The evolution of School Supplies in America

 

Although most schools in America now start in August, my childhood summer break went on until after Labor Day. September was the first month of school. And some of our ancestors didn’t start until after harvest in October. An interesting school fact to me is the evolution of school supplies in America through the centuries.

                                                                Colonial days 

from Cary Graphic Arts Collection

Horn books were popular for centuries even before America was colonized. It got its name from the transparent sheet of bone that covered the parchment containing the alphabet encased in a wood frame. It had a handle for ease of use. These were passed down through generations. Just so you know, boys attended school and if girls learned to read, they learned at home.

      

 

                                                                Blab School

By the 1700, as Americans immigrated into more rural areas, Blab schools, often called ABC Schools or Oral Schools were established. The only qualification for a teacher was literacy. Paper was scarce, so oral lessons were considered the best way to encourage learning. The teacher would read a lesson, and the students would repeat it at the top of their lungs several times until they memorized it. The next morning, they repeat that lesson and then began the next lesson. I imagine the teacher had a major headache at the end of the day. This style of school remained popular in isolated areas of the US until the early 1900s.

Blab school attended by Abe Lincoln-New Salem Museum

 

Abraham Lincoln attended a Blab School in his younger years. He recited his lessons out loud on his long walk to school. Perhaps that is why his voice carried so well when he gave his Gettysburg address. I read he would write out his homework on the back of a shovel using the fireplace light to work by. I’m sure many students did the same.

                                                                        Slates

 

Eventually, by the late 1800s every student was required to own a slate. The small blackboard often had a cloth or sponge attached to it so the student could erase each correct lesson. Because of the expense of paper, this became the go-to method to study. 

Parents would buy their children a writing slate and chalk. Although the chalk looked more like a pencil. Thinner to make writing on the slate easier. Some schools supplied books for the students, but more often, students brought their own. Books passed down from their parents.

 

McGuffey Readers- revolutionized reading education

McGuffey Readers, first published in the 1830s and used until 1930, prepared students for life. Not only did they contain lessons on phonics and the alphabet but scripture and moral lessons. The fifth and sixth levels contained Shakespearian passages and lines from famous people of the time that students memorized. Some pioneers carried copies with them as they traversed the country in wagon trains.

What paper was available was often used for students to copy their best work. Then they would use a quill pen often prepared by their parent from a turkey or goose feather to write reports and copy passages of literature. The feather tip was kept sharp by cutting the edge with a pen knife. The quill was dipped in a bottle of ink. Desks were made with openings for the ink jar to rest. Careful penmanship was as important as spelling. Two keys to a good education. 

Reproduction of goose feather quill pen

Revolutionary writing tool

Pencils became the preferred writing tool because you could write several words before it needed sharpening again and was cheaper than pen and ink. The pencil had been available since Colonial times but not easily available to the lower class until it began to be mass produced in the late 1800s.

 

                                                                    Next item on the school supply list

 Pencil boxes were added to school supply lists after this. Each student had a pencil box to carry the smaller supplies such as pencils, erasers, and crayons, and keep them in order. Those who couldn’t afford pencil boxes repurposed cigar boxes. I remember having a cardboard pencil box that opened like a cigar box. They are available in plastic today for younger students.

So now the list of supplies is a slate, chalk, school books and pencil boxes. Later crayons and color pencils (also called crayons) would be added to the supply list.

What about paper you ask?

The late 1800s brought writing tablets (this refers to notebooks) containing newsprint with widely spaced lines for young children and thinner lines for older children. Because of the cost these tablets didn’t become as popular until 1930s and continued in use even today among homeschool students.

 I remember having a Big Chief Writing Tablet in second grade.

 Then spiral notebooks became popular along with three-ring binder notebooks with subject tabs and lots of loose-leaf paper to add as needed to those heavy binders. Pencil pouches replaced pencil boxes. These had had three holes to secure them in the binders.  

Satchels

Satchels were a popular item for the more studious ones among us in the mid-1950s to 1970s. Usually used by high school boys. The rest of us carried our books and the notebook home in our arms. Satchels resembled briefcases. Those have evolved into backpacks of every shape and size and are available to all ages from preschool to college age.

Antique Satchel

Binders and pencil bags

More changes to the school supply list began in the mid-twentieth century with three-ring binders and loose-leaf paper. I recall adding paper to my binder and tabs to divide it into subject. Plus, packages of looseleaf paper made way for spiral notebooks for specific classes. They had three holes so paper could be added to the binder, or the entire notebook could be inserted. We still had pens, pencils, rulers, crayons, colored pencils, glue and a few other supplies one might need for math class such as, protractors and slide rules. Most were added to the pencil bag that had three holes to insert in the front of your three-ring binder.

New Technology

Enter the alculator in the early 70s. Let me tell you my teacher failed a student when she learned she’d used a calculator to do her homework. She insisted we use our brains instead. Hand-held calculators eventually became commonly used in the 1980s, only among students in advanced math classes. The price drop from three hundred dollars to twenty-five dollars making it easier for families to afford.

Add calculator to your supply list. Personal tissues were added sometime while I was in school, I recall bringing a supply of colored paper for the teacher and watercolors for our personal use.

Today, oh My

So many supplies are required today: notebooks, folders, pencils, pens, crayons, markers, tissues, sanitary wipes, water bottles, hand sanitizer, tablets, and various other supplies based on grade level. Schools now have a day to drop off school supplies before school starts. My grandson’s middle school allows parents to help their students organize all their many supplies in their lockers before school starts.

I hope you found the evolution of school supplies as interesting as I did.

What school supplies do you remember buying every year? Have you ever used a slate or seen a McGuffey Reader?

Cindy Ervin Huff is a multi-published award-winning author. A 2018 Selah Finalist. She has a passion to encourage other writers on their journey. When she isn’t writing, she feeds her addiction to reading and enjoys her retirement with her husband of 50 plus years, Charles. Visit her at www.cindyervinhuff.com.