Be glad you weren’t teaching back in 1915! I found number four especially curious….

1. You will not marry during the term of your contract.
2. You are not to keep company with men.
3. You must be home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless attending a school function. 
4. You may not loiter downtown in ice cream stores. 
5. You may not travel beyond city limits unless you have the permission of the chairman of the board. 
6. You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with any man unless he is your father or brother. 
7. You may not smoke cigarettes. 
8. You may not dress in bright colors. 
9. You may under no circumstances dye your hair. 
10. You must wear at least two petticoats. 
11. Your dresses must not be any shorter than two inches above the ankle. 
12. To keep the school room neat and clean, you must:  

• sweep the floor at least once daily
• scrub the floor at least once a week with hot, soapy water 
• clean the blackboards at least once a day 
• start the fire at 7 a.m. so the room will be warm by 8 a.m. 

While the above rules apply to female teachers from 1915, I did also look for rules that applied to male teachers. Apparently, there weren’t very many men in the profession at the turn of the century. What I did find was not too different, but you will be relieved to know that men were given one night off a week for “courting purposes”.

Have a wonderful weekend!