The Primer was the very first book that one received when starting school. Vi (Schnieder) Stansfield started school soon after turning six years of age. One's first year of school was not termed Kindergarten but rather Primer. The public school grades were termed:
Many rural schools, such as Glengoland public school where Vi attended, had only one classroom where all the grades were taught. There were usually thirty five or more students in the classroom. Discpline was important as there were so many students and grades taught at one time.
According to Vi, the teacher read to the students and taught the students the sounds that each letter and combinations of letters made. The teacher read the stories out loud and the students were asked to read aloud too. There was a lot of silent individual reading as the teacher had to work with the other grades. Unless you were spoken to and asked to read or answer a question, talking in class was not tolerated.
