HAMZA EFENDI'S ELEMENTARY SCHOOL REPORT CARDS 1925-1929
This writing and the documents in it, are about my father Hamza Özmeral’s elementary school report cards (1925-1929) . At the time, the Turkish Republic was newly founded in 1923 and most of the Atatürk reforms were not introduced yet. The transition from the Arabic alphabet to Latin Alphabet was to come at the end of 1928. Since the “last name law” was also not in effect yet, Hamza was known with his father’s last name Kaşif. The title “Efendi” was used to distinguish between male and female students (”Hanım”) in written documents, as well as when addressing someone in person. The following documents were written in Ottoman Turkish (Osmanlı Türkçesi) using the Arabic script, which explains the shared vocabulary.It is an early Turkish Republic school report card (Karne), featuring standard late-imperial school subjects and months.
HAMZA EFENDI'S FIRST REPORT CARD (1341 Rumi: corresponding 1924-1925)
Notable Ottoman Turkish Details in the Document
The Language Brackets: On the right-hand side, a bracketed section explicitly groups several rows under the label Türkçe (Turkish).
The Language Course Rows: Inside that Turkish bracket, it lists specialized linguistics and grammar components common in late Ottoman education:
Kıraat (Reading / Elocution)
Sarf (Grammar / Morphology)
Nahit or Nahu (Syntax)
İmla (Spelling / Orthography)
İnşa (Composition / Writing)
Religious & Moral Education: At the top of the subjects list, it features Kur'an-ı Kerim (Holy Quran) and Malumat-ı Diniye (Religious Knowledge).
Other Subjects: Lower down, you can spot terms like Musiki (Music), Terbiye-i Bedeniye (Physical Education), and rows tracking attendance (Devam / Adem-i Devam).
The Header Months: The top headers track performance across Ottoman calendar months, such as Teşrinievvel (October) and Teşrinisani (November).
Above those month headers, the overarching text segments designate the grading periods, such as نصف بهارانى (Nısf-ı Baharı), which refers to the Spring midterm/session.
Key Historical Elements & Side Notes
The Grading Standard: The scores are recorded based on a maximum grade scale of 10, which was typical for Ottoman primary and secondary education frameworks. A score of 7 (yedi) represents a solid, passing performance.
Side Inscription (Left Margin): On the middle-left margin, a purple handwritten annotation reads: ترفیع ایدوب (Terfi idip...) followed by صنف افندى (Sınıf efendi...). This is an official notation confirming the student's passing promotion status, essentially stating "Promoted to the next class/grade".
Official Validation: The bottom of the sheet contains authentic purple ink bureaucratic stamps alongside signature lines explicitly labeled مستشار امضاسی (Müsteşar İmzası - Undersecretary/Advisor Signature) and رئيسك امضاسی (Reisin İmzası - Director/Principal Signature).
The purple circular ink stamp on the middle-left side of the page is an official institutional validation seal.
Stamp Visual Elements & Deciphering
The Outer Ring Text: The curved script running inside the circular border identifies the specific school or educational district authority that issued the report card. It begins with standard bureaucratic wording like مكتب (Mekteb - School) or معارف (Maarif - Board of Education/Public Instruction).
The Center Text: The inner core of the stamp features stylized Calligraphic Arabic characters, which read مصدق (Musaddak) or تصديق (Tasdik), explicitly meaning "Certified," "Approved," or "Verified."
The Contextual Notation: Directly overlapping and pointing toward this official seal is the bold purple handwritten text in the margin: ترفیع ایدوب (Terfi idip... - Promoted).
The bottom of the document features the official authentication block, which legalizes the report card through handwritten signatures, personalized ink signets, and printed bureaucratic titles.
Handwritten Content: A specific name is penned directly underneath this title, reading اسماعيل حقى (İsmail Hakkı), a highly popular Turkish name of that era.
Subject Rows (Right-Side Headers)
Reading from right to left down the middle section of the main column:
الواح دار التاديب (Elvâh-ı Dârü't-Tâdib) — Conduct / Behavioral Ledger (This was a specific penal or disciplinary tracking score used in Ottoman schools to rate behavior).
Handwritten Grades for These Subjects
Looking across the columns for September, October, and November (the first three double-columns from the right):
1. Arithmetic (حساب)
The student received consistent high marks here. The number column displays ٩ (9) and ٨ (8).
The written columns validate these with طوقوز (Dokuz - Nine) and سكسان or سكز (Sekiz - Eight).
2. Geometry (هندسه)
This row is left blank with flat dashes (—) across the months. This indicates that geometry was either not taught in this specific grade term or was deferred to the spring semester.
3. Natural Sciences (ملومات طبيعيه)
September: ٧ (Yedi - Seven)
October: ٨ (Sekiz - Eight)
November: ٩ (Dokuz - Nine) - The student showed steady improvement in science over the first three months.
Margins and Attendance Tracking
Directly underneath these academic subjects, the layout transitions into a bold horizontal divider line. Below it, the table shifts to track school attendance:
دوام ايتدیگی گون (Devam Ettiği Gün) — Days Attended
دوام ايتمديگى گون (Devam Etmediği Gün) — Days Absent
Here is the breakdown of the final cluster of subjects located at the bottom section of the report card, which covers arts, physical health, and personal development.
Subject Rows (Right-Side Headers)
Reading down the final rows of the main right-hand column:
جلال و حركت (Celal ve Hareket / Hâl ve Hareket) — Deportment / Manners and Movement (An evaluation of the student's daily posture, manners, and physical discipline around campus).
رغبت (Rağbet) — Diligence / Interest (A score reflecting the student's overall enthusiasm and effort toward learning).
سعى و رغبت (Sa'y ve Rağbet) — Industry and Ambition (A composite grade rating their work ethic and academic drive).
اشجا عه و ورانك (Ahlak ve...) — Morals and Character
Handwritten Grades for These Subjects
The student maintained an excellent record in these behavioral and developmental areas over the first three months of the school year (September, October, and November):
1. Music (موسيقى)
September: ٨ (Sekiz - Eight)
October: ٩ (Dokuz - Nine)
November: ٩ (Dokuz - Nine)
2. Physical Education (تربيه بدنيه)
The student received straight ٨s across the board, written out as سكز (Sekiz - Eight) in the text columns.
3. Morals & Character
The student excelled here, earning a consistent ٩ (طوقوز / Dokuz - Nine) for their personal conduct and discipline.
Final Attendance Totals (Just Above the Signatures)
The final numerical rows track the precise number of school days elapsed:
Days Attended: The entries record numbers like ٢٢ (22 days) and ٢٤ (24 days) for individual months.
Days Absent: These columns are marked with a flat ٠ (Zero) or a short line, indicating the student had a perfect attendance record with zero unexcused absences during this term.
This completes the translation and analysis of all the major academic and behavioral sections on this historical report card. If you have any questions about the specific handwriting styles or historical context of early 20th-century Turkish schools, let me know!
HAMZA EFENDI'S SECOND REPORT CARD 1925-1926
The image shows an Ottoman-era student report card and conduct record, known as a "Hal ve Hareket-i Semî Gayret Cüzdanı"."Hal ve Hareket, Sa'y u Gayret Cüzdanı" was the official term for a school report card used during the Ottoman Empire and the early years of the Turkish Republic.
Instead of just showing academic grades, this historic document evaluated a student's behavior, morality, and diligence. The terms in the title translate as follows:
Hal ve Hareket: "State and Movement" — representing the student's behavior, manners, and conduct (deportment/behavior grade).
Sa'y u Gayret: "Effort and Diligence" — representing the student's work ethic, effort, and dedication to their studies.
Document Details
Type: Student report and conduct ledger (karne / cüzdanı).
Script: Ottoman Turkish (Arabic script).
Content: Columns listing school subjects (such as Kur'an-ı Kerim, Ahlak, Tabiiat, writing, and arithmetic), monthly grading columns from September through June, attendance tallies, and teacher signatures or stamps at the bottom. [1,2]
In modern Turkish, this is written as "Hal ve Hareket, Sa'y ve Gayret Cüzdanı", which translates to "Report Card for Conduct, Effort, and Diligence."
The document is dated to the Rumi academic year 1341 (which corresponds to the 1925–1926 Gregorian school year).
This is written in the top header line as ١٣٤١ سنه درسيه سی (1341 sene-i dersiyesi / "Academic Year 1341").
Student Name
The student's name is Hamza Efendi (حکمت افندی).
Name: "Hamza" (حکمت) is written clearly in handwriting right above the main data table on the right side.
Title: "Efendi" (افندی) is pre-printed at the far edge of the row to signify a male student.
Student Number: He is listed as student number 18 (١٨ نومرولی / 18 numaralı).
Here is the structured breakdown of the student marks, attendance tallies, and teacher evaluations for Hamza Efendi's report card.
Course Subjects & Monthly Grades
The rows on the right hand side track the subject curriculum. The grading scales used are out of 10 points. Hamza Efendi was a strong student, averaging mostly 7s, 8s, and 9s (written in Arabic-Indic numerals).
قرآن كريم (Holy Qur'an): Scored highly with consistent 9s across the months and a final exam grade of 9.
قرائت (Recitation / Reading): Steady scores of 7 across the academic tracking periods.
حيات اخلاقيه (Moral Life / Ethics): Received strong behavioral marks of 7 and 8.
طبيعت (Nature Studies / Science): Maintained exceptional scores of 9 across the board.
حساب (Arithmetic / Math): Consistently marked at an 8 or 9.
School Attendance Summary
Near the bottom third of the table, the school recorded Hamza attendance metrics across the academic periods:
Rakam (Tally Number): Individual period totals of 44, 48, 51, and 49 school days tracked.
İbtidai Gün (Days Started): Fully recorded operational days.
Devam İttiği Gün (Days Attended): Hikmet has consistent, perfect attendance marks matching the total operational days, showing zero unexcused absences.
Evaluative Comments & Official Signatures
The far-left column tracks specific qualitative remarks alongside administrative endorsements at the footer:
ملاحظات (Observations / Remarks): Several rows are explicitly stamped in red ink with the word "Maqbul" (مقبول), which means "Acceptable" / "Approved".
معلمك امضاسی (Teacher's Signature): The large stylized handwritten signatures in purple and red ink across the bottom are the formal sign-offs from his classroom instructors validating the scores.
The Name of the School
The name of the school written in the top right header is Üsküdar Numune Mektebi (اُسْكُدار اِيناس نَمُونَه مَكْتَبِى), which translates to the Üsküdar Model School. (Üsküdar is the the historic district on the Asian side of Istanbul).
.Numune Mektebi: "Model School," a term used for progressive, standardized public schools modeled after westernized educational reforms late in the Ottoman era. [1]
Academic Grades Across Monthly Evaluations
The monthly progress columns run from right to left across the top of the table grid. The numerical marks use standard Arabic numerals (Eastern Arabic variant), typically scored out of a maximum of 10.
Here is a breakdown of Hamza's grades for his visible monthly periods:
1. First Columns (Autumn Periods)
Eylül & Teşrin-i Evvel (September & October): He consistently earned high marks, scoring 7s and 8s (𝞮, 𝞯) down his core reading and academic lines.
Teşrin-i Sani & Kânûn-ı Evvel (November & December): He maintained steady progress, receiving multiple 7s (𝞯) and a 10 (𝞪) further down the list.
2. Winter and Spring Evaluation Columns
Kânûn-ı Sani & Şubat (January & February): His performance shows strong consistency with high marks of 7, 8, and 9 (𝞮, 𝞯, 𝞱) in his core tracks.
Mart & Nisan (March & April): His marks remained elevated, heavily featuring scores of 8 and 9.
3. Summary & General Exam Columns
Vasati (Average Score Columns): In the mid-left columns, his overall averages across subject blocks are computed. They show totals such as 44, 48, 50, and 57 toward the bottom summation row, indicating strong, passing marks across the academic term.
Mülahazat (Remarks Column): On the far left, a distinct red ink stamp reads Mükemmel (مُكَمَّل), meaning "Excellent" or "Perfect", verifying his exemplary academic standing.
HAMZA EFENDİ'S THIRD REPORT CARD 1929-1930
HAMZA EFENDİ’S 3 RD REPORT CARD (After transition to Latin Alphabet in 1928)
The front cover gives the location of the Elementary School:
Üsküdar 15. Elementary School
Student’s number 35 Class :5
Name :Hamza
About Üsküdar 15th Primary School (Primary School)
The prominent historical details about it are as follows:
Historical Origin: The history of this school actually dates back to the Ottoman period. The school, which was initially a military educational institution, was included in the civilian education system with the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Monarchy. Sokullu Numune School took its name.
Republican Period Numbering: After the proclamation of the Republic, the name of the school was changed within the scope of the new education structure made in 1926. Üsküdar (Toptaşı) 15th Primary School and served with this number for many years. [1]
Current Status: This system, which was periodically expressed in numbers, was later replaced by historical or regional names. In this direction, the name of the school was changed again in 1948 and it is still known today. Sokullu Mehmet Pasha Primary School It took its name.
Inside of the Repoırt card:
The top part of the report card shows the name and location of the Primary School, the school year 1929-1930, Name and number of the student.
Top part of the page:
Shows the name of the subjects or courses:
Türkçe (Turkish)
Tarih, Cografya(History Geography)
Hesap, Hendese (Mathematics, Geometry)
Tabiat (Biology)
Resim, Elisleri(Drawing, art)
On the right side of the first half of the page are the terms and grades.
October, November, December
January, February, March
Grades . orta (average) , iyi(good), ç.iyi (very good)
Bottom part of the page
Son kanaat derecesi(Final evaluation grade) : Terfi (graduated)
