Adult Education

A display of children's works at the Ukmerge Jewish School, 1928. Courtesy of Yad Vashem.

It's never too late to learn. The people of Šeduva were already aware of this 100 years ago. Every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday evening, some adult Jews would sit down at their children's desks to learn the Lithuanian language and arithmetic. Today, we would call such studies intensive - they studied five times a week after tiring days of work. The oldest student was 48 years old.

Evening courses for adults in interwar Lithuania were not a novelty. Throughout the country, there were initiatives to teach adults the Lithuanian language, arithmetic, geography, or history.

Lithuanian language lessons were among the most popular. Not only Jews or representatives of other ethnic groups wanted to learn to read and write in Lithuanian, but also ethnic Lithuanians. After all, at that time, about half of Lithuania's population, especially among the older generation, was illiterate.