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A Journey in
Time
When walking through the hall ways of the historic Moorak
Homestead of Tenison Woods College you can’t help but wonder
about the past, the stories and memories of years gone by.
However, for a group of 65 Year 5 students, the next time
they walk through the schools corridors, glancing at honour
boards dating back to the 1930’s, they will now have a
deeper appreciation after taking a journey back in time to
the life of a student
in a 1950’s Australian Classroom recently.
With the Interactive Smartboard switched off for the day,
blackboard wheeled into place, desks in rows and dressed in
period costumes, the students witnessed first-hand what
life, and particularly schooling, was like by taking part in
an interactive workshop with visiting school master Mr Keith
Baverstock.
Immersing themselves into the 1950’s students arrived at
school for the day to find their room transformed into a
real 1950’s room and classes divided, with girls seated on
one side and boys on the other, just as many parents and
grandparents would recall from their early school-days.
Throughout the day classes explored aspects of daily life,
the discipline and rules of the schoolroom, the Oath of
Allegiance and saluting of the flag to start the day before
learning how to write on slate boards, later trying their
hand at writing calligraphy using a nib and ink.
Year 5 teacher, Sonia Braithwaite, said in the weeks leading
up to the presentation, students had been researching
everyday life in the 1950’s and looking back at some of the
major milestone’s in Australia’s history including the 1956
Melbourne Games, the construction of the Sydney Opera House
and the introduction of Television to homes across
Australia.
“It was a great opportunity to look at Australian History in
context and for students to be able to get a real
understanding for what it was like back in the 1950’s.”
“Often there is a tendency to forget the past, however
history is so important because each of us is part of the
history that takes place” Mrs Braithwaite said.
Punishment and discipline were
also outlined during the visit with special emphasis being
given to why the strap, cane, ruler and other items were
used to enforce discipline and its acceptance by students
and society in general. Those left handed students were also
reprimanded by their teacher Mr Baverstock
Year 5 student Ashleigh Widdison was among the students to
be amazed at how strict teachers were
and how few resources the children had access to back then.
“I would much rather be in school today, it was scary to
listen to what discipline was like such a long time ago.”
“We have so many more opportunities today.” Ashleigh said.
Describing the session as a great hands of approach to
learning, Mrs Braithwaite said the students were now able
understand the important role that history plays in the
present, shaping of the future and the need to value the
past in people’s lives.
“The unit of work has made the students realise and
appreciate what they have today, and it encourages them to
try to understand what life was like in a time that only
their grandparents would remember.
“Students have developed a keen interest in other eras, and
as a result have had many long discussions with their
parents and grandparents exchanging stories about life in
‘the good old days”
Mrs Braithwaite said.
Glad to once again be back in the contemporary classroom,
students will now use their research of the past and
experience of the present to predict what the future will
look like, completing their unit of work on ‘Time,
Continuity and Change’.
The travelling Classrooms from the Past presentation
has been running for over 23 years and has been bringing
history to life with an old fashioned manner of teaching for
more than 180,000 students around the nation.
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