From 1800 to 1850, there’s no doubt that education was not at the top of the Acadian agenda. The lack of infrastructure and a well-trained teaching staff did little to enhance the value of education. For most Acadian families, other avenues are needed to survive. Among young boys, for example, many set sail on fishing schooners as early as age 12. Others opted for the axe, and at 14, many left for the lumber camps to try their luck as lumberjacks. Lastly, some worked on the farm. As for the daughters, they took on some of their mother’s chores. By necessity, for many young Acadians, school was primarily a part-time occupation, during those times of the year when their services were not required at home, on the farm or in the lumberyards. This explains why teachers have to deal with irregular student attendance throughout the school year.

And yet, from the early 1800s, provincial authorities strove to promote education and convince parents of its importance. But material resources were lacking, textbooks were almost impossible to find, and most were in English. What’s more, competent French-speaking teachers are a rare commodity, since teacher training is only offered in English, and only began in New Brunswick after 1850. The Acadian regions of New Brunswick have to rely on itinerant teachers. All these factors meant that education was reserved for the English-speaking elite, whose members had access to administrative positions. However, it was in these small, modest schools, in very difficult conditions, that many of the future pioneers of the Acadian elite first learned their trade. Pascal Poirier, Placide Gaudet, Armand Landry, Marcel-François Richard and others received no other elementary education than that provided in these small, often poorly maintained schools, with untrained teachers.

• Vertical half-timbering
• Cedar shingle exterior
• Interior walls plastered with three feet of pine board panelling
• Small stage at the entrance, used as a podium for the teacher’s desk
• Smoke-black plaque painted on the wall as a picture
• Small “box” type stove is the heating system