Chapter Two: The Teachers

Teaching in the Era of the Single Room Schoolhouse

19th century single room school teachers were highly respected community members, who were expected to serve as role models. Not just teachers, they also functioned as caretakers, nurses, counselors, disciplinarians, and janitors. They received low salaries along with "room and board," which meant they sometimes shared living quarters or shuttled between families in the community.

Single room teachers could be either male (schoolmaster) or female (schoolmarm). In the beginning, most were male. However this changed during the Civil War (1861-1865) when many men became soldiers and were replaced by women. By 1900, about 70 percent of all teachers were women and teaching had become one of the few occupations single women were allowed to enter.

Teachers were frequently young, sometimes younger than their older students. Many were recent high school graduates. Typically they were unmarried, a common requirement of teaching contracts at that time, and had little or no prior experience. The combination of demanding work and low pay made teaching a high turnover profession, with many spending a couple years teaching before quitting to get married.

Sandy Pond school teachers were no exception to these trends. Earlier schools on this location--3 in all--had a mix of men and women teachers. However, during the current building's 38 years (1868-1906) as a schoolhouse--the 4th and last n this site--all 27 teachers were women. Most stayed for only a year or two. The only exceptions were Louisa Coote Hatch (1895-1900) and Winifred "Lizzie/Lissie" McGuane (1887-1892) who each taught for five years.

For a lively and informative 9-minute video on Sandy Pond School teachers, please click here.

Some unfamiliar terms from the single room school era

Abcedarian

A teacher in the 19th century would have been very familiar with this word. It denoted those young students whose immediate task was to learn the alphabet. Its origins can be traced back to the 17th century, and it was in common use as late as 1880.

Cipher

To do arithmetic problems.

Nooning

Single room school students, who were known as "scholars," had one hour off from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. to eat and play. In good weather, they would bring their "dinner pails" outside and play for most of the hour. They could play anywhere they wished as long as they could hear the school bell calling them back to classes at 1:00 p.m.

Privy

This word, with which some of us may be familiar, is simply another word for outhouse. For us, it's a word. For Sandy Pond School students, it was an everyday experience.