My colonial crafts person is a School Master. School Masters taught a lot of different tasks like the three R's; reading, writing, and a arithmetic.

A School Master's work place was a small one roomed school house. It had one fire place with one chimney. They had the fireplace so they could keep the room warm. There was one large chalk board so the School Master could write out problems on the board. There also was a big desk that the School Master sat at, there usually was 10 to 13 little desks for the children to sit at. They had a stool in the back of the room where the dunce sat. The School Master's workplace didn't have to be that big because they did a lot but needed very little space to do their work.

 

A School Master had a lot of different items for the children to use. First there was the horn book. It was a wooden paddle with paper on it. The paper was covered with a type of horn. The children had little slate pencils and chalk boards. The pencils and chalk boards were usually made out of hard rock. If the children did not bring these supplies from home they would not be able to write or figure out problems on their own.

 

School Master in colonial times discipline kids in a lot of harsh ways. When two boys fought in class the School Master would give them two sticks to hit each other with and if they did not hit each other hard enough the School Master would hit them with a bigger stick. If a child answered a question wrong him or her would have to put on the dunce cap and sit in the corner of the room with the dunce cap on. If a child was wise to someone the School Master would stick a stick in their mouth so they could not talk or be wise any more. When a boy misbehaved or arrived late he would have to put on a bonnet and sit with the girls. If a School Master did not teach discipline the children would always be misbehaving and not be able to learn.

A School Master's job was pretty important to the town because the children needed to know the three R's . The early settlers were very religious. The School Master's taught reading from the Bible, they believed that a person who could read the bible would become a better Christian.