Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

Hats Off to All Teachers

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." William A. Ward

While I believe most teachers do inspire already, may all of them strive to do so.

Now that a school year has just started or is about to start, depending on where you live, all the burden of sharing and caring outside the home, or sometimes in spite of the home, will fall on the shoulders of teachers.

I am not going on and on with tributes to teachers. Since there is no way to measure how teachers impact lives and because the lure of trying to teach surpasses all logic, no amount of tributes will suffice. So, for all you out there giving so much from yourselves under trying conditions and little compensation, I wish I could put all the world’s apples on your desks.

There is one thing teachers of today can be happy about; that they are not teaching in the year 1872.

1872 Instructions to Teachers
Mason Street School
San Diego Co. Historical Days Association

1. Teachers will fill lamps, clean chimneys and trim wicks each day.
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 children.
4. Men teachers may take one evening a week for courting purposes or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly.
5. After ten hours in the school the teacher should spend the remaining time reading the Bible and other good books.
6. Women teachers who marry or engage in other unseemly conduct will be dismissed.
7. Every teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form, frequents pool or public halls, or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reasons to suspect his worth, intentions, integrity and honesty.
8. The teacher who performs his labors faithfully without fault for five years will be give an increase of 25 cents a week in his pay - providing the Board of Education approves.


Have a happy and successful school year, everyone.