Schools have changed much, but basic principles remain the same

Compulsory education for elementary-aged children was a priority to 19th-century Americans.

It was believed that schools created a common bond among an ever increasing diverse population of immigrants, and could preserve social stability and prevent crime and poverty. As families settled newly opened regions of the country, the first building constructed after a home was a neighborhood school.

In 1836, the first school lessons in Lake County were taught by Laura Sprague at her family's cabin in Half Day. The following year, a proper schoolhouse was built in Libertyville. By the start of the Civil War in 1861, there were about 70 one-room schoolhouses in the county.

Schools taught the basics including arithmetic, reading, penmanship and history. The school year was divided into two terms: summer was from May to August, and winter was from November until the middle of March. This schedule was to accommodate farm families who needed their children to help with the planting and harvesting of crops.

One-room schoolhouses were funded by the families whose children attended them. If the farm families were rich, they would hire a carpenter to build the school; otherwise, they would pitch-in and do the work themselves.

Parents had the option of sending their older children to private schools, known as academies. The academy curriculum tended toward college prep courses and cost anywhere from $2 for a course in German to $3.75 for science and $5.25 for Latin. Local academies included the Waukegan Academy (1848-1869), Wauconda Academy (1856-c. 1866), Lake Forest Academy (1858-present), and the Northwestern Military Academy (1888-1915). In 1915, the latter academy relocated from Highland Park to Lake Geneva, Wis., where today it is known as St. John's Northwestern Military Academy.

Public high schools became important for continued education as families turned from a life of subsistence farming to farming as a business, and people went to work in offices and factories.

The first high school classes were held in Lake County in 1870 at the Central School grade school in Waukegan. Four students graduated from the program in 1874. By 1896, Waukegan had more than 160 high school students.

Today, Lake County has 18 traditional public high schools, in addition to special education facilities. Almost all states require children to begin school between the ages of 5 and 7. The age when children stop school varies from 16 to 18, although statistics show that a college degree is ever-more important to an individual's earning capabilities.

• Diana Dretske, author of "Lake County, Illinois: An Illustrated History" is the collections coordinator for the Lake County Discovery Museum. The Lake County Discovery Museum, a department of the Lake County Forest Preserves, is an award-winning regional history museum on Route 176, west of Fairfield Road near Wauconda. The museum is open from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Call (847) 968-3400 for information.