School days, school days, dear old golden rule days,
Readin’ and ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmetic, Taught to the tune of a hick’ry stick,
You were my queen in calico, I was your bashful barefoot beau
And you wrote on my slate, I love you Joe,
When we were a couple of kids.
Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards wrote School Days in 1907 from the nostalgic perspective of an older couple who probably grew up together in the same rural town. Many of us still look back on our “school days” with a bit of nostalgia, if only because we were younger then.
Rules for Teachers
As children and teachers return to classrooms, the poster “Rules for Teachers” also reappears. These rules were probably not as consistent as the posters make them appear, but the sentiment was probably universal. People didn’t become teachers due to good working conditions, but because they needed a job. The rules reflect social attitudes towards teachers — and they aren’t as pleasant as they appear on the Hallmark Channel.
The Rules in 1872
1. Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean lamp chimneys.
2. Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day’s session.
3. Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual tastes of the pupils.
4. Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly.
5. After 10 hours in school, the teacher may spend the remaining time reading the Bible or other good books.
6. Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.
7. Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a good sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society.
8. Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty
9. The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for 5 years will be given an increase of 25 cents per week in his pay, provided the Board of Education approve.
Notice that male teachers are allowed time for courting purposes, but female teachers who marry will be dismissed.
I was intrigued that male teachers should not go the barber shop. Perhaps when a quarter was still worth a quarter, it was too extravagant to spend two bits on a shave and a haircut, even if it was only on a Saturday. Fun Fact: A shot of whiskey also cost two bits.
The Rules in 1915
Times changed. These rules seem more directly aimed at women.
1. You will not marry during the term of your contract.
2. You are not to keep company with men.
3. You must be home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless attending a school function.
4. You may not loiter downtown in ice cream stores.
5. You may not travel beyond the city limits unless you have the permission of the chairman of the board.
6. You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with any man unless he is your father or brother.
7. You may not smoke cigarettes.
8. You may not dress in bright colors.
9. You may under no circumstances dye your hair.
10. You must wear at least 2 petticoats.
11. Your dresses must not be any shorter than 2 inches above the ankle.
12. To keep the school neat and clean, you must sweep the floor at least once daily, scrub the floor at least once a week with hot, soapy water, clean the blackboards at least once a day and start the fire at 7 a.m. so the room will be warm by 8 a.m.
It occurs to me that if a female teacher cannot keep company with men, she is unlikely to marry. This restriction on marriage continued into the 1930s when married female teachers were routinely dismissed, because a married woman had someone to support her. If she continued to teach, she would deprive someone else of a job. In addition, a married female teacher was likely to become pregnant, and have to leave her job anyway. After World War II began, many women went to work in factories, thus causing a shortage of teachers. Suddenly, married women were less undesirable.
Why Couldn’t Teachers “Loiter” in Ice Cream Parlors?
But, why couldn’t teachers “loiter” in ice cream parlors. I suppose if a teacher had a dish of ice cream and left, that was okay, but she could not loiter on the premises. [Loiter: to stand or wait idly, without apparent purpose.]
Apparently ice cream parlors had a reputation as dens of iniquity. In 1895, a man from New York testified to the Senate that he knew of several ice cream parlors that were covers for prostitution.
In the early 1900s, ice cream was considered a “foreign” product, and ice cream parlors a recruiting location for prostitution and human trafficking, which was then called white slavery.
In Chicago, there was a curfew ice cream parlor hours, because, according to a 1911 report, ice cream parlors attracted gropers, flirts, and girls who told boys they could be ‘had.’
Wishing students and teachers, whether in-person or on-line, a successful and happy school year.!
“You’re off to great places! Today is your day! You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!“
— Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go
Sandra’s Books: Sea Tigers & Merchants. Ambition, Arrogance & Pride. Saxon Heroines. Two Coins. Rama’s Labyrinth.
Illustrations & A Few Sources:
School Days 1905; School Bus by VectorOpenStock; The Celebrated Triumph Dovetailed & Doweled 1881; September-Back to Work-Back to School-Back to Books, 1940, NARA; 1880s Ice Cream Parlor; Theda Bara, When a Woman Sins, 1918; Recipe for Courtship, 1805; Ice Cream Cup by Killarney; Symbol of Education by Rflor. Erin Blakemore. “Why Ice Cream Parlors Were Once Considered Evil.” Mental Floss. Jul 15, 2017.
