Desk, School

Description

School desk of cherry and white pine, designed to seat six students. The tapered legs, aprons, and the top frame made of cherry. The desk lids and writing surfaces, and interiors of individual compartments, made of white pine, including the till in each. Iron butt hinges allow the lids to open, while brass spring-loaded catches hold the lids closed. The lid supports pivot.

Notes

Children raised by the Shakers were educated for a few months every year. Boys went to school in the winter, and girls attended school in the summer. The Shaker system of education was established in the early 19th century by Seth Youngs Wells (1767-1847) of Mount Lebanon, who taught and administered in the public schools before becoming a Shaker. He travelled to other eastern societies in the summer of 1823 with the purpose of organizing a uniform educational system among all Believers. Wells used the Lancasterian system of education. Invented by English schoolteacher Joseph Lancaster (1778-1838) at the end of the 18th century, the method proved effective in schooling large numbers of pupils with only one schoolmaster. Older students would teach younger ones specific drills in reading or arithmetic; a highly organized system of competition and rewards hastened the amount of material covered. Within a decade of its introduction into public schools, the Lancasterian method of teaching was used widely in Europe, Asia, and North America, where it significantly improved the education of poor children. By the time Seth Wells sought to institute universal education among Shaker-raised children, the Lancasterian system had already been widely-praised and practiced throughout rural America. This desk seats six pupils, and provided both a storage space and a writing surface. There are six separate compartments under the top, and each is accessible by a lid that folds open toward the pupil. When open, each lid rests at an angle on an arm that swings out from the side of the desk. One lid bears the inscription "Emma Shaffer," who in 1896 was fourteen years old and under the guardianship of Mount Lebanon Elder Calvin Reed (1821-1900).[1] [1] "School District Number 12, Town of New Lebanon, N.Y., Clerks Record," p. 56. The Emma B. King Library, Shaker Museum and Library, Old Chatham, N.Y.