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Well-Behaved StudentsChildren attend school in the mountain village of Kampanzan, in modern-day Taiwan. When this photo appeared in a 1920 National Geographic article, the island was known as Formosa.
Photograph by Taiwan Government Information Office, Nat Geo Image Collection

Go Way Back to School With These Vintage Photos

Old photos show children and classrooms around the world.

ByBecky Little
August 26, 2016

For many children, the end of August marks the beginning of a new school year. That means new books, new school supplies, maybe even a cool new teacher who says hello with a music video.

As kids head off for another year of learning, we’ve pulled these photos of students from our archives. From a class in a monastery to a lesson written in the sands of the Sahara, they display the diversity of students and their classrooms in the early 20th century.

Subscribing members can see more vintage photos in the magazine archive.

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