May 1, 2015

Dear Diary,
Todays occurrences have been similar to a dream. After much hesitation, I
have decided to write this entry but fear it may sound absurd. As you know, I am
an elementary school teacher in a New England town in the United States in the
21st century. After teaching a lesson about Victorian England, I began recess
duty on the school ground. While reaching for a kick ball in the surrounding
woods, I slipped between two rocks only to find myself in an unfamiliar wooded
area. After walking several miles, I came across a small village with a store,
church, and scattered small houses. My confusion continued when I saw a British
flag flying in the distance. I entered the store. The pile of newspapers on the floor
read The London Times, and the printed date jumped off the page. May 1,
1865! My thoughts began to race as I opened the wooden door to leave. Walking
over to the church, I noticed a group of children were playing on a field. The
children were wearing long skirts and trouser suspenders. When I opened the
door to the church, a friendly woman was sitting in a schoolroom.
The woman quickly welcomed me and showed me around her schoolroom.
Charlotte, the daughter of the clergy and teacher for the young children in the
town of Oxfordshire, was the classroom teacher. The children were at home for a
meal and were expected to return for the afternoon session.There were some
wooden tables with benches and open areas with knitting and needlework
projects. She explained the young girls in her schoolhouse provide clothing for
different charities. I learned her class consisted of a handful of young boys to the
age of twelve who then continued their education at boarding or public schools.
The girls continued learning domestic skills here and possibly attend finishing
schools to learn dancing and music.
Perhaps my puzzled look on my face led her to ask me who I was. As she
looked closer to my bright colored blouse and pants, I knew she was confused.
With hesitation, I began to answer. Her mouth jolted open with her hands quickly
covering with disbelief. I reached inside my pocket, and felt the coins in my
pocket. The coins were proof of my time period, and she began to understand as I
told her about my adventure. After she listened about my classroom, she sighed
and said, It does not sound like there are separate spheres. Separate
spheres? I asked.
Separate spheres was a term she used to show each sex had a different
cultural responsibility. The focus on role was different. Boys were educated for a
career in the world, and girls learned skills for the home. Therefore, the
education in Victorian England was not equal for boys and girls. To complicate
the issue, social class also impacted education. In summary, the working class
children may attend voluntary church schools, work in factories, or take care of
younger siblings while parents worked. Few had more than two to three years of
school. No higher education existed because the family worked together for
income to survive. Although the National Society of Promoting the Education for
the Poor was helping children to learn more than read the Bible, these children

lacked the opportunities for education. The middle class children attended
church school or local grammar school to learn literacy, and boys continued to
boarding school or day school if the family could afford it. This gave boys an
opportunity for success in jobs to provide for the present and future family. Girls
continued to learn skills to prepare for a household either in school or at home.
The aristocrat children may attended schools, but mostly had a governess to
privately teach at home. The girls learned home skills as well as social graces
from posture, speaking with accents, music, and art. Boys continued to attend
public or boarding schools and learned subjects in Latin to develop character and
principles. Some attended the universities followed by a career in public service
in military, medicine, or Parliament.
I began to understand the idea of separate spheres, as I could see the
distressed look upon Charlottes face. Her idea of separate spheres was
education between the sexes. Suddenly, her face became inquisitive and began to
ask me questions about my sphere. With an explanation of equal educational
opportunities for social class and sex, she began to ask about my training to
become a teacher. While opening a local newspapers classified ad, she disclosed
the varied requirements to become a teacher or governess. Generously, she gave
me this which I added as an entry to this diary.
The children were returning to the schoolroom. Charlotte quickly brought
me to her study room and instructed to stay there until the school day ended. As
I sat on the high back couch, I closed my eyes and immediately fell asleep. When
Charlotte woke me, I explained that I must return to the rocks to go home. She
agreed, and placed papers in my hand to read when I was home.
After thanking her and saying goodbye, I ran back to the forest and found
the large rocks I entered through. I slipped myself through the rocks, and found
myself back at the familiar playground of my elementary school. The children
were dismissed and the day was almost over. I reached into my pocket to find my
car keys and also found Charlottes letter, editorial, and a Victorian school
brochure. I stood reading the letter, editorial, and brochure, and I realized the
separate spheres between our worlds. Not only being in separate countries and
centuries, education in the 21st century is in a separate sphere today.