This is a photograph of a one room school that was built in 1893 and is located in New Westminster, British Columbia and it was taken after the completion of construction and after its grand opening as a means to document the occasion for archival purposes as well as to potentially publish the image in newspapers to inform the public about British Columbia’s progressive efforts with education. This photo depicts approximately 35 students, six adults, and, at the right corner, a dog. There appear to be four men and three women who are presumably the facilitators of the school acting as administrators (i.e. principal/secretary work) or played the role of educators. The students are divided by gender with the boys positioned on the left side and the girls are situated on the right side. There is no clear division of the adults based on their gender however, which may imply that there was not a clear division of labour among the teachers based on gender; though it is possible that the students were segregated according to gender during instructional time as well. Each of the individuals pictured are garbed in presentable clothing and appear to be Caucasian which leads one to believe the students were likely of the middle class.
Comments by Oliver