Art
In the early 1900s, tuberculosis and other serious illnesses spread rapidly through crowded cities. Schools for sick children opened across America, with doctors prescribing fresh air, sunshine, and rest as medicine. This 1909 photograph documents one such institution—children on a rooftop classroom, learning while healing.
Art · Full story
You climb the narrow stairs to the roof. Children sit at desks in the open air, books in their laps, faces turned toward the winter sun. A teacher moves between rows. There's no shelter from the wind, but that's exactly the point—the fresh air is supposed to save their lives.
Reflect
What would it feel like to do your schoolwork outdoors in winter? What surprised you about how people treated illness then?