ABSTRACT
The ragged school movement has received little attention from historians. This chapter offers an overview of the movement’s significance and scope as well as its pertinence to scholars of childhood, education, and religion. It notes the value of microhistories in uncovering the intimate exchanges between teacher and taught and argues that this approach sheds light on broader topics such as education, emigration, and philanthropy. Together Ware’s journals and the letters he received give access to the dialogue between teachers and scholars, granting insight into the children’s part in the conversation. The affective and intimate exchanges evidence the significant, cross-class relationships forged in the classroom and maintained in later years. The problematic and incomplete nature of these sources and the consequent limitations of this history is also discussed.
