Knowing Nowata: Different Times in Education

Different Times in Education

by Carroll Craun

Schooling in Nowata County has gone in cycles, along with other parts of our country. Early times found students studying at home (homeschooling), staying at boarding schools, or attending subscription schools (where you had to pay to attend). Some schools were established on ranches for the owner’s children and those of the workers, and eventually oneand two-room schools were built. Over time, local communities established Boards of Education, with superintendents and teachers hired to teach students. Salaries were very low, resulting in the need for the teacher to secure paying students in order to have a livable salary. Bonds were passed to fund the construction of school buildings. Segregation resulted in separate schools for white, black, and Native American students. Fast forward to today and we are back to inhome learning, private schools, and state-supported places of higher education. Salaries are still pitiful (writer’s opinion here). Schools are now integrated. The current pandemic has resulted in a greater appreciation for the work teachers perform.

Comparing Rules for teachers in 1894 Nowata County with those of 1950 & 60s: 1. Teachers each day will fill lamps and clean chimneys. Turn on electric lights. 2. Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day’s session. Adjust the thermostat on the propane, gas, or electric heater. 3. Make quill pens to the taste 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.

In the 1950s, male teachers were becoming rare in one-room schools and public grade schools; church attendance was not required but expected. 5. After spending 10 hours in school, the teacher may spend the remainder of the day reading the Bible or other good books. 1950s teachers could read, shop, or visit friends after school. Better transportation, roads, and telephones made this possible. 6. Women teachers who married or engaged in unseemly conduct were dismissed. In the 1950s, most female teachers are married, rules for conduct were not so rigid, but teachers were expected to set good examples for students. 7. Each teacher expected to set aside a portion of earnings to be used when older so as not to be a burden on society. In the 1950s, Oklahoma State Teacher Retirement and Social Security benefits were made available, making retirement income more stable. 8. Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or (male teacher) get shaved in a barber shop will give reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity, and honesty. In the 1950s, rules were more relaxed, but rural areas were still very conservative.

9. Teachers who perform labor faithfully and without fault for five years will be given an increase of 25 cents per week in pay, providing the Board of Education approves. By the 1950s, the State of Oklahoma had established a salary schedule based on education level and experience. 10. Female teachers could not be seen riding in a buggy with any man unless it was her father or brother. By the 1950s, most female teachers drove cars and could be seen with any male.

Student Conduct and Discipline in 1894:

Discipline must be strict. Students will stand in a line to march to and from classes. Students stand to recite. If the student wishes to ask questions, hands must be raised, then wait to be recognized, stand and address the teacher as Ma’am or Sir.

Discipline took a variety of forms:

The teacher used a ferula, or rod 15 to 16 inches long, on the child. If children giggled or were not attentive, they received three or four light blows on the meaty part of the palm. Bad behavior resulted in sharp raps across the shoulder. Older boys received whippings. Girls were sent to a corner and had to sit on a onelegged stool called a uniped. It children littered or spit they had to clean the floor. If they misbehaved they had to write a sentence “I will not…” 100 times. If they talked, they had to stand with their nose inside a circle drawn on the blackboard. If they were late, they lost their recess. If they did not recite well, they had to wear a dunce cap. The worst punishment of all for boys — they had to sit beside a girl!

Student Conduct and Discipline in the 1950s & 60s:

Discipline was still strict. Students entered the classroom quietly. Students were usually called to recite in small groups around a table. Students raised hands to ask a question, waited to be recognized, and addressed the teacher as Mr., Mrs., or Miss.

Common forms of punishment included: Notes or phone calls to the student’s parents to discuss the student’s misbehavior. Bad behavior was punished by a spanking with a wooden paddle. Students spanked at school usually received another spanking at home. Other forms of punishment included writing “I will not ...” 100 times, being kept in from recess, standing in the corner, or being sent home.

Current teachers and students operate in another world in many respects. Dress codes for teachers and students are very relaxed except for private schools that require uniforms. Entrance into classrooms is casual but quite, if possible. Questions are acknowledged with a raised hand by the student. Punishment no longer involves spankings. The advent of mass communication systems and computers has resulted in instant responses to teachers and parents. Students can still be removed from class or sent home, but there are usually student counselors to work with the students. Teacher pay is still the pits!