This week we read a book by that title as we've studying the 19th century. Over the past couple of weeks we've been learning a lot about Queen Victoria and Britain during her reign. This book (as were others in this series) was a favorite with my people as it talked (in very humorous detail) about the demands placed on the servants that would have worked for the wealthier members of society.
Being a teacher who goes to great lengths to ensure that her students receive plenty of opportunities to learn in a variety of ways (and not at all because my floors hadn't been mopped in over a month), I decided that hands-on servant training was just the thing they would need to really convince them that they did not, in fact, want to be a Victorian servant!
I announced their assignment, gave them each a rag and a bucket of soapy water and set them to work scrubbing the floors. They were hesitant at first (their assignments are usually much more enjoyable), but then they quickly got into character after reminding me that we'd read about the master's often changing the servants names upon their hiring if they were not pleased with the names they'd been given by their parents (they thought that was hilarious). So I quickly issued them proper English names: "Henry" for Travis, "Oliver" for Sam and "Victoria" for Caroline (we decided that she had high hopes for marrying out of her situation one day).
Henry, Oliver and Victoria did a positively splendid job on the floors and then promptly moved out into the "gardens" to beat the rug (they liked that part a little too much). Since the more experienced servants were payed somewhere around $58 per year, I decided that they would each receive $.15 for their days' wages. Best $.45 I've spent in a long time.
Benjamin was not at all interested in trying his hand at servitude, however, he would be more than willing to accompany the British as a Native American on one of their many attacks against those pesky Americans. So long as he gets to wear this:
Being a teacher who goes to great lengths to ensure that her students receive plenty of opportunities to learn in a variety of ways (and not at all because my floors hadn't been mopped in over a month), I decided that hands-on servant training was just the thing they would need to really convince them that they did not, in fact, want to be a Victorian servant!
I announced their assignment, gave them each a rag and a bucket of soapy water and set them to work scrubbing the floors. They were hesitant at first (their assignments are usually much more enjoyable), but then they quickly got into character after reminding me that we'd read about the master's often changing the servants names upon their hiring if they were not pleased with the names they'd been given by their parents (they thought that was hilarious). So I quickly issued them proper English names: "Henry" for Travis, "Oliver" for Sam and "Victoria" for Caroline (we decided that she had high hopes for marrying out of her situation one day).
Henry, Oliver and Victoria did a positively splendid job on the floors and then promptly moved out into the "gardens" to beat the rug (they liked that part a little too much). Since the more experienced servants were payed somewhere around $58 per year, I decided that they would each receive $.15 for their days' wages. Best $.45 I've spent in a long time.
Benjamin was not at all interested in trying his hand at servitude, however, he would be more than willing to accompany the British as a Native American on one of their many attacks against those pesky Americans. So long as he gets to wear this: