Luke G. Boyd, director of education and public programs of Historic Richmond Town, spoke with Cheddar News about Voorlezer's House in Staten Island, NY, the site of one of the oldest schoolhouses in the country. The historic building, which was built around the 1700s, and Boyd explained the history behind the schoolhouse.

<div class="block">Luke G. Boyd, director of education and public programs of Historic Richmond Town spoke with Cheddar News about Voorlezer&#39;s House in Staten Island, NY, the site of one of the oldest schoolhouses in the country. The historic building, which was built around the 1700s, and Boyd explained the history behind the schoolhouse.</div>

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On The Scene: Voorlezer's House

With kids heading back into the classroom, Michelle Castillo is heading back in time to see how the students of these Dutch colonies learn Michelle. I'm here at house, which is actually the site of one of the oldest school houses in America. I'm joined with, by Luke G Boyd, who's the director of education and public programming here at historic Richmond Town. So tell us more about the school house. Oh, welcome Michelle. So this building was built in the 17 hundreds. We believed it was built in the 16 nineties. But some of our scholarship tells us a little bit later. But we know there was a laser who lived on this spot in Richmond Town on Staten Island and the laser was a teacher that's a Dutch word, meaning lay reader or one who reads to others. And so in those times, literacy was so important. It was the key essential thing that the older generation wanted the younger generation to learn here in the new world. And so that was the Voser chief responsibility to teach young people how to read. So you have some things that people would use to read in the 16 hundreds what is this? This is called a horn book. So this is an amazing object is a reproduction. So what you have here is a piece of wood and you have a thin piece of you, it almost feels like plastic, feels like plastic. So that's a protective layer of horn made from the horn of a ram or a piece of livestock. And that would be shorn down that protects the paper. And on that paper is a prayer, the alphabet numbers, things you need to learn in school. So what's important about this is that paper was so rare in the colonies. It was so hard to find. So every piece of paper was treasured. And so that is exemplified here in this corn book. Now, was it all Bible all the time? It was a lot of Bible. So the Dutch Reform Church was here in Richmond Town and they engaged Henrik Krosen to be the Voor Lazer here in the 16 nineties. So the chief aim of instruction was to learn the Christian catechisms of the Dutch Reform Church. Now, you have another instrument here. What is this? This uh looks like a stop sign or a lollipop. This is called the plunk or the plunk. And this is a uh item of corp, corporal punishment. OK. So yes, if a student was misbehaving, they'd be brought to the front of the class and the lazer would wrap them on the hand. OK. So what else? Happened at these meeting houses. I was reading a little bit about it and it's not just for school. Yeah, you're right. So, back in those times there weren't other places to convene, there wasn't a local Starbucks to go hang out at. So, religious services would often be held in a building like this. The Laser was a lay minister. So they weren't a priest but they could still preside over some of the sacraments that would be needed to go through the faith in Dutch reform. So they performed things like they held records of the town. They conducted baptisms. Sunday services were held in buildings like this. But I think it's also fair to think that the Voor Lazer was something of a community leader and that if there was a dispute or something going on between two people in town or a problem, someone had, they might come to the Voor Lazer for some advice to help straighten things out to help broker an agreement between two parties. Now let's take a look around because this is so interesting. So this is a replica of what actual schoolhouse would have looked like back in the day. That's right. So this is where the teacher would stand. I can see they have quills and candles. Yes, this is the Bible, we call it. So the Bible would be kept in here a big Bible among other things. And this large chair is similar to like a president's chair in a church. This is where the laser would sit and they would preside over class that would be sitting here and you probably notice it's a little dark in here. That's because there's no electricity. So you guys, so that would everything be done during candle light and mostly during the day. That's right. That's right. School was held during the day and young people as young as five or six, as old was 15 or 16 would be enrolled in school in the same school room. Wrap your mind around that different levels of kids in the same space, but they'd be here most of the day. Um And then they wouldn't be here in the harvest time of the year so they could help out with their folks on the farm. So let's take a look else around here. So I noticed when I was walking around, there's a bedroom. So who would live here? And kind of would it be the laser? This is like their quarters? Yeah, this is a great question we often get from our visitors is why is there a bed here? And that is correct. The Lazer had a wife and two kids and so they would have slept in this house. This was not just a place of work, a place of worship, it was also a residence. And so we interpret that by virtue of this very, very old reproduction looking rope bed, which as you can see here, it's not a, not a ceiling mattress, not a box spring, but a rope bed. And so you'd have to turn these ropes to get them nice and tight. Um, because eventually your body weight would just cause the bed to sag. So it's a really fun opportunity to talk to kids about that. No, a lot of schools have changed since the 16 hundreds, but that's one thing that has remained the same. You think? I think the importance of education in New York particularly is significant. And it's a theme that we see time and time again from the colonial experience through the early republic period. The first public schools are founded here in New York City in the 18 teens and 18 twenties. And we see by virtue of the kids who go to Richmond Town today and we're gonna have to leave it there right now. But we're going to explore more of historic Richmond Town, including the tribe that lived here back to you in the studio.