|
|
|
|
|
J.W. Dawson, later the first principal of McGill University, was hired as the first provincial superintendent of education for Nova Scotia in 1850. Dawson made a trip that summer through Massachusetts and New York State to collect information on teacher training and the operation of schools. Much of what he observed became standard Nova Scotia practice. It may not surprise most who attended the Upper Burlington school that our teachers came from this training system which had its roots in Prussia, more famous for its army discipline, as a few of our teachers seemed definitely of the drill-sergeant mold. The system had strong ties also to the system of the Glasgow normal school in Scotland, and to that in Massachusetts. A few details on the origins of that teacher training system at the Normal School in Truro, which many of our teachers attended, may be instructive. The term "normal school" originated in the early 19th century from the French école normale. Its purpose was to establish teaching standards or norms. The Nova Scotia Normal School was founded in 1855, a decade prior to passing of the Free Schools Act, and for many of the same reasons. In a short article in the Journal of Education of September 1937, provincial archivist D.C. Harvey recounts its founding. The full article is available with key excerpts included below. In describing the attitude in the 1826-1850 period prior to the Normal School’s founding, Harvey relates a problem with the system that took 150 years to substantially correct. Change came slow in Nova Scotia public education. “Educational leaders grew discouraged and argued that they were on the horns of a dilemma: they could not hope for better teachers until the latter were better paid; and the teachers could not hope to be better paid until they were better trained. But how could a teacher be expected to undergo rigorous training with the prospect of earning from fifteen to forty pounds a year, half in cash and half in kind? Or even if he wished to become highly trained in the art of teaching, where was he to go for his training? Such, in the most general terms, was the ground into which the seed of a normal school was sown in Nova Scotia, almost two decades before it bore fruit.” So far there seems little evidence that Upper Burlington teachers got any major portion of their pay in kind, either chickens or vegetables, but we’ll keep on looking. Dawson recommended the founding of a Normal School to conduct teacher training with himself as head. When his recommendations twice failed to pass the legislature he promptly resigned in 1852, although he continued to be consulted on the issue. A noteworthy remnant of his brief period as superintendent is in observations he made about the mostly young women in the U.S. normal schools he visited.
As oft quoted “If you can read this thank a teacher.” It seems with a very few exceptions that Upper Burlington students were fortunate in the succession of teachers who came to work in our little one-room rural school, drawn from the nearby local communities in which most of them chose subsequently to live. Dawson might have said “I told you so.” His observations on the young womens’ lives after receiving teacher training has a three-generation example from the Upper Burlington community to bear it out. Lizzie Grace Costley received her license in 1892, married Obediah Barkhouse in 1896, and subsequently moved to Upper Burlington with her children where she lived until 1952, a strong supporter of the school, church, and women’s organizations in the community. A daughter-in-law, Mildred Fish, who received her Normal School diploma in 1927, married Alfred Barkhouse in 1928, but sadly died in 1929. Their daughter Alice who attended the Upper Burlington school for grades P-10 starting in 1935, received her Normal School diploma in 1947, taught two years, and married in 1950, contributing to her community further down the Shore thereafter. It was not uncommon until about 1950 for teachers to obtain a basic teaching permit simply by passing exams for grade 10 or 11. Pass grade 11 in the previous spring and at age 16 you could be teaching it and grades P-10 as well in the fall! As late as 1949/50 this exactly matched the background of teacher Phyllis Rhodes in the Upper Burlington school. Thelma Sanford, born 1913, taught here starting in 1930. By attending a summer session at the Normal School a basic permit could be upgraded to a permanent license. Normal School itself was free until well after WWII. The very young female teacher appears to have been quite usual for the school. So far only two men teachers have been identified, both in the “dirty thirties”. Perhaps as an old joke about getting hired to teach in the Depression stated, Stanley Sanford and Fred C Campbell had the same answer for the chair of the trustees when asked whether they taught if the earth was flat or round “Any way you want it sir. Any way you want it.” Older married teachers were the norm for its final decade, an outcome perhaps of slightly improved salaries that made continuing in teaching practical. The reforms suggested in the 1930s, and sought for over a hundred years before that, had begun to have the desired effect. Throughout the 1930-1945 period the annual salary was in the $300-$500 range, paid in cash by the school secretary every three months. Compared to $.20 an hour for the fellow who painted the inside of the old community hall in that period, the position was not as lowly paid as one might think. Given the pay, low even by provincial averages for the time, it isn’t surprising that in some years it was not possible to attract a teacher with formal training, and young women below the required minimum age of 18 to attend Normal School, filled the position. The novice’s starting salary was up to the $600 annual range by 1949/50, and to the $2200 range for experienced teachers by the mid-50s. The escalation of teachers’ salaries in the 1960s and 1970s would have been unimaginable to a one-room schoolteacher in the decades before that. The teachers who taught in Upper Burlington were hired directly by the chairman of the trustees. The partial list of teachers which we have shows evidence that the mostly young women taught for 2-3 years and then married and started a family of their own, although in living memory of some former pupils, a few teachers returned a few years later, sometimes with a youngster to add to the contingent of students. A number of former teachers mark their year(s) at the Upper Burlington school as an early one in a lengthy teaching career. The teacher usually boarded with a family near the school, quite often a relative. A few were former students of the school who continued to live at home for 1-2 years while teaching to get a foundation in life before moving elsewhere. On week-ends and for vacation periods the teacher would usually travel back to their parents’ home, if not too far off, or to that of a friend. Remember that even up to the late 1940s winter travel was mostly by horse and sleigh in the area so one didn’t travel too far for Christmas or Easter vacation, or for weekends. Flying south for a Christmas or Easter vacation would have been a fantasy, right up to the last years in the early 1960s. The School Day Teaching in this one-room school was a solitary job. It appears a daunting task from today’s perspective. Simply keeping order must have been a challenge at many times. After a few years it is little wonder that even some veterans showed the strain. Resourcefulness was a necessity for the mix of duties. There were no cumulative records on students. The register of complete names, grades, age at year-end, and parent’s names was filled out in longhand on day one. Textbooks were distributed from the school cupboard with names of recipients recorded in a separate logbook, “Distribution of Free Textbooks”, before settling into the daily routine.
Excerpt from the 1940/41 Upper Burlington School Records The Register and Record of Free School Books were left with the secretary of the trustees at the end of the school year. A long-serving secretary in the 1920-1950 period was Mrs. Ethel Wolfe. Part of the farm where she and husband John Wolfe lived is visible in the 1940 school picture. Some of the old Registers dating back to 1904 were turned over to the West Hants Historical Society where visitors may examine them. Bits of a few others from the 1940s were found in rather dilapidated condition in 2008 in the school attic.
Instructions and a stern warning to teachers about completing “the daily register of the scholars in the manner prescribed by the Dept of Education” The school was unlocked in the daytime during school terms. The teacher or trustees usually assigned an older male student paid janitor duty. He arrived shortly after 8 am to bring in some wood and start the fire. This probably followed barn chores that had begun for him at home shortly after 6 am. He spread dustbane on the floor and swept it up to remove the dust and dirt that would have come in on shoes, boots and bare feet the previous day in fall and spring, or in the slush and snow of winter. A couple other boys were usually assigned water duty in rotation and refilled the communal bucket from a nearby homeowner’s well, a carry of 150 yards or so that made the tandem duty welcome. After arriving on foot, or even by bicycle a few minutes before 9 am, the teacher rang the handbell to hustle students to their seats. Straggling or unpunctual behaviour brought immediate reprimand. Singing “O Canada”, or “God Save the King/Queen”, or reciting a Pledge of Allegiance were standard activities to start the day. Lessons and seatwork were required for several grades in spelling, arithmetic, reading, geography, history, science, civics, and other subjects. A few teachers added some music or art as seasoning to the program, but usually it was a narrow academic stream. Pupils learned their agriculture, carpentry, or domestic science at home. School was for “school work”. Short recesses were given mid-morning and mid-afternoon, with a longer break at noon. Practice varied between teachers on how long those in the younger grades were kept at school in morning and afternoon. However the teacher had to remain vigilant during recesses and noon hours to break up any skirmishes outside the school or inside, or to attend to any pupil reported sick or injured. Every problem had to be handled on the spot by the teacher. Resourcefulness was not just a virtue. It was a necessity. Whatever grade one attended in the one-room school, you were continually exposed to the lessons in both the lower and upper grades. Everyone heard the reading out loud and spelling tests of pupils in the lower grades. Everyone heard and saw the arithmetic lessons for each grade that the teacher gave at the blackboard, or the verbal history lessons given by the teacher, sometimes in question and answer form based on reading homework of the night before. Teachers agreed it was useful for incidental review of past grades’ material, or a preview of what lay ahead. Everyone also heard the comments the teacher might make about a pupil’s performance, and the excuses that might be offered if one’s homework was not done. Discipline was quite rigid, with all expected to work quietly at their seats while the teacher attended to lessons of pupils in the other grades. No whispering or giggling was tolerated. Discipline for any sort of real or perceived transgression was usually immediate and sometimes quite harsh. At school breaks on fine days in fall and spring a ball game, or a game of scrub, was usually held by the students using a sponge ball and a bat. Bases were quickly laid out with sticks or flat rocks. Sides were chosen by two older boys acting as captains, picking in order of perceived talent. The final picks were those less athletic students hoping to avoid the ignominy of being picked last. A special flat slab bat was allowed for girls and younger ones. In a tense game an older boy would sometimes “take the knocks” for a less capable participant, on request or otherwise. Other than the bat, which was often just a round stick, it was bare hands all around for equipment. The teacher had to intervene if disputes over the games turned violent, but didn’t often venture out to watch. She had seatwork to do herself. On rainy days, or in winter, indoor activities predominated for students, with checkerboards and crokinole boards brought out. Overexuberant flicks of the crokinole dics occasionally added extra clamor to the cheering. A stern throat clearing by the teacher was usually enough to keep the noise at a reasonable level. Many students were content just to walk outside around the school during breaks at all seasons, or to read quietly inside, or sit and chat with a schoolmate. A few of the girls might do some knitting or sewing. Students who lived up to a mile away went home for lunch in fine weather, but eating your lunch at school was the norm for most at all times of year. Lunch boxes were stored in your desk, or outside on a shelf in the coatroom. The school bell also ended noon hour and the afternoon began with a second taking of attendance by the teacher. The set of afternoon lessons then began. Students in lower grades were dismissed for home at afternoon recess, and the other students were dismissed between 3:30 and 4:00 pm to walk up to 2 ½ miles home with their load of books and lunchbox. Some past students mentioned sticking part of their load of books under the wooden steps visible in some past pictures. They would retrieve them on arrival the next day, their arm strength spent on farm chores and not on carrying textbooks. An armload of completed homework and tests to be marked was usually taken home by the teacher at 4:30 or later. In the last years of the school’s operation years the teacher might have a car, but otherwise walked with their burden to their place of residence. Discipline was strict with the strap on prominent display at the teacher’s desk! Few teachers were sparing in its use, with the basis for wielding it highly variable. Some didn’t use it at all. Others administered strappings for the offence of a poor performance in the daily spelling lesson. Some Upper Burlington schoolteachers resorted to other articles including rulers, pointers, yardsticks, textbooks, or ballbats to enforce discipline. Standing in the corner, or sitting under the teacher’s desk were also known regimens applied to younger offending pupils. Suspensions and expulsions were rare. No one wanted to be sent home, because punishment there would likely be more severe than any handed out at school, and a good load of farm chores, or housework added. Regular church attendance reinforced the values many took to school, and television’s influence on youth was well into the future. A single visit from the area inspector of schools, and an annual meeting with the school trustees covered the remaining administrative aspect of operations for the teacher. The inspector usually checked that the all-important Register was being completed correctly! In the experience of several past teachers, the trustees meeting was quite often not held. From about 1935 onwards the inspector was Mr. Murray Campbell of Windsor, a tall white haired gentleman with a big voice, to whom all showed great respect. In later years annual visits from the provincial public health nurse was an anticipated event, in fear by some if a tuberculosis vaccination, or polio needle were part of the day. In 1948/49 the Register notes that the school was closed for over two weeks in January due to a measles quarantine.
Departmental Visitors to
the School from the 1947/48 School Register Salary in cash was usually picked up by the teacher from the secretary-treasurer of the trustees. This was done monthly in later years, but by term in earlier times. Parent-teacher contact was quite limited. Time to visit the parents of students even once a year was often not available. If the parent visited the teacher at school it was likely due to an issue the parent had with the teacher, so not usually a welcome event. A big event in the school year was the annual Christmas Concert. In late November the teacher would commence planning of the numbers to be included - songs, recitations, and a few skits- and regular afternoon practices would begin. It was usually an excited and nervous lot of students the afternoon or night of the concert when parents and relatives showed up for the performance. The concert was usually held at the old Hall where blue curtains strung on a wire shielded the players backstage from the audience. Students entered the stage at the side from seats at the front of the hall. The hall’s old black box stove was stoked to keep all in attendance comfortably warm. The chairman of the trustees announced each number in a serious tone. Then two students drew back the curtains as butterflies danced in the stomachs of pupils, teachers, and parents. More than a few students recall a concert that was a particularly memorable event in their life due to nervousness that resulted in a memory lapse, or stage fight that rendered them unable to speak the poem they could earlier recite with eyes open or shut. A visit by an adult dressed up to be Santa Claus capped off the concert, and all left feeling a mixture of happiness, amusement, and relief. Christmas vacation was at hand for teacher and pupils! Each concert probably lasted no more than 45 minutes, but left memories that persisted for decades.
Marriage Skit from 1960 School Christmas Concert in the Old Hall
A Group Song During the 1960 School Concert
|
|
Upper Burlington Teacher List
1891/92 – Miss Hattie Maria Salter (½
year $60, 18 pupils)
The second teacher for 1951/52-1956/57 taught P-4 only, and at
the Old Hall |
|
The official school name
was Kennetcook Dyke School from its founding until at least
1950. The name Lower Kennetcook, for the area north of the
river down to Summerville, was changed to Burlington by a
ratepayers’ meeting in 1867. The name Upper Burlington was not
given to the community until the local post office was set up
about 1900. Since a school building existed in Upper Burlington continuously after 1851 it is reasonable to assume there was no interruption due to the new system of administration and financial support enacted in 1864-66. A note on teachers and their salaries was published in the Hants Journal of Nov. 29,1883. “Teachers Pay – Mr. Roscoe, Inspector of Schools, was in Windsor Saturday paying the teachers. We are glad to see so fine ability of young men and women in that profession. The occupation of teaching is now a most respectable and useful one – all agreeing that a wonderful stimulus has of late years been given to a free school system.” The “wonderful stimulus” dispersed very soon as teachers’ salaries and the N.S. economy went into a relative decline, that for teachers lasting over eighty years into the 1970s. Our teacher list is very sparse for years before 1926. Information on teachers in Upper Burlington for any of the missing years from 1864-1963 would be welcome.
|
