 
The following is taken from the South Dakota Historical society: Instructions to Teachers, Dakota Territory (September, 1872) 1. Teachers will fill lamps, clean chimneys and trim wicks daily. 2. Each teacher will bring a scuttle of coal and a bucket of water for the day’s use. 3. Make your pens carefully. You may whittle nibs for the individual tastes of the children. 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 ten hours in school, the teacher should spend the remaining time reading the Bible or other good books. 6. Women teachers who marry or engage in other unseemly conduct will be dismissed. 7. Every teacher should lay aside from his pay a goodly sum for his declining years so that he will not become a burden on society. 8. Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents a pool or public hall, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason for suspecting his worth, intentions, integrity and honesty. 9. The teacher who performs his labors faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of 25 cents a week in his pay providing the Board of Education approves. * * * * * As noted by the above map, in 1889, Dakota Territory was admitted to the Union as two states, namely North Dakota and South Dakota.  My grandparents and their young children standing in front of their sod house on the prairie of North Dakota in 1902. Pictured from left to right is my Uncle Reuben, Aunt Emma, Uncle Herman, MY MOTHER and my grandparents.  |
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Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. Proverbs 24:3,4 TRIPLES with EMMA |
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Comments (14)
Hi Carolyn,
School starts here today in fact Cody is getting ready to begin his junior year of high school. I love the pic and the post. One of the churches that we use to go to had a one room school house right up the road from it. I enjoyed talking to the older people about how things were when they were little.
Love ya, Darlena
I’ve read this before and always enjoy seeing how life used to be!
:sunny: That was so interesting to read, and I enjoyed the picture of your grandparents and family members in front of their home! WOW, i love old pictures they say so much!
God Bless you Carolyn!:wave:
Interesting rules! Being shaved in a barber shop was a bad thing?
My paternal grandmother’s family came from South Dakota. I have a picture of her family when she was an infant.
Very interesting. -thanks.
History is so interesting!
Great post today Carolyn, takes you back to those days….btw, thanks for the heads-up…I made a “little” correction….every letter counts!!
Blessings to you,
Mike
I fear we would have no teachers today if these rules were reinstated! Very intresting…thanks for sharing…I love history..
I love your post today, (well… every day they are cool)
But I love history and genealogy. You know I think the Engels (from Little House on the Prairie) spent time in the Dakota territory. I can’t tell if that house in the picture was build of sod or not… but if it was, it is a nice size… definitely more than a “homesteaders” cabin.
BTW, my grandmother was a teacher in a one room school house in southern Missouri at 15 yrs of age.. I am sure she met all those qualifications… but then of course she got married and could no longer teach.
Love, Bee
And, I thought we had it rough.. we had to clean our
own classrooms and decorate (paint) them.. using our own money.
I liked it though.
Hope you are doing well, Carolyn.
Have a great week..
I’m just checking in on everyone at Xanga today!
Blessings,
Becca
Oh, my goodness!! A male teacher could court, but a female teacher couldn’t marry?
Steve said apparently the male teachers could not court female teachers 
And I had no idea that being shaved in a barber shop was bad. Must have been the massage parlor of the day :rolleyes:
No wonder that that poor lady wasn’t smiling.
Who would possibly want to be a teacher back then? 
Well I know that some did, but they must surely have been far more committed to it. Phew! 
{{{{hugs from me 2 U:love:}}}}
Wow! Things have sure changed, haven’t they?
@ata_grandma - Yes, they sure have! The teacher at the top was my mother’s teacher. She went as far as the 7th grade then she had to quit and stay home to help take care of her sisters and brothers. She said that if she had finished the 8th grade, she could have taught school herself. Different ways and means in those days.