by urban growth. This means better schools, and more separation of grades into relatively closely-matched ages. Boys and girls at school are dressed much like their parents, sometimes including suits for the boys. Altogether, urban schools are more fun than their rural counterparts, with exposure to activities beyond the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic.


High schools, 1910

  Special Activities
High schools are a relatively new innovation in America, as rural education pretty much ends with grade school. Urban high schools are positively huge, with budgets that could include exotic things like machine shop, for boys. America's new passion for fitness and health is reflected in the schools as well. Boys and girls sometimes exercise together, though they were still separated for classes designed to develop athletic skills.


Schools for Blacks, 1910

  Blacks Catching Up ... somewhat
None of the activities shown above have previously been available to black children. The ground-breaking Tuskegee Institute, established exclusively for Blacks in 1881 (top left), was formerly a school to educate black teachers for the lower grades. It is now being run by Booker T. Washington, who is slowly transforming a run-down church into the premier college for Blacks. Wealthy white supporters include Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. The Hampton Institute is another all-black college, which starts out as a teaching and agricultural school. Booker T. Washington is one of its first graduates. Native Americans are admitted beginning in 1878.


Universities for women, 1910

  Women Unleashed ... a little
The book at left, published in New York in 1894, lists the normal opportunities open to most women of the time. But things are changing for women, due in part to the efforts of early advocates of women's rights. America's first women's rights convention is held back in 1848. By 1910, women's dormitories at college and university still largely reflect the expectation that women, after graduation, will return to their proper place. The home. The ground floors often feature large, lavishly-furnished receptions rooms, suggesting that women should come down to practice socializing, after finishing their studies upstairs. Some young women rebel, socializing instead in their rooms, upstairs (bottom).


Engineering schools, 1910

  Wanted: Engineers
For men, the biggest change is the rise of engineering to the pinnacle of social status. Engineers are accorded deep respect, reflecting the belief that America is rising on the basis of industrial expertise, and rewarding those who understand how things work. Most lawyers and doctors of the time can scarcely compete, in terms of either admiration or income.