Early Education

Few Islanders enjoyed the advantages of education in the early years of the 19th century. The mere fact that a man could read and write raised him at once above the level of the masses. Education was still under the control of the clergy. The teacher as well as the preacher had to obtain his license from the Bishop or Ordinary. There had been private schools from the first, but these were for the children of ”gentle people”. Gentle folk were then recognized as a distinct caste. To them pertained the exclusive right of exercising authority. The gentleman needed a liberal education and proper training to perform certain duties, whereas the lower citizen was supposed to have needed only skill in his craft. It was deemed unwise to educate a man‘ above his station. The result was that country schools, such as Brackley, called only on a knowledge of nature and of the main

industry, agriculture.

This was the time of the one room schoolhouse. Ten grades with from thirty to sixty pupils gathered, studied and learned in one room under the auspices of only one teacher. The furniture was simple: two or three rows of double desks; a pot—bellied stove; a blackboard, and some maps. Slates were extremely popular. The success of the school depended wholly on the teacher, who was looked upon as a person of higher l‘earning in the community. A grade eight certificate usually signified that the pupil would be leaving school.

The highlight of the school year was the Christmas concert. All children took part, some singing, others reciting in a play or dialogue. Everyone from the district, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, young children, and even babies, attended these concerts. The Charlottetown paper even announced its date and time. The concerts usually began at eight and lasted approximately two hours.

Early records indicate that the Brackley school was located on George Bryenton’s property. At this time it was adjacent to the church across the road from its present site. The first teacher, John Arbuckle, came in 1834. Following that term the school was closed for a few years.

In 1838, the school inspector, Richard Quinn, made the following report about the school:

”This station has been vacant since 1835. Brackley is a sufficient and suitable schoolhouse, which was visited recently after its reopening in 1839, under Neil MacKinnon. Twenty-five scholars are under his direction. Many are well advanced in their education due to the excellent tutoring of a former teacher, J. Arbuckle, several years before. The state of the school was promising: it is hoped that many improvements will be manifested

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