Figure 1.-- This is a graduation portrait which looks like the 1910s, perhaps the early-20s. A note on the back read, "8th gr Addie Richmond top Eight Grade Graduation". At the time, most children did not go on to highschool (secondary school). I think Addie was one of the children. we think it means that Addie was one of the girls in the top row. I am guessing this was a party ast one of the children's homes in a small town. It clearly was not at the school. Put your cursor on the image to see the rest of the class.

Graduation was a major event in a young person's life and of course still is. Some schools now turn finishing pre-school/kindergarden into a big event. This did not used to be the case. We see some schools with caps and gowns for the little ones. Until after World War II, finishing primary (elementary) school was a big event. This commonly meant graduating 8th grade. We note a graduation portrait of the Hogan children in 1907. The girls wears a flouncy white party dress and the boy wears a a knee pants suit. Here we see a graduating group, we think in the 1910s (figure 1). Note that the girls still wear white party dresses, but the boys are now wearing knickers. High school began with the 9th grade. We behan to see junior high schools and middle schools, but finishing finishing 8th grade no longer became such an important event as high schools become more common. Few children attended high school in the 19th century. And graduation was a major accomplishment. Attendance began to increase during the Depression (1930s) as jobs were hard to come boy. Until World War II, most children did not go beyond the 8th grade. Graduation portarits show just how seriously the children and parents took it with very formal attire, diploms, and awards, but no caps and gowns. This began to change as an increasinly sophisticated job market demanded better educated personnel. Thus 8th grade graduations became less important. Gradually elementary school begame the first 6 years and junior high schools were opened in the cities. And as the GI Bill made college accessable to veterans, they began sending their children to highschool. State legislatures began passiong laws requiring children to stay in school ubntil 1ge15-016byears. This meant begnning high school. After World war II with the widespread prosperity, attending high school became standard. Graudating from high school was a major very formal event conducted with academic gowns.

Chronology

Graduation was a major event in a young person's life and of course still is. Few children attended high school in the 19th century. And graduation was a major accomplishment. e are not sure about the 19th century, but by the late-10th centuty we begin to see grafuation portraits in the photographic record. Factors are rising affluence as a result iof industril development, child labor laws, and cimpulsory school attendanve laws. We see countless graduarion portraits in in the early-20th century. Most elementary (primary) schools were 8 grade schools. And they had 8th grade graduations. Graduation portarits show just how seriously the children and parents took it with very formal attire, diploms, and awards, but no caps and gowns. School attendance increase further during the Depression, because of the lack of jobs (1930s) as jobs were so hard to come by. Until the Depression/World War II, most America children did not go beyond the 8th grade. This began to change as an increasinly sophisticated job market demanded better educated personnel. Thus 8th grade graduations became less important. Gradually elementary school begame the first 6 years and junior high schools were opened in the cities. And as the GI Bill made college accessable to veterans, they began sending their children to highschool. State legislatures began passiong laws requiring children to stay in school ubntil 1ge15-016byears. This meant begnning high school. After World war II with the widespread prosperity, attending high school became standard. Graudating from high school was a major very formal event conducted with academic gowns.

Levels

Some schools now turn finishing pre-school/kindergarden into a big event. This did not used to be the case. We see some schools with caps and gowns for the little ones. Until after World War II, finishing primary (elementary) school was a big event. This commonly meant graduating 8th grade. And there were graduation ceremonies in hich the children dressed up. We note a graduation portrait of the Hogan children in 1907. The girls wears a flouncy white party dress and the boy wears a knee pants suit. Here we see a graduating group, we think in the 1910s (figure 1). Note that the girls still wear white party dresses, but the boys are now wearing knickers. This is less true today. Primary (elementary) school varies in the different states. It can end in 5th to 6th 8th grade. But we do not note major graduation creemonies at ghe end of either primary or middle/junior high schools. High school began with the 9th grade. We begin to see junior high schools and middle schools, but finishing finishing 8th grade no longer became such an important event as high schools become more common.

Academic Gowns

The origins of academic dress is interesting to understand. It hoes to back to medieval Europe and the appearance of the university, a basically European Christian creation. The Church at the time dominated education. And the early iniversuties were Church creations. They began to appear (12th-13th centuries). The curriuculum was not limited to theology, but that was an important part of early university studies. But the primaty study of natural history (pre-science) and math was pat the time primry conducted by cklerics. It is thus not surprising that the ordinary dress of the scholar, whether student or teacher, was the dress of a cleric. Medieval scholars in early universities had usually taken at least minor orders, made certain vows, and sometimes been tonsured. Masters (lecturers) and students wore long gowns. The same was true of the urbn population in general. This was less true for the rural peasantry because it was not very practical. Long gowns were not just fashion. They were practical in unheated, drafty buildings. Hoods helped cover tonsured heads until the scull cap appeared for that purpose. The Roman pileus quadratus was a type of skullcap with superposed square and tump (small mound). Thia appears ti hve evolved into the biretta worn by Roman Catholic and in England High Church Anglican clergy. This evolved into the more recognizable modern mortarboard. There was no lone unversal rule for academic dress thrioughout Europe. There were similarities, but each university had its own rules and traditions. The University of Coimbra (Portugal) required that all 'Doctors, Licentiates, and Bachelors' wear gowns (1321). University colleges in England tended to forbid 'excess in apparel' and mandated the wearing of a long gown (14th century). Oxford and Cambridge first began laying down more specifics in academic dress. It became an accepted matter of university control and colleges began established very definitive rules to great detail. University academic dress filtered down to schools as they developed in various countries. We see masters wearing academic gowns being worm in various English schools, especually secondary schools, especially private schools knto into the 20th century. European universuties from the beganing had diverse rules about academic dress. American colleges and universities chose a more uniform system. Academic fress is mostly limited to colleges and universities in America where the professors and and acadaemic admisistrators wear it for a variety of ceremonies, including gradution. Secondary schools mostly reserve it for graduation ceremonies..

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Created: 1:22 AM 12/12/2009
Last updated: 1:14 AM 6/28/2018