This photograph was taken circa 1896 by Charles W. Mathers as an historical documentation of the first school built in Edmonton, Alberta. The historical context behind this photo illustrates clearly the demarcation of the sexes at the beginning of the Canadian public education system; in addition, it provides an emphasis on how social expectations regarding the separate gender spheres prevailed both at home and in school during the 19th century. This photograph was taken as both a means of documentation for such a monumental landmark in Canadian history, as a photographic record of enrolment, and as a means to showcase the existence of Edmonton’s first school. This sort of photograph may have also been published in a local, regional, or national newspaper for the rest of the Canadian population to observe the ways in which Alberta was progressing and to promote re-location to and settlement in and around that area of the province.

The quality of the photo appears to be well-preserved, it is 15.9 x 23.1 cm in size and was developed on positive paper silver. The caption written at the bottom left-hand corner of the photograph reads “Edmonton’s First School Built in 1881” which indicates when the school was built and the location of the school, however does not specify the year in which it was taken. In the photograph there is an old-fashioned, one-room, wooden school house which had just been completed and opened to the residents of Edmonton less than a decade prior. There are three rows of children standing in front of the school, with two adults standing one on either side of the group of children. With a total of approximately 50 people positioned on a grassy knoll outside of the school yard posing for photographer Mathers to record both proof of Edmonton’s first school along with the students and teachers who attended the school.

The children appear to be between the ages of four to 15 and are standing or sitting uniformly in front of the camera, each child is each dressed up in presentable clothing and it is to be presumed that they were on their best behaviour. The body language of those photographed is polite and respectable which would have been expected from and enforced upon a group of young students attending school. The two adults positioned on each side of the children are also dressed in formal clothing and appear to be the educators of the students which they stand nearest to. The children are essentially divided by sex with the majority of boys standing at the left of the photo nearest the male teacher and all of the girls crowded to the right side of the photo standing closest to the female teacher. Although there are a few boys standing amidst the female teacher in the photo, these boys appear to be younger and Caucasion in comparison to the boys standing with her male counterpart. The male teacher appears to have governance over the older and ethnic students which leads one to believe that they were the students deemed to need male discipline, male guidance, or simply a male role model. This separation of male and female students is indicative of the social mores and traditions of the time period in which this photo was taken.

This photograph demonstrates the clear division of labour between male and female educators in the 19th century. Based upon the image, it can be presumed that although there are some boys intermingled on the female teacher’s ‘side’ of the photograph, it appears that she was in charge of the overall education of girls and took on the education of the youngest male students from that locale. It it clear upon scrutinization that the male teacher only has male students positioned on ‘his side’ of the photograph; it would be reasonable to assume then, that the boys were placed at this side of the photograph because the male educator was in charge of the overall education of these older and ethnic boys. The male teacher in this photo likely played an administrative role as a school principal alongside his duty of teaching students. It would have been common in the 19th century to have had an authoritative male figure to keep any poorly behaved children in line, therefore, it is likely that this authoritative figure also played a role of civilizing any students whom were not in the best social standings. It stands to reason then, that the female teacher would have been responsible for teaching the female students feminine or academic tasks while the male teacher was accountable for educating his students in more masculine and hands-on subjects.

Upon first glance, one can surmise that there is a clear and definite division in male and female gender roles with regard to education in Western Canada. What can be surmised from the information outlined and gathered from this photograph is that the bulk of the educational and academic work fell to the female educator; however, what one can gather from this image is that the male figure was the primary authoritative role and remained responsible for the education, development, and overall comportment of the older and ethnic male students whom are positioned nearest to him in the photo. This photograph of Edmonton, Alberta’s first school immediately calls attention to the historical distribution of labour within the education system while simultaneously illuminating the social and cultural context behind this distribution of labour and the separate gender spheres that were prevalent during this time.