In the 1800’s, the traditional academic year was quite different in New England than modern day education. An element of seasonality was incorporated into how the school term was determined. 19th century poet John Greenleaf Whittier, part of a group of poets also known as the schoolroom poets, wrote a poem that describes well a typical country schoolhouse in New England. One of Whittier’s poems, “In School-days,” describes the memory of an old man as he recalls a fellow student and the life lesson she taught him…