The nation’s oldest institution of higher learning opened on this week in 1636 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Called the “New College,” it opened with a student body of nine. It was founded by Puritans, who hoped to duplicate the educational standards of Oxford and Cambridge for their sons. In 1639, the school was renamed in honor of John Harvard, a young minister who bequeathed his library and half his estate to the institution. Harvard stood alone in the American colonies for a long time — until 1693, when the second institution, the college of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, began teaching. Today, Harvard is one of about 4,500 U.S. colleges and universities, with an enrollment of more than 19 million students. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.
Sunday, September 8th. This is National Grandparents Day — recognizing the love and help they provide, and their growing importance to the survival of many American families. The special day was the idea of Marian McQuade of Fayette County, West Virginia, and has been observed nationally since 1979. Today, grandparents are increasingly not just relatives to be visited on holidays and weekends, but part of the year-round household for many children. Some 7 million grandparents, together or separated, have around 5.5 million minor grandchildren living with them. Putting it another way, 10 percent of America’s children under the age of 18 live with at least one grandparent, and almost 2 million of those grandparents are responsible for the children’s’ care. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.
Saturday, September 7th. Of the millions of students going to class in the new school year, many are attending junior high schools or middle schools. The first such school in the U.S. opened its doors on this date in 1909 — the Indianola Junction Junior High School in Columbus, Ohio, with seventh, eighth and ninth grades. Ninth grade students were offered courses in English, German, algebra, science and geography, as well as manual training, domestic science, history, and the government of Ohio. Today, most middle schools are composed of grades six to eight, some even five to eight, with a much broader curriculum. Of the 79 million students across the nation — from preschool to college — almost 11 million of them are enrolled in grades six to eight. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.