Teacher
During the second half of the 19th century, Dirk Stegeman served as headteacher at the Public Primary School for 45 years, first on Landstraat and from 1886 on Herenstraat in Aalten.
Dirk Stegeman was born on July 4, 1830, in the rural district of Tonden near Brummen, as the son of shoemaker Johannes Stegeman and Johanna Evers. He married Hendrietta Engelina van Heuven on November 25, 1854, in Ruurlo. No fewer than 11 children were born from this marriage, two of whom died at a young age.
Dirk Stegeman passed away on June 6, 1910, in Deventer at the age of 79.
In 1937, G.H. Rots described how things were in Aalten in former times in a series of articles. Regarding the school, he wrote:
“In the village of Aalten, all children attended a single school. There was no division. Children of all religious backgrounds sat side by side on the school benches. The school was located in a building on Landstraat next to the Reformed Church. The guardroom was downstairs and the school was on the upper floor. Master Stegeman ruled the roost there. Together with two assistant teachers, the youth of Aalten were educated. With six children to a bench, there were about 60 to 70 pupils per teacher in the winter. Every morning the classroom doors were opened, and the head of the school offered a prayer.
Order in the classroom was maintained with the rod, for those who would not listen were disciplined with a piece of wood. And Master Stegeman kept them in awe. But he was a hardworking man and spared no effort to ensure the education was as good as possible. Evening school provided a good opportunity to impart some knowledge to children who had to leave school early. Then the master had a smaller class and the teaching was more informal.”
Please note: Dirk Stegeman should not be confused with Reverend Jan Derk Stegeman, after whom the Stegemanschool was later named.
Sources
