Jacob Riis photography - An evening school - Children and young adults sit in school classroom. One appears to be asleep.
The students in “Night School” are all white, male and young. There are no girls in the picture, which demonstrates that there was no great importance placed on educating women. The youngest student appears to be no more than 10 or 11 and is asleep in the front row. He is the focal point of the picture. The older boys behind him appear gaunt and haggard. The students attend night school because their days are likely spent in factories, working long hours in dangerous conditions. The students probably come from very poor homes and work in the factories in order to help support their families. It is very likely that most if not all of these students live in tenement housing. Most tenement homes in New York did not meet the city’s standards for safety and sanitation and the students probably lived in very cramped quarters with their families. This photograph is meant to highlight how the long difficult days in the factories impeded the education of poor children - Claire as Day.
Size: 3200px × 2529px
Photo credit: © photo-fox / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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