We know school murals, the Schubi printer, the slate, Cuisenaire sticks, or a school bag as objects from lessons and school - do we remember 'school things'? The authors of this reader portray thirty-nine of these 'school things' in their articles. The subject matter reflects the diversity of didactic and teaching-methodological materials that are still used in lessons at our schools today. Thus, the topic 'materiality of education' is up for debate, bringing school pedagogical, cultural, social, educational, and school historical facts into focus: things, materials, objects, furnishings, furniture, and equipment of schools and classrooms. Material aspects, in addition to pedagogical and teaching methodological concerns about teaching and learning, are considered the basis for the analysis of educational processes, teaching intentions, and knowledge acquisition.

At the same time, this view brings the school museum, the characteristic collection and documentation site for such objects, into focus: The Bern School Museum Foundation has more than 80,000 objects - archives, books, student exercise books, teachers' preparatory work, furniture, objects from all school subjects, as well as school murals, photos, and rarities from centuries of school history. It documents, from a historical perspective, the pedagogical handling of 'school things' and their relevance for the teaching and school practice of a particular time - in its collection and in this volume.

The individually designed 'portraits' printed here indicate that characteristic teaching aids or school objects are indeed time-dependent. However, they often develop a life of their own that extends far beyond their epoch and into the present. The authors let the objects tell their own stories. In this way, their 'school things' regain their dignity, but also their material resistance, which has often sunk into the past.