Monday, March 26, 2018

The Forbidden Schoolhouse by Suzanne Jurmain - ADVISABLE


Jurmain, Suzanne The Forbidden Schoolhouse : The True and Dramatic Story of Prudence Crandall and Her Students, 143 pages. NON-FICTION. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2005. $10. Content: G.

In 1831 Connecticut, Prudence Crandall admits a black student to her elite girls’ boarding school. When the parents threaten to remove the white students, if the black student remains, Prudence decides to turn the school into a boarding school of black students.  This begins a legal battle with the town, sending Prudence to jail, and powerful men on both sides of the issue take it all the way to the state supreme court.  

Miss Crandall is such a strong woman who sticks to her word until the very bitter end.  She put her school, her family, her reputation, everything on the line for education - for educating those who needed it the most - girls who were willing to be teachers.  What an inspiring story! Includes captioned photographs of the school, historical drawings and people, a fascinating appendix with "what happened" to the key players, source material, a bibliography and an index.  This would make a great supplement in a social studies class.

EL, MS - ADVISABLE Lisa Librarian

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