Labor Day is the unofficial end of summer when most kids return to school. Each year approximately 78 million of child leave their beach buckets and lazy summer days behind and head back to school. Check out these fun back-to-school facts for kids.
The History of School
Did you know that not everyone was allowed to go to school? It’s true! Thomas Jefferson promoted a free public education for all students; however, it wasn’t until 1840 that public schools opened to all children in the United States. Before that, only wealthy children got to attend school.
What do Benjamin Franklin, John Hanco*ck, Robert Treat Paine, Samuel Adams, and William Hopper have in common? They all signed The Declaration of Independence and attended Boston’s Latin School.
Boston Latin School is the United States’ oldest public school. It opened on April 23, 1635.
Can you imagine a time when teenagers didn’t go to school? High school didn’t exist until the 1930s! High school started during the Great Depression due to a lack of jobs.
It was decided to keep teenagers in school and out of the workforce to leave more job openings for adults with families to get jobs.
Teachers
Teaching is one of the most important jobs in the entire world! Teachers are the ones who set children up for success. Teachers help children learn to read, write, add and subtract; the list goes on and on.
There are about 3.7 million teachers in the United States. Teachers attend college for four years and earn a bachelor’s degree and a teaching certificate.
In most areas, teachers are required to attend two years of graduate school to earn their master’s degree. Some teachers will continue attending school for another two years and earn a doctorate.
Some people believe teachers have an easy schedule, working only 6 hours a day. This isn’t true at all.
Most teachers work 10-hour days. They do everything in the classroom with the children, then go home and contact parents, make lesson plans, grade papers, and purchase supplies needed for the classroom.
School Bus
In the U.S, approximately 480,000 school buses bring children back and forth to school each day. School buses are yellow because yellow attracts more attention than any other color. They are meant to stand out so that other drivers notice them.
School buses have a red stop sign that comes out when they stop. The red stop sign reminds cars to stop and wait for children to cross the street safely.
Children need to stay seated on the bus and not distract the bus driver. Bus drivers have a very important job; they keep the children safe while transporting them to school.
Crayons
In 1903 Crayola started making crayons. They originally only came in 8 colors: blue, black, brown, green, orange, red, violet, and yellow. Now Crayola makes 120 different colors! In 1962 Crayola changed the color flesh to peach.
The change happened to recognize that skin tone comes in various colors. By the time a child turns ten years old, they have worn down 730 crayons!
Pencils
The word pencil may have come from the Latin word penicilius, meaning little tail. Worldwide more than 14 billion pencils are made every year. On average, a single pencil can be sharpened 17 times and write 45,000 words!
Pencils can write in space with zero gravity, underwater, and upside down. A single pencil can draw a line 35 miles long. Pencil “ink” is made out of a mixture of clay and graphite.
Pencil makers added the eraser to the pencil in 1858. Before erasers, it was common for people to erase pencils using crumbs from white bread. Teachers resisted erasers. Originally teachers did not want pencils to have erasers because they felt it would encourage children to make mistakes.
Fun Back to School Facts for Kids
- In the 1300s, a pencil was a fine paintbrush made of fine animal hair.
- The tradition of giving apples to teachers originates from 16th century Denmark. Parents would pay the teachers with food because teachers didn’t’ earn much money.
- 2.4% of children worldwide suffer from Didaskaleinophobia, which is the fear of going to school.
- The average American family spends between $500-$700 back-to-school shopping each year. That means Americans spend over 8 billion dollars on back-to-school shopping every year!
- Pencils are the top-selling back-to-school item.
- Elementary School students are grades Kindergarten -5th
- Middle School or Jr. High Students are grades 6th-8th
- High School students are grades 9th -12th
- Tax-Funded Schools. Primarily property taxes fund public schools.
- Over half of parents go back-to-school shopping solely online.
- The average backpack weighs 20% of the student’s body weight.
- In 1995 only 50% of schools in the U.S had internet. In 2022 100% of public schools will have internet.
- Most elementary school kids say recess is their favorite part of the day.
Back-to-School Worksheets
Click the links below fro free printable Back-to-School worksheets
