Shields High School - Patriot Yearbook (Seymour, IN)

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PATRIOT 1910 — 1923 poses, and the two rooms below for school, was erected in 1854. After a few years the building became so unsubstantial that when the bell in the tall belfry was rung, the whole structure shook. The old school building was destroyed by fire. June 9, 1859, and a new, two-story brick building was at once erected on the same location. Church and Sunday School were held in this building. The new school consisted of one large room downstairs and one up- stairs. In one section of the upstairs was a small room where recitations were heard. When Ewing Street was graded, the workmen graded so close to the school that part of the build- ing was almost undermined. It be- came so dangerous that parents re- fused to send their children to it. In 1868 there were not enough pupils to justify a teacher at the Ewing Street School, so school was held in buildings conveniently lo- cated throughout the city. One building was located on the southeast corner of Second and Vine Streets. This school was so crowd- ed that often pupils were compelled to sit three in a seat. Another was located at 311 Indianapolis Avenue. These schools were not free but charged tuition. The following information was taken from the commencement number of the 1910 Patriot. In 1870, after hard work on the part of Rev. C. H. Huffman, then councilman, bonds were issued and the school trustees, P. S. Carter, J. Kling. and J. W. F. Cerrish were able to lease the lot on which our school building now stands. The heirs of Captain M. W. Shields later gave the land to the city for school pur- poses. At that time it was a forest, separated from the city by an iron fence, running north and south about one hundred and fifty feet from Wal- nut Street. On this lot a building was erected which for many years stood Page Nine

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THE 1935 Three Centuries — Of Educational Progress 8 iic Ids in Step with Time — The year 1635 is one of the most important dates in American history because it was in that year that the Boston Latin School, forerunner of the present American high school, established public education for the first time in the modern world. By the close of the century possibly forty Latin grammar schools had been founded in New England, The Latin grammar school was a tuition school and in the modern sense it can not be said to have been free, but it was public in that it was controlled and partially supported by the town. The purpose of its pro- gram, preparation for college, was rigidly adhered to. Few Latin gram- mar schools survived the American Revolution because the political, economic, and social development which followed the American Revo- lution made necessary a broader, richer, more-democratic educational program. Thus the American aca- demy came into being. This insti- tution, designed to provide educa- tional opportunities for children of all classes, aimed to train a citizenry capable of self-government. The public high school today is a natural descendant of both of these institutions, designed to meet the needs of the expanding Republic. The first school house erected for the accommodation of the children of Seymour, was built by Meedy W. Shields, on a knoll at the corner of Ewing and Fifth Streets. It is be- lieved that this frame structure which contained three rooms, the one above being used for church pur- 1870 — 1910 Page Eight

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THE 1935 surrounded by trees and bordered on the west by a great pond. Gradually the pond was drained until now there are no traces of it. The building of 1871 was a large, three story, rectangular, brick structure facing the east, with en- trances on the north, south and east. The stairs led from the east entrance through the middle of the building. On the first floor were two grade rooms, a janitor ' s office, and the public library; and on the second floor, two more grade rooms and the superintendent ' s office; on the third, a small music room, a recita- tion room, and the assembly room. At the west end of this room was the teacher ' s rostrum which was faced by two long rows of benches reaching halfway across the room. Two large iron stoves heated it. Here, during school hours the High School and preparatory grades were seated and recited and at night the public entertainments, commence- ments, and such were held. For lighting the building on such occa- sions, bracket lamps were used in the halls and on the stairs and three great hanging lamps in the assembly room itself. The first term in 1871, Superin- tendent Housekeeper appointed Miss Cox, as principal of the High School. In 1876 the south wing of the present school building was erected, adding six much needed rooms. Then the main High School room was changed to the southeast corner. A bell in the belfry called the pupils to class. There was a bench on the outside on which were buckets of water for drinking purposes. A winding stairway led to the second and third floors. This was very unsatisfactory and was later remodeled with landings which made it much more convenient. The high school classes were quite small, ranging from six to twelve pupils. At first Latin was the only foreign language taught, but later a German preacher came to the school on cer- tain days and taught that tongue. Geometry was also in the curriculum at that time. There were no extras in the school program then. There were no art courses nor athletics and the only music was that of the opening exercises. The high school, which was on the third floor, consisted of a large assembly room in the front of the building, and two smaller rooms back of this. In this large room were four rows of double seats, with a seating capacity of eighty-four. In the front of this assembly room was a rostrum. Here the principal gen- erally presided and while he listened to the recitations of one class, the other pupils studied in the smaller rooms. Every morning there were devotional exercises and the prin- cipal would read poetry or other literature, or extracts from the Bible. This was the only thing which they had that could be compared to our convocations. One of the students ' nightmares was the Friday afternoon exercises. These students had no training in public speaking, and one who knows has said that the pupils fairly shook in their shoes when they arose to render their part of the program. They wrote essays and recited them, or they recited poetry, or played some musical instrument. The man- ner in which the students responded during these exercises was one of the factors considered in determin- Page Ten