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Rural Teachers in Dallas County, Iowa by Sue Leslie, Myrna Griffith, and Deanette Snyder The earliest teachers for the settlers moving west were parents (usually the mother). Parents would use a few books that they had when they went to school or were able to borrow from friends and neighbors. If families lived close, they often would group their children together to learn. As more families moved in, schools were built. At first, most of the teachers in these schools were male. As they were called to serve in the army, women took their place, and training requirements for teachers began to increase. Training could begin in high school, where the choices for juniors and seniors were college preparatory, business/office, or Normal Training. During those years in Normal Training, students were taught what they would need to teach in rural schools along with assisting with classes in the lower grades. As long as you had turned 18, graduated high school, and passed the State Normal Training tests, you were certified to teach in a rural school. Other training options included going to college or Normal School for three months upon graduation–possibly late in the summer–and then take the teacher’s examination at the county superintendent’s office. This would entitle you to a first or second grade county certificate. One year at Normal School earned you a one-year certificate and allowed you to teach in a consolidated school. A two-year certificate let you teach in a town school. Normal Schools were located in Perry, Adel, and Dexter. Wilma McManus, who taught at several rural schools and was county superintendent before becoming principal in Waukee, shared that the duties of country school teachers were far more numerous and perhaps more strenuous that those of today’s teachers. Wilma recalls: You had all of the janitor duties. You had to carry in the coal and start the fire in the morning. You had to carry in the water (unless you could get an older student to do so) and at the end of the day you carried out the ashes from the stove as well as the water. Other tasks were to sweep the floor (mopping it if there was mud), dump the waste basket, and empty the pencil sharpener. The teacher was the nurse as well. With few of the schools having phones, if a child got sick or hurt, it was up to the teacher to take care of them. Back in the late 1920s, a teacher at a school west of Perry would walk across the railroad bridge to her school. Some days before starting the wood-burning stove and bringing in water, she had to chase the tramps out of the school. There was no vandalism or theft. She wasn’t afraid; it was the depression. Early rules prohibited teachers from being married, and many a teacher married a farmer from the area and settled down to life on the farm. This was only one of a long list of rules for teachers to abide by. Among them were: To be home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless at a school function; not to loiter downtown in ice cream stores; not to smoke or drink beer, wine or whiskey; and not to wear face powder, mascara or paint their lips. Discipline in country schools took a much different form that it does now. Some forms of discipline were to stand in the corner, sit in the hall, write what you did wrong so many times, stay in at recess, or receive a spanking. However, many of the teachers interviewed by Adel High School students in their 1978 publication “Wildrows” felt that discipline wasn’t a big deal. Wilma McManus stated, “I think the relationship between the teacher and students was probably more comfortable, everybody was kind of on an equal basis and you were a big family. Kids knew the teacher and the teacher knew the family.” Betty Barge, a former student, shared, “I think the pupils were well-behaved because they were probably more afraid of a little brother or sister telling mom and dad what they had done wrong in school than of being punished by the teacher.” In any case, teachers were remembered fondly years later. Charley Thompson was thrilled that many, many years after having Wilma McManus as his teacher, he was able to attend her 100th birthday party. Teachers remember their experience fondly as well. Kaye Harmann Peoples, who was the last teacher at Alton School in 1961 shares, “I am now 96 years old. At this age, there is a lot more to look back at than to look forward to. Alton School is one of my good memories. I enjoy visiting the school at Forest Park whenever I am in Perry.” In an ongoing effort to preserve the history of our township schools, we are seeking stories about the teachers who affected the lives of so many students in Dallas County. If you have any information about them, our group would like to hear from you. Please contact Myrna Griffith at [EMAIL REDACTED], Deanette Snyder at [EMAIL REDACTED], or Sue Leslie at [EMAIL REDACTED].