The room I’m sitting in with my pupils in Craggagh National School, Co Mayo, Ireland was built in 1884…..a leap year! I wonder what went on in this room on February 29th 1884?
Well, for a start, the student population was about 3 times what it is today. The average family size has dropped significantly over the past 128 years. Also, in 1884, boys and girls were kept separate, separate teachers, separate classes and separate playground.
The photocopier is working very hard beside me here and there are 10 laptops/PCs buzzing with bloggers. How would someone from 1884 interpret that sentence?!
The concept of using a “slate” in school has changed dramatically since then too! Children in 1884 used white chalk to write on slates, today’s child sees slates in a very different way!
I was told once that children will not remember everything you teach them but they’ll remember “how” you taught them.
In future leap years, I hope my pupils will remember Feb 29th, 2012 fondly!
