- 1 / 16In the adult world, Labor Day marks the end of summer—but back when we were kids, the first day of school meant that summer vacation was officially over. We’ve gathered 14 vintage photos of students from around the world who swapped their swimsuits for uniforms, sharpened their pencils, and collected their books for another school year. Despite the decades and oceans that separate these school kids, one thing’s for sure: Nobody is happy when summer vacation is over.
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In the early 20th century, students in Central Asia made back-to-school look beareable with al fresco classes. These days, students in Uzbekistan are confined to classrooms like the rest of us.
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During the late 1940s, a post-WWII Canada felt pressure to act on its anti-Nazi regime principles and focused on bringing diversity to its education systems. At this time, schools like the rural one pictured here began to desegregate and embrace the cultural differences within the nation.
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Parents have been embarrassing their kids during school pick-ups and drop-offs for decades and Soviet Russia was no exception.
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Students in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, gathered around the chalkboard to practice their ABCs. The Spanish alphabet includes three more letters than the English alphabet: ch, ñ and rr.
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Everyone’s favorite time of the school day is recess, but the idea of going back to class after running around in the sun makes us want to hide behind a tree, too. Hopefully this boy got a few more minutes of fun before hitting the books.
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These Japanese students helped to rebuild their school after WWII and some looked happier about being back in the classroom than others did. Though it could just be the braids and nautical-inspired uniforms that they weren’t thrilled about.
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The American flag waved over these Midwestern kids as a reminder of their shortlived freedom from studying during recess. If only today’s youth found above-ground pipes and tree stumps as fun to play on as these kids did.
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We’re hoping that the teacher chose the boy in the front row, at right, to answer the question. We’ll never know if he had the correct answer, but he gets an A for effort.
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Exams are always stressful and it looks like this open-book test is no exception. We’re hoping that the stoic teachers in the back of the class weren’t too hard on the students at this all-boys school in France.
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Students in Southern Alaska got bundled up for their class photo.
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In the early 20th century, Palestinian students sat cross-legged around their teacher for more than just storytime.
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Before Jamie Oliver’s food revolution in British schools, the country made sure that students gathered around the lunch table for an ample meal every day, at an affordable price. For students whose families couldn’t afford the cost of the daily meal, the administration made arrangements for discounted or comped meals.
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In the early 1900s, the island of Puerto Rico had only 500 schools and a mere 20 percent of the population could read. By the time this photo was taken, the government had increased literacy by half and built nearly 3,000 schools.
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One of life’s universal truths is that once the bell rings, nothing can stop kids from running for freedom!
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Photo by Daniel Shea
