Hallo:
I am new to the list and would like to ask a question. I am sorry, but
I don't read or write German yet, but I am trying to learn. I have been
reading in various books about how wonderful the Prussian educational
system was and in one book that I read dated 1909, it said that children
would go to elementary school until they were 13 or 14 and that it was
mandatory and working had to wait so that the children could get a good
education. That was in 1909.
My great-grandmother was born in 1880 in Reussen, Kreis Mohrungen, and
migrated to the United States in 1898. She could not read or write
German or English. I don't have proof of the occupation of her parents,
but old family stories are that they were sharecroppers in East Prussia.
My question is therefore - would the children of sharecroppers be
required to attend
school until the age of 13 or 14 in East Prussia? Since my
great-grandmother was born in 1880, that would mean she would have
started school in about 1886 and attended until 1894 (If what I read is
true). Does anyone know (based on the experience of your ancestors or
just general knowledge) if this expected mandatory schooling took place
in the 1886-1894 timeframe? I'm just finding a contradiction in what
I've been reading and wonder why my great-grandmother couldn't read or
write. (Fully realizing that perhaps she just might have been a poor
student). I'm trying to figure out if she would have been required to go
to school or not.
Thank you
Laura
Yes, indeed, schooling was mandatory for all Prussian children (i.e. in all
Prussian provinces) for eight school years. The type of school they were to
attend was the "Volksschule" (People's School) [exceptions see below].
However, in the country students were often allowed to stay home for certain
periods of the year to help their parents with the harvest or carry out
other agricultural duties so that actually some children attended school in
the winter only. Hence the common saying among such children, "Du kemmst ut
de Angst nich ruut, im Sommer bletzt et und im Winter mottst inne School"
(Fears never end, in summer there are flashes of lightning, and in winter
you have to attend school).
Those who were able to attend secondary school, left the "Volksschule" after
the initial four years and finished school after grade 10 or grade 12 (the
latter went to preparatory school).
As a general rule, students who finished "Volksschule" had good reading,
writing and basic math skills. Of course, as always, there might have been a
few exceptions. In the case of your great-grandmother, she might just have
claimed not to be able to read and write when she lived in a culturally
different environment, or her relatives might have misunderstood something.