School Books and Other Instruction Books – Then and Now

It seems I’ve been on a journey into the past for the last two weeks. I’ve shared things with you about 1968 as that is the year in which my novels are set. Heads up! Book two will end in 1969.

One thing you know about me, I love old things. Even if you didn’t know that you could figure it out by the things about which I write.

I also love words. I have several books on my shelves on the etymology of words. These books aren’t particularly old. Well, to some of you, they will be, but they aren’t to me. The oldest was published in 1959, and the newest in 1986.

ON MY SHELVES

School Books and Other Instruction Books - Then and Now @DDuPreeWilliams #writing #books #oldbooks Share on X

My collection of books includes many old children’s books and readers from when I was in grammar school. Among those are also many old music books. I studied music in college, so that seemed fitting.

Also among my old books are grammar, composition, spelling, and literature books. The oldest book on my shelves dates from 1815 and is the second edition of Sir Walter Scott’s Lady of the Lake. It came to me by way of my mother-in-law who inherited it from her mother and is in good shape considering it is 208 years old. It even has several illustrations.

The newest books on my shelves would be my many writing books. I have so many, I can’t even begin to speak about those.

In 1997, when my youngest son was seven, I bought Scholastic Guides, Writing With Style, at the Scholastic Book Fair. Do they still have those book fairs? I loved those events! I always bought teacher-requested books for their classroom and I filled our home with books. With four sons, you can’t even begin to imagine how many books lined shelves in our home. And this was before I began writing.

What surprises me the most with these books, especially the English grammar books, is the level of difficulty of the assignments from the time my sister was a senior in 1961, to the time our youngest was a senior in 2009. My sister’s grammar book is filled with examples of how to diagram a sentence. Our youngest had no clue what that was. So sad. I loved diagramming sentences. Did you learn this fun skill?

GEMS INSIDE

One book dated 1926 has my father-in-law’s name in the front. He was a 1936 graduate of Phillips High School in Birmingham, Alabama. His textbook was Everyday English by Laird. Walker. Locke. Here is a quote from this book. The ability to express thought with power and beauty is a gift. This is in the introduction of this book, to the student who is about to study it. I wish you could see all the gems inside.

Another book, Junior English in Action, Book One, was published in 1933. Imagine my surprise when I looked inside to find examples of superior to poor cursive handwriting. I hate to admit it, but some of my sons have no clue how to write in cursive. I made them all learn to write their signature if nothing else. The eldest is 45, and the youngest is 32, with a 43 and a 41 in between. I’ll let you guess who can and who can’t read or write cursive.

They don’t even teach cursive in our public schools today. At least in the schools we see grandparents posting about. I’m certain that home-schooling moms and dads make sure this skill is learned. It begs the question—how will they ever be able to read our ancient governmental documents for themselves? How can they be the family genealogist if they can’t read the old, old wills or deeds and such? As the family genealogist, I cannot begin to tell you how important those old documents are to one’s research.

These only touch the basics of my collection of such books. I love looking through them, not only for content, but as I’ve done here, to compare how greatly our educational system has changed since the days of our grandparents and parents, and even since our school days.

COME AND BROWSE

If you are ever in my area and you’d like to come browse through any of my old books, send me an email or contact me here on my blog. I’d love to share my collection with you. It will very likely take you on another trip down Memory Lane.

As always, while reading old words, don’t forget to read the Word, your Bible. I can recommend the ones we use, and I’ll gladly share the plans we use for getting through it in one year. The new year will be here before we know it and is the perfect time to begin to read it straight through.

Blessings, y’all!

Another beautiful we were blessed to sing. Great group of singers here. On a personal note, our eldest son has his Executive MBA from Oxford University, Said School of Business. Proud Mama!