Visit to the state school museum

A visit to the "Old School Sellen"

I thought the excursion was fun. The lady showed us lots of kitchen things. I thought the music room was great because Kaiser Wilhelm was there, from babies to old men.

Then the teacher came. I thought the class was nice. The desks were small. I saw wooden shoes. There was a stove and a map in the classroom. I saw a story about Hansel and Gretel.

The woman told us that 6 people slept in one bed. There was a pot next to the bed if you had to go to the toilet during the night.

I thought the bus ride was great. I read the signs. One sign said: 20 km to Gronau.

Binta Delby


A visit to the "Old School Sellen"

At the beginning, we were shown the kitchen by a woman. There were lots of things like plates, glasses, pots, spoons and so on. There was even a stove and an iron. But of course the iron didn't work like it does today.

Then we put our bags on the side of the stairs. And we looked at a well 10 meters deep. The well was covered with wood, except for a small spot where you could look in.

Then we went back inside and were shown the music room. And when we went down the stairs, we came to a room where gardening tools were stored. There was also a plastic pig. If you went down another floor, you came to the toilets, but I didn't want to go down.

Then we went to the classroom. I couldn't remember the teacher's name. There was a picture of Kaiser Wilhelm and Auguste Viktoria.

The boys had to sit on the window side and the girls on the stove side. At the beginning we sang a song, which we then had to copy in Sütterlin script. Then we did the maths on an abacus. I was given a name and was called Agathe and Ameliya was called Thea. Shanya and Lionel got diligence cards.

Then the lesson was over and we were shown the living room and the bedroom. At the end, we were allowed to play outside. It was a lot of fun.

Mila


A visit to the "Old School Sellen"

I learned a lot about school on the trip. For example, that the teacher always had a stick in his hand or that the teacher was very happy when a child brought wood, coal or something to eat. But the father only gave the food if the child had bad grades to show off.

And the children didn't write on paper, but on a slate and with chalk. They had a secret compartment in the table that was about 5 x 5 cm. The children used this to put their inkwell in. And that wasn't all. Because the teacher, who wasn't married, was called Fräulein. And she had to wear something black. She wasn't allowed to get married or she would have to resign.

But now I'll tell you about the housework: my mother used to have to get up early to fetch water. If there was to be hot water, mother got up even earlier than usual. And in winter, the children didn't have hot water bottles, but metal tubes with hot water in them. And they wore a white cap on their heads.

The girls weren't allowed to do math at school, but they crocheted and learned to do housework.

If the children had to pee in the night, they would pee in a chamber pot and in the morning their mother would go and dispose of it.

So, and I hope you enjoyed reading about a trip to the old school.

Angelina