Figure 1.--These photographs have no identifying information, but we believce that they are Swiss school groups on a hiking expedition. You can tell that they arehikers because of the boots they are wearing. We would guess that the photographs were taken about 1940. We might have guessed they were Gernan teenagers, but we do not see any Hitler Youth gear which sufggests to us that they are Swiss. The caps also look more Swiss than German. We see both boy and girl groups. Perhaps readers will recognize the square and fountain. Put your cursor on the image to see the girls. Notice that there is not a car in sight.

We note the same activities in Swiss schools that were commom in schools throughout Europe. We do not have many school activities images yet. We have found many Swiss school photographs, but most are mostly posed class portraits and not images illustrating activities. Classroom activities were fairly standard. Most Swiss children walked to school. Most villages of any size had primary schools. Secondary schools were more limited. Many children before World War II did not pursue their education beyond primary school. Children in rural areas who wanted to go to secondary school, had to be taken in by relatives in the cities . Some schools were better equipped than others which of course affected activities. We do have a question about Swiss school lunches. The activity program at Swiss schools tended to be somewhat different than in America. Swiss and other Europan schools had a more academic orientationn than in America. American schools developed extebsive extra-curricular activity programs. Spoets foe example becane very important in American schools, but we do not see that in Swiss schools. Not that it was all academics, but the extra-curricular activity program was much more limited. One activity we note is school hiking trips. We note school groups in various areas of the country. Both boys and girls participated, although in separate groups.

Coming to School

Most Swiss children walked to school. Most villages of any size had primary schools. Secondary schools were more limited. Many children before World War II did not pursue their education beyond primary school. Children in rural areas who wanted to go to secondary school, had to be taken in by relatives in the cities.

Classroom Activities

Classroom activities are fairly standard. The activity program at Swiss schools tended to be somewhat different than in America. Swiss and other Europan schools had a more academic orientation than in America. Not that it was all academics, but the extra-curricular activity program was much more limited. We see fairly standard classroom arrangements through the World War II era, meaning banks of benches which left little room of movement. The children all faced the teacher at his or her desk or at the black board. Chalk and slate boards were the limits of technology. The children were set in place to mlisten to the teacher and work with slate boards and class note books. Recitations were important. There was little group activity. And indows and light were limited. We see this begin to change after the revovery from the War. (Switzerland managed to stay out of gthe War, but was the economy was badly affected by the War.) We see the class rooms opening up with more windows and light. And we see the old school benches which served for a century being done away with and the children provided with individual desks. We see far less emphasis on recitations. Even though Swiss clss rooms today are very different than pre-War classrooms, we note reports of poor air quality. ["Poor ...."] The greatest change in the Swiss classroom has not just been opening it up but the adoption of tcvhnomlgy, namely calculatirs and computers. Swiss educators are now debating just how much technology is beneficial in the classroom. [Leybold-Johnson]

Lunch

We do have a question about Swiss school lunches. We are not entirely sure when this phitograph was taken. It could be the children going to school in the morming or coming home in the afternoon. We tend to think they are going home, in part because they look so happy and even rushing. I doubt id they were so enthusiastiv in the moning. they are all together. In the morning they would have been more spread out. One reader thought they might be going to a central kitchen to get soup. But I don't think Swiss villages had central kitchens. I think the pails are for lunch. But I don't think they were simple pails. Rather I think they may have contained separate containers inside, one of which may have been for soup. Here I am not sure, but hopefully our Swiss readers will be able to provide some insights. One might have thought that in a village school that the children went home for lunch. Perhaps these children had further to walk.

Field Trips

We do not have much informatiin about Swiss school field trips. We are not sure when schools began orgnizing field trips. We have not yet found any evidence of field trips before World War II. That does not mean that none took place, just that we do not yet have any evidence of such activity. We do see the children taking school trips ater the War. We note that the Swiss Federal Railroads are supportive of school activities. Switerland has an excellent rail system giving the schools a mobility that in America is more often provided by yellow school busses. It meant that children in village schools could easily, get to art galleries, historical sites, museums, parks, zoos, and other sights of interest

Sports

American schools developed extebsive extra-curricular activity programs. Spoets foe example becane very important in American schools, but we do not see that in Swiss schools. In Europe sports are often done as club activities outside of the school. We see this pproach in many European countries. It is quite common, for example, in Germany and Swiss schoo mpractices are very similar to those in Germany, in large measure because so many Swiss are ethnic Germans.

Hiking Trips

One activity we note is school hiking trips. We note school groups in various areas of the country. Both boys and girls participated, although usually in separate groups. These photographs have no identifying information, but we believce that they are Swiss school groups on a hiking expedition (figure 1). You can tell that they are hikers because of the boots they are wearing. We would guess that the photographs were taken about 1940, probably during World War II. We might have guessed they were Gernan teenagers, but we do not see any Hitler Youth gear which sufggests to us that they are Swiss. The caps also look more Swiss than German. We see both boy and girl groups. Perhaps readers will recognize the square and fountain. Put your cursor on the image to see the girls. Notice that there is not a car in sight.

Sources

Leybold-Johnson, Isobel. "How much tech should be in Swiss classrooms?" SWI (November 29, 2018).

"Poor air quality in two thirds of Swiss classrooms," Le News (May 3, 2019).

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Created: 6:45 AM 7/26/2015
Last updated: 7:02 PM 7/15/2019