Prairie Teachers

Subject: Prairie Teachers Fri Sep 17, 2010 12:37 pm

After watching Disney's LHOTP and then watching some of my LH DVD's my son got me, I got to thinking about the teachers in prairie times.......Then I got my, "The World of Little House" book out and read what they had....here's how they compared.

NBC's LHOTP: Miss Beadle got married and continued to teach, Ma and Mrs. Oleson substituted every now and again, Laura started out as a single teacher, then continued to teach after marrying.

Disney's LHOTP: Ma, Mary and Laura are walking along and Mary says she just wants to get married, Laura chimes in with, "I want to get married AND teach." Ma then says she can't do both and Laura asks why....ma tells her that after a woman gets married, she is not allowed to teach anymore and Laura asks why and Ma says that after she gets married, she is busy with her house and children and there just isn't anytime for teaching.

TWOLH book: The teacher was not only responsible for teaching the students their lessons and maintaining food order, but also had to keep the classroom clean and keep the stove going in the winter to heat the room. Teachers were paid about five or six dollars a week, depending on how much the school district could afford. Teachers often lived with their students' families as partial payment for teaching.

Male teachers were paid more than female teachers. In addition, female teachers in many frontier communities were expected to follow certain rules of behavior. They could not marry or even "keep company" with men. They were supposed to stay at home at night except to attend a church or school program. They could not dye their hair or dress in bright colors, and they were required to wear at least two petticoats! Nonetheless, many young women were eager to become teachers, because teaching was one of the few professions available to them at that time. Laura, her mother, and her mother's mother were all school teachers before they married.

CANCER FREE!!! April 9, 1998-April 9, 2025-I AM A SURVIVOR!!!

Subject: Re: Prairie Teachers Fri Sep 17, 2010 12:48 pm

I remember reading this a long time ago...

Rules for Teachers: 1872

Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean chimneys.
Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day's session.
Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils.
Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly.
After ten hours on school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the bible or other good books.
Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.
Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society.
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.
The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of twenty-five cents per week in his pay, providing the Board of Education approves.

Subject: Re: Prairie Teachers Fri Sep 17, 2010 3:17 pm

My, how things have changed.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Number of posts : 2539 Mood :

25 cents raise after 5 years of faithful service, huh? That's about what I get, lol. Times haven't changed that much.

Prairie Settler Number of posts : 895 Mood :

Rob wrote:: [*]Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly.

Rob wrote:: [*]Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.

I know they have their "rules" and everything, but I really have a problem with this. I think it is hilarious that a man can go out and about and it is fine just as long as they attend church regularly. Yet, if a woman would allow herself to be courted by some man (and nothing inappropriate is going on), she has to stop teaching. Why can't she just go to church regularly, too? I understand that there is this fear that they might have to replace the teacher because if she marries she might get pregnant. Therefore, she might not have the time to teach anymore. But this whole thing about the man being allowed to go out and not the woman just seems so unfair. I know it was a way for a woman to earn a living, but it is sad that her whole life would have to be devoted to her job. I fully understand that times were different then, but it is still depressing to me.

Rob wrote:: [*]Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society.

I think this one is just funny. It was the "burden on society" that made me laugh a little.

Rob wrote:: [*]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.

I enjoyed this one, too. I love that a man couldn't get a shave in a barber shop. I honestly never heard that before. The smoking, drinking, et.c., I knew, but not the barber shop!

Who's going to do the cooking?!?!

Subject: Re: Prairie Teachers Fri Sep 17, 2010 6:17 pm

Rob wrote:

I remember reading this a long time ago...

Rules for Teachers: 1872

Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean chimneys.
Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day's session.
Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs to the individual taste of the pupils.
Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly.
After ten hours on school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the bible or other good books.
Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.
Every teacher should lay aside from each pay a goodly sum of his earnings for his benefit during his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society.
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.
The teacher who performs his labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of twenty-five cents per week in his pay, providing the Board of Education approves.

My piano teacher has that list on her fridge, I dunno why...

Subject: Re: Prairie Teachers Fri Sep 17, 2010 10:53 pm

Too odd...Here, in Argentina (I've said it some post ago) women teachers could marry or not and keep working, and of course their work was hard but not so hard. I had women teachers in my own family at that time (the 1870's) and had no problem with marrying...What could be the bad thing in a married (or even engaged) lady? Yes, pregnancy.Some of them stopt teaching for a while when giving birth, but later they keep with their classes. scratchead

At the 1870's, a lot of married American women came to my country to teach here...I suppose that it could be for they loved teaching and wanted to keep their job...

Vanesa.

Little House Lady Number of posts : 2761

LIWnut wrote:: 25 cents raise after 5 years of faithful service, huh? That's about what I get, lol. Times haven't changed that much.

Me too!

But it is interesting to see the comparisons, especially the rules for teachers back then. I can't believe how strict they were, but I guess since society was more strict in general, it made sense at the time.

"It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures and to be cheerful and have courage when things go wrong."

New Pioneer Number of posts : 2

Um trabalho quase escravo, exceto pelo pequeno salário que recebiam. Claro que os tempos são outros, mas é inconcebível que uma mulher não pudesse namorar ou casar, tinha que se manter solteira para ser professora. Que imagem do casamento passavam para as alunas, dessa forma? E o salário ser diferente para homem e mulher reflete a mentalidade machista da época!
Almost slave work, except for the small salary they received. Of course, times are different, but it is inconceivable that a woman could not date or marry, she had to remain single to be a teacher. What image of marriage did they convey to the students in this way? And the salary being different for men and women reflects the sexist mentality of the time!

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