While in the process of conducting research for my book Chalkboard Champions, I learned about many types of schools that I had never heard about in the thirty-odd years I have been a professional educator. Industrial schools, emancipation schools, freedom schools, farm schools, normal schools. Where were all these terms when I went through student teaching? I was particularly intrigued by the concept of the “soup school.” What was that all about, I wondered?

I learned that a “soup school” was an institution established during periods of pronounced immigration to our country. Their purpose was to provide assistance to immigrant children as they struggled to assimilate within a new, dominant culture. Often times these schools were founded by charitable organizations or missionary societies. It makes sense that these schools were located primarily near areas of immigrant entry, New York City, for example. The main curriculum in these facilities was instruction in the English language, basic literacy skills, and American culture. Apparently, the school got its name from the fact that at noontime a bowl of soup was served to the students, a free meal which would have been most welcome to the poorest of immigrants. In contemplating this practice, I’m wondering if our nation’s free lunch program would be considered a modern version of the “soup school”?

You can read more about soup schools in Chalkboard Champions, available on amazon.