Current Events

Although the study of current events was not listed on the daily schedule of suggested curriculum by any of the "How to" manuals or the Department of Public Instruction curriculum list, "How To" manuals and professional periodicals of the period mentioned the importance of addressing current events. Most authors noted that knowledge of current events was extremely important for a student to attain a well-balanced education. The editors of The Educational Weekly felt knowledge of world and national events was so essential for both teacher and student that the first page of each edition was devoted to current events of the previous week. The Indiana School Journal also published items of world and national interest throughout each edition. In his teachers’ manual Professor Welch stated that "in many of our best schools five to ten minutes a day is given to running over the columns of a good daily…" (Welch: 79) He mentioned that this not only broadened the knowledge of the students but also aided in the understanding of history and geography. Complaining that words found in many spelling texts were found nowhere outside of medical and other technical texts, Lind suggested that teachers should take spelling words out of newspaper articles. He also suggested using newspapers as supplemental reading for older students. (Lind: 49 & 93) Educational Weekly of May 17, 1884, contained an article entitled "Newspapers in Schools." The article included this quote from the Anderson Democrat Review:

Every school teacher should take a good newspaper, a daily if possible, if not two or three weeklies. He should take a copy… to school…and devote a few minutes each day to reading the most interesting editorials and articles on current events, to his school.

Classroom Health

Much was written in the teachers’ manuals and professional journals about a variety of health issues. Most manuals had information about the importance of recess, fresh air, calisthenics and healthful play. Albert Raub, the author of School Management, was a believer in all forms of exercise and discussed extensively the positive aspects of exercise and play incorporated into the school day. (Raub: 35-39) The Indiana School Journal, the official journal of the Indiana State Teachers Association, included articles and editorials concerning the responsibility of teachers for the good health of students. An editorial in the March 1880 issue stated that the health and hygiene of students were one of the primary responsibilities of the teacher. The January 1885 issue contained a column entitled "Health Fallacies." Simply a reprint of a Lippincott’s Magazine article, it listed many misconceptions about health that the Journal editors felt should be removed from circulation. There were articles about the value of sleep, draughts and proper ventilation in the classroom, eyesight and vaccinations all meant to enlighten the teacher so he could in turn care for his students.

Recess and Play
The last section of Raub’s chapter entitled "School Organization" is devoted to recess. Raub suggested two recesses each day, both ten minutes in length. If this was impossible, he stated the students must be allowed one fifteen minute recess, warning that depriving a student of recess as a punishment was reflective of poor classroom discipline on the part of the teacher. Raub, as well as most other writers on the subject, advised that teachers and students alike would enjoy and benefit from the recess time. If the teacher did not feel comfortable joining in games Raub suggested that the teacher should "join in pleasant conversation." (Raub: 82-83) Welch felt so strongly about outdoor recess that he wrote, "Unless the weather is very inclement, all pupils should go on to the playground immediately at dismissal." (Welch: 41)

Playground equipment was virtually unknown on the rural school grounds of Indiana. At recess children played the games that they played at home--traditional running or ball games as well as those they made up. Winter did not limit the students’ outdoor recess time. In all but the most inclement weather, games were played outdoors. In snow, snowball fights, games of fox-and-geese, and making snowmen abounded. Pupils lucky enough to have skates spent their recess time ice-skating; those without simply slid on patches of icy snow. (Fuller: 20)

Albert Mock’s chapter on student life in Hoosier schools included information about the games played by students at recess. Intriguing names such as hat ball, bullpen, shinny, base, dare base, and black man were played by the boys. (Mock: Chapter XX, 9) Hoosier boys and girls often played a game they called "Anthony Over." This co-ed game was known as "Andy Over" in other parts of the Midwest. (Barber: 14-15, Fuller: 20) The game was played by throwing a ball over the schoolhouse, dashing to the opposite side of the building and attempting to tag the members of the other team. (Beeman: 9) Boys and girls of all ages played crack the whip and prisoner base. Girls skipped rope, played with dolls and enjoyed games with like tag, Ring around the Rosie, and Skip to My Lou. (Clark: 14) If the weather was simply too severe to be outdoors students played games like charades, checkers or jacks.

Raub began his section on play by saying that play was the most healthful of all exercises because "it provides recreation and exercise that strengthens and develops the physical powers…". (Raub: 37) He continued by explaining that outdoor play was the most beneficial but, if weather was inclement, play must continue indoors; Raub suggested that schools should include basements for such indoor play. He felt that younger students should have two fifteen minute recesses both morning and afternoon; older students could have a single fifteen minute recess both morning and afternoon. All students were to receive a half-hour lunch recess. Raub also suggested occasional half-day holidays or all day "excursions" as being most helpful to the students’ wellbeing. Welch also suggested that the teacher enter into play with the pupils so as to maintain order as well as to study the character of the students. (Raub: 36-39)

Calisthenics
Calisthenics are frequently mentioned in the school manuals as a most beneficial inclusion in the daily classroom schedule. Raub suggested that music, if possible, was a valuable addition to daily calisthenics exercise. He mentioned a few exercises to "wake up the school" during particularly long or difficult lessons. Raub argued that these exercises possessed the added benefit of developing grace and harmony in the pupils. (Raub: 35-36)

Personal Hygiene
The instruction manuals included chapters about teacher hygiene as well as student hygiene. The teacher was encouraged to set a good example of personal cleanliness as well as for clean, presentable attire. Welch included a special indictment of all teachers who felt that their responsibility to their students ended with the mastery of the textbooks. He concluded, "Put the question manfully to yourself: What have you done to improve them (the students) in this respect?" (Welch:93)

Methods of Teaching in Country Schools gave very explicit instructions to the teacher for maintaining proper personal hygiene. The implication was that the students would mimic the teacher’s appearance. Raub’s School Management set out a complete course of action in the area of student and classroom hygiene. Raub provided a checklist of "hygienic features," to which he believed the teacher should attend. He stressed the need for students to have clean hands and faces and well-combed hair throughout the day. For this he suggested that the teacher always have a pan of clean water, soap, clean towels and a mirror, all located within the coatroom, if at all possible. In this way, any student could avail himself of their use without drawing attention to himself or disrupting the class. Raub left little doubt that it was the teacher who was ultimately responsible for correcting the student’s poor health habits and maintaining a healthy classroom. (Raub: 39-43) (See Attached – Health and Hygiene)

Temperance and Tobacco
The ill effect of tobacco and excessive alcohol use were widely known by the 1880s and much was being written about the problem. The Indiana School Journal and Educational Weekly published numerous articles and statistical charts concerning the use and effects of both. These articles noted that the teacher should take time in the classroom to educate the pupils against the use of both. He must also take care to do it in a way that "not degrades the parents" who might be intemperate or smokers of tobacco. (Indiana School Journal, November 1886: 621)

Sometimes the textbooks aided in reinforcing the evils of alcohol or tobacco. Readers always had moral tales or poems sprinkled liberally throughout the books, at all levels, McGuffey’s Readers contained the following passage about the evils of tobacco:

Tobacco is a filthy weed,
It was the Devil sowed the seed
It leaves a stench wher’er it goes,
It makes a chimney of the nose.
(Barber: 31)

Moral Education and the Bible

The professional literature of the late 19th century was filled with writings regarding the teacher’s responsibility for moral education within the classroom. This facet of education had long fallen within the domain of the educator. Many felt that the classroom should provide reinforcement to the moral education provided by parents and the church. And, if the home provided no such moral education, then the teacher needed to introduce a child deprived of such with the basic rules of morality. The Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Report of 1872 stated that "The leading object in the organization of any school system should be the moral culture of the children." (Fuller: 198) That philosophy had not changed when, in August 1885, the Indiana School Journal printed a speech given to the State Teacher Association Meeting by Rev. Oscar McCulloch, pastor of Plymouth Church in Indianapolis. Entitled "The Moral Education of the Young" the speech emphasized the duty of the teacher in moral education. McCulloch concluded his passionate discourse by stating that, if moral education is taught in the schoolroom through literature, history and by example, teachers would find that the students would "become possessed with a moral furnishing which shall pass through memory into the very nature of the soul itself." (Indiana School Journal, August, 1885: 435)

There were no specific moral education textbooks available for use in the classroom; nor was there any space within the recommended daily class schedule given over to moral education. Yet, in almost every teachers’ manual, the topic received great attention. Welch devoted a page to what he referred to as "character building." He did not believe that setting aside a few minutes daily to talk about morals was beneficial; rather, he suggested pointing out examples of morality such as honesty, humility, justice, etc., as they appeared in regular lessons or the actions of the students themselves. In this way, Welch felt, students could experience a growth of morality from within themselves. (Welch: 93-94) Methods of Teaching in Country Schools included an entire chapter devoted to "Morals and Manners." Within this chapter the author addressed the topics of veracity, honesty, industry, economy, promptness and regularity as the chief features of a moral character. If a student mastered each of these points of morality, Professor Lind felt the teacher had honored her responsibility.

Ultimately, however, the teacher taught the lessons of morality, through her dress, her language, and her behavior. Parents, community leaders, and the students usually held up the teacher as the role model for proper moral behavior. It was a role that every teacher had to accept if education was to continue to be his or her livelihood. Church attendance, acting as a Sunday School teacher, behaving in a quiet and circumspect manner were all expected of the country schoolteacher, and most teachers happily obliged. (Fuller: 200-201)

The Bible had long served as a text to teach morality and virtue in the classrooms of American schools. Indiana’s School Law of 1886 addressed such use in Section 4493. The law stated simply, "The Bible shall not be excluded from the public schools of the state." This allowed a teacher to use, or not use, the Bible as a text in the classroom as he saw fit. Indiana’s second Superintendent of Public Instruction, Professor Caleb Mills, summarized the feeling of most educators in the state. He wrote: "The Bible’s continuance as the moral class book in these nurseries of her future citizens will surely mark the period of her prosperity and grace of the zenith of her glory, as its exclusion would prove the precursor of her decline." (1885 Indiana School Law: 75)

Etiquette

In late nineteenth century America, most citizens were judged by their appearance and manners. Pleasing manners were to many, the first sign of a successful man or a moral woman. Most teaching manuals made at least some reference to the need to address matters of etiquette within the classroom. Lind listed the salient points of good manners as politeness, respect, kindness, generosity, reverence and purity of speech. Lind then provided examples of methods to be employed in the classroom to ensure that students would understand and learn good manners. (Lind: 177-182) The professional publications contained articles almost monthly concerning all aspects of etiquette education, ranging from providing lists of impolite behaviors to offering lesson plans in etiquette.

Classroom Government

Maintaining order in the classroom was of the utmost importance to the late 19th century educator. Many believed that the quality of a teacher’s worth could be judged by his or her ability to keep good order in the schoolroom. How that order was achieved was also important. Teachers’ manuals included chapters devoted to the subject of good government, classroom rules, and discipline. The most important point in most school government suggestions seemed to best stated by Professor Lind. "A Republican or Democratic form of government is undoubtedly best for Nations or communities, and, to a certain extent, it is best in the school-room; but there must be a slight savouring of despotism." (Lind: 46)

The first and almost universally used way to maintain classroom discipline was student seating. In rural schools student ages ranged commonly from 5 to 18 or 19 years of age. That itself was a formula for discipline disaster. The solution was to seat the students by age and sex. The students were seated progressively by educational level. The beginners were seated in the first row or rows and so on until the back rows were filled with the senior most pupils, boys on one side and girls on the other. This device usually meant that the class was seated more or less by age groups, although sometimes this was not the case. It was, however, an incentive for an older student who was just beginning school to quickly progress out of a level filled with much younger pupils. Problems also arose when one gender or the other unevenly populated the school. (Fuller: 8)

Rules
Interestingly enough, for a profession so engrossed in order and discipline, most how-to manuals recommended that the teacher have as few rules as possible. Lind went so far as to state "The general principle, Do Right is all the rule necessary." (Lind: 47) Raub discussed at length how the teacher must go about assessing the need for rules and how to establish them. (Raub: 196-199) All educators, however, seemed to agree that the basic rules of civility, universally recognized, were the most important rules for the classroom. Respect for others and their property, honesty, industry and self-control were the most important rules of behavior. Add to that, speaking in moderate tones while in the classroom and most students could happily expect little in the form of punishment during the school year. Whether to ban whispering in the classroom was a topic in every manual. The manual authors, all teachers themselves, for the most part agreed that whispering in class could never be completely excluded entirely. All agreed, however, that the busier the students were kept, the less time they would have for mischief and whispering. Ultimately, then, it was the teacher’s responsibility to keep the class employed in interesting occupations that would allow little time for talking and troublemaking. There were other writers, especially those whose articles were published in journals and periodicals, who possessed a different opinion. They adhered to the adage that schoolroom silence was indeed golden and a sign of children mastering self-control. For these educators "No Talking" was the most important rule of the schoolroom.

Signals
One way to maintain quiet in the classroom was the use of signals rather than speaking. The signs for students and teachers alike could be used to signal a variety of daily activities and needs. Teachers had used hand bells for years as a means of signaling students to enter or leave the classroom. Many teachers at the end of the 19th century objected to the bell’s use inside because it created additional noise. The modern approach for signaling in the classroom was the use of hand signals. Raub devoted several pages to the use of signals, explaining that "A system of signals, if not too complex or cumbersome, will tend to systemize the schoolwork and save much time." (Raub: 77) According to Raub, the teacher should devise signals and in turn teach the signals to the students. He maintained that in short order the students would respond to the signals in almost military precision, closing books, turning and rising from their seats and marching quietly out of the room or to their recitation seats. Several authors warned, however, that too many signals could be confusing and ultimately disruptive to the order of the classroom.

Absenteeism, Truancy and Tardiness
Absenteeism was a problem in the rural schools of Indiana. The causes were varied and, for the most part, related to economics, illness or the weather. Farm children were needed at home during certain critical production periods, be it planting or harvesting. In the case of girls, sometimes mothers – the family homemakers -- needed their daughters to assist in food preservation. Most rural school trustees tried to arrange the school sessions so as not to interfere with critical farming times, but still there were many days when students missed classes to help on the family farm. Illness also was prevalent, especially during winter months. Closed school rooms, shared lunches and water dippers, even shared desks, created an atmosphere for the spread of coughs, colds, and worse, deadly contagious diseases. Illnesses such as scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles and mumps were common among the student body. Teachers often overlooked absenteeism that was attributed to family responsibilities or illness. Most teachers tried to help students catch up on missed schoolwork whenever possible.

Tardiness and truancy, however, were treated in an entirely different manner. Many manuals and periodicals included articles about the problem and the teacher’s responsibility in solving it. Raub was very clear about the teacher’s role in curing tardiness or truancy. He noted that if the truant’s problem was disinterest in school, it was then the teacher’s responsibility to make education more interesting for the culprit! If the problem was caused from laziness, deceitfulness or other undesirable traits, the teacher must immediately inform the trustees and the country superintendent and then contact the student’s parents or guardians. This seemed to be the basic response of most experienced educators. Most educators also acknowledged that all parents would not respond in the expected manner of recognizing the importance of seeing their children in school. Because of this, discussion of truancy served as the springboard to a much-argued educational issue of the day – compulsory education laws. (See Educational Issues) Many Hoosier parents simply did not believe that a common school education was necessary for their children. Whatever the reason for absenteeism or truancy, it was a much discussed topic among educators and politicians alike. Some educators saw the solution to the problem in vocational school and reform schools. In spite of all the rhetoric, it was 1897 before the first Truancy Law was added to the Indiana School Law. (Cotton: 120)

Punishments
Educators realized that maintaining discipline within classrooms populated by as many as 40 students with ages ranging from 4 to 20 might have proved to be the difference between learning and ignorance. Teachers and the educational journals of the day debated regularly the appropriate punishments to be meted out to students. Most educational reformers believed first and foremost that the punishment should befit the "crime" and that respect must be the guiding factor in choosing punishment. Most recognized that maintaining order balanced on the mutual respect of teacher and pupils. Raub’s chapter on school government contained detailed sections entitled "Principle Governing Punishment" and "The Degree of Punishment" based totally on the premise of respectful and thoughtful behavior on the part of the teacher. (Raub: 201- 206)

In the late 19th century progressive educators were beginning to frown on the use of corporal punishment in the classroom, except for the most heinous crimes. Many expressed their positions within the manuals and professional periodicals. W. M. Welch summed up the progressive educators this way: "As for ‘whipping’ and ‘flogging,’ let those resort to it who must. I have never found it necessary in the schoolroom or out of it…To me it is barbarous, brutal and debasing. It seems to me degrading to both teacher and pupil." (Welch: 106) The January 1881 issue of the Indiana School Journal contained an article "Opinions of Educators on Corporal Punishment." Most educators quoted in the article believed that corporal punishment should be the last resort of the teacher, used judiciously, when there was no other recourse. (School Journal, January, 1881: 21-24) In 1887, the Indiana Supreme Court acted upon a case involving a teacher found guilty of assault and battery and charged one cent. The teacher, Mr. Vanvacter, appealed the judgement to the highest court in the state. The court ruled that Vanvacter had acted within the rights of a teacher and within the rights implied by the legal premise in loco parentis. Simply stated, this meant that the educator was punishing the student in place of the parents. As parents had the right to discipline in this manner, so did the teacher. In part, the judges stated: "The presumption is that the teacher did nothing more than his duty. The legitimate object of chastisement is to inflict punishment by pain…and it does not follow that the chastisement was cruel or excessive…." (Mock: 465) Obviously, in spite of the writings of progressive educators, corporal punishment was alive and well in Indiana.

Exams and Progress Reports

By 1886, written examinations were a well-established rural classroom tool. In earlier times, with paper at a premium, educators relied on recitation and oral exams to gauge students’ progress. By the last quarter of the century, paper, pencils, steel pen points and ink were available at any general merchandise store at affordable prices. With these tools, a teacher could examine the student’s knowledge by means of a written examination. An editorial in an 1886 Educational Weekly discussed the use of exams for the promotion of students as young as the fourth year. The author felt that written exams had the additional benefit of demonstrating areas needful of additional instruction as well as encouraging self-instruction on the part of the students.

In his teaching manual, Albert Raub suggested that oral exams offered a means for the teacher to question more closely a student’s understanding of a subject. Oral exams, however, did not allow the teacher to ask the same question of all students and could be somewhat unfair unless all questions contained the same degree of difficulty. Raub concluded that written exams were preferable and offered pointers on how to create a good written examination. (Raub: 143-144)

Students received achievement marks in each of the branches of study on a regular schedule. In some schools teachers sent monthly achievement reports home to parents; others sent marks home at the end of the session. The marks were usually given as a percentage with the general breakdown being:

100-90% - Very High
85-90% - High
80-85% - Good
75-80% - Moderate
70-75% - Low
60-70% - Very Low

Below 60% was considered failing and remedial work was required to make up any deficiencies. These marks were the averages of the scores students received for daily recitation, class work and oral and written examinations.

Graduation

Indiana educators had long contended that the quality of education in the rural school would improve with the offer of a diploma that would allow the holder to enter a state high school without further testing. By 1883 a student could receive a diploma by achieving promotion through the eight levels of common school and passing a graduation examination. The exam consisted of tests covering all eight of the common school branches of study. To graduate the student had to pass all the examinations with an average of at least 75% on the eight tests. It was further stipulated that the student could have no score on a single exam lower than 65%. A committee comprised of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, five county superintendents and a member of the State Board of Education designed the graduation exams. The county superintendents requested the tests and the teachers administered them to their students. The questions were as difficult as many asked on examinations required to obtain a teaching license. To prepare for these graduation exams, the state provided the teacher with bi-monthly exams for those seeking graduation. These were meant to sharpen student test-taking skills and point out areas that needed further study. Graduation exams were administered at the close of the term, usually the 3rd Saturday in April. Students passing the examination received the highly prized diploma. There was some criticism that the exam was far too difficult. Many pointed out the small percentage of students actually finishing the 8-year course of study and passing the exam as proof of the difficulty. Professor Mock contended that as few as 2 or 3 in 50 who started school actually achieved a diploma. (Mock: 452) But most justified the rigors of both the course of study and examination as proof of the quality of both student and teacher.

The graduation ceremony was usually a community event. All the graduates in the township received their diplomas in a gathering officiated by the County School Superintendent. The ceremony was held in a location large enough to hold the crowds that gathered for the event. The ceremony consisted of speeches, singing, orations by each of the graduates, and concluded with a prayer offered by a local clergyman. Ceremonies could last for 2 to 3 hours. The Indiana Department of Public Instruction issued the diplomas and were a source of pride for every recipient.

Bibliography

Barber, Marshall A. The Schoolhouse at Prairie View. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press, 1953.

Beeman, Larken. The Life and Times of the Elisha Cragen and Catherine Luca Beeman Family. Unpublished manuscript.

Boone, Richard G. A History of Education in Indiana. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1892

Bradford, Mary. "Memoirs of Mary Bradford". Wisconsin Magazine of History,September 1930 - December 1932.

Brasted, Arthur, Unpublished manuscript, 1971. Indiana Historical Society

The Education Weekly. Indianapolis: 1884-1886.

The Educationalist. Indianapolis: 1873-1874.

Fassett, Cotton. Education in Indiana. Indianapolis: Wm. Burford, 1904.

Fuller, Wayne. The Old Country School. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1982.

___________. One-Room Schools in the Middle West. Lawrence, Kansas: University of Kansas Press, 1994.

The Indiana School Journal. Volumes 1881-1886. Indianapolis.

Lind, G. Dallas. Methods of Teaching in Country Schools. Danville, Indiana: The "Normal Teacher" Publishing House, 1880.

Raub, Albert N. School Management. Lock Haven, PA: E.L. Raub & Co., 1885.

Report of the Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction. Volumes 1881-82; 1883-84; 1885-86. Indianapolis: Department of Public Instruction.

Welch, A.M. How to Organize, Classify and Teach a Country School. Chicago and Omaha: W.M. Welch Publishers, 1886.