by Lucile Clancy Zink
What was it like to be a teacher in a rural school in the early 1950s‑ I was one of those teachers and here are some of my experiences.
With the advent of better cars and roads people became more mobile and were able to travel longer distances to fulfill their needs. This fact had an effect on the educational system in the rural communities. Also during the late forties and early fifties there were fewer farms which resulted in fewer students attending the rural schools. A shortage of personnel that was willing to teach in these school was also a problem. To alleviate this shortage the North Dakota Legislature established a Rural Scholarship program, which provided a $300 scholarship to anyone who was qualified to attend a teachers' college for one year. If the recipient taught one year in a rural school, the money did not have to be returned. If this was not done, the $300 plus 3% interest had to be returned to the state. After completing this year in college the student was issued a First Grade Elementary Certificate, which allowed them to teach for three years. How did all this affect me?
As I was finishing my last year of high school, like the rest of my classmates, I was attempting to make some plans for my future. I really wasn't too sure as to what I wanted to do, except for the fact, I really wanted to go to college. Being the sixth child of a family of eight and being reared during the depression years, found me in a situation where there just wasn't any extra money to send me to college. I heard about the rural scholarship and decided to apply for the grant, which I received.
The money was used for tuition and books. I was able to stay with my grandmother at no expense to me. She also fed me breakfast and supper. My noon meal was acquired by working at the cafeteria at the college. This also gave me a little spending money for incidentals. Thus I was able to complete my first year in college.
The next step was to find a school to teach so I could fulfill the requirements of the Scholarship. After sending out several applications, I received an answer from Birtsell Township, Foster County. I was eighteen years old and really didn't know where Foster County was, not to mention Birtsell township! One of my fellow students was from this area.
With her encouragement I set out with shaky knees to meet with the chairman of the Board for an interview. Within a few days I received a contract to teach Birtsell No. 4 School for $210 a month. My duties included doing janitor work and supervising the play during the recess time. I was offered a place to stay with a farm family that lived about a quarter of a mile away from the school.
The school was modern compared to many of the rural schools. It had indoor toilets and a stoker furnace that worked fine if it was kept filled with coal. The floors and other equipment were in good shape so it wasn't too difficult to keep clean. I did find a nest of mice in the teacher's desk, but I handled that without too much trouble.
Before long it was time for the school term to start. This was to be my first experience with a rural school. When I was a child we lived on a farm, but we attended school in town. My practice teaching was in a small town that had graded rooms with two grades in one room. Here I was in a school all by myself. There were six students with five different grades! Two first graders, one second, one fourth, sixth and eighth. How in the world do you get all those classes in one day? How will I keep their interest when there is no competition? What can we do to keep them from being too bored? How will this Norwegian community accept a teacher that had an Irish Name of Clancy?
I learned early in life, where there is a will there is a way. If you really work at it, and maybe a prayer or two along the way‑ you can come up with some solution to almost any problem that may come along.
The County Superintendent was in charge of the rural schools. She was helpful with suggestions on methods of teaching, setting up the schedule and solving any special problems that may arise. She would make periodic visits to see if you were having any problems and to offer her assistance. It was really reassuring to know that she was there to help, if it was necessary.
As the days progressed I discovered that these students were very adept at understanding the various subjects. They were able to complete the required work in record time, which would leave extra time for doing other things. I also found out that they liked to sing and put on programs, so that is how we filled in the extra time.
The first production was a skit on the United Nations. The students made flags representing the five nations who were members of the Security Council. (By this time the number of students had dropped to five as one of the girls moved away.) These were placed in front of stools. Each member dressed as closely as possible to the style of clothes that was worn in the country he represented. With the assistance of the narrator and each member, the story of the United Nations was told: How it started; the purpose of the organization, the various divisions, etc.
Songs were also sung from a special book on the United Nations. The parents came to watch the program. After which they joined in some folk dances from various countries and a very special lunch. A repeat performance of this program was requested at a later date.
Halloween was the next celebration with a special witch as a surprise guest, (this was one of the mothers). The students made masks out of paper bags, bobbed for apples, pinned the tale on the donkey or cat, and other Halloween games. Some little members of the community were also special guests.
The next production was the Christmas program. This included solos, a play "A Christmas Cinderella, " and "A Living Christmas Magazine." The five students took the various parts, changing character by changing costumes. Behind the scene was really a riot. I had to hope for the best as I was out front playing piano!! Kids are really something if they are involved in a project they really want to do!
Programs for the guests were made out by hand with art work done by the students. Lunch was served to the capacity crowd by some of the mothers.
A Valentine party was held in February. The students had a good time making old‑fashioned Valentines during the art classes.
This Irishman just couldn't let St. Patrick's Day pass without some celebration in spite of the fact that this was a Norwegian community. The children and the parents went along with the idea. It's surprising, when you dress up a little boy or girl in Kelly green, teach them some Irish songs, the Irish jig, and a few Irish jokes. It's really difficult to tell that they are little Norwegians!! The highlight of the program was the rhythm band number entitled "Clancy's Rhythm Band" with music taken from "McNamara's Band" and the words changed to fit the occasion. The final verse stating that they were the strangest Irishmen ever seen because they were all Norwegians!
During the year the county would have some activities for all the rural schools. These were the Y.C.L. (Young Citizen League) convention and the music festival. The Y.C.L. convention was conducted by the students who held the various offices. Those who wished to run for office gave campaign speeches and other activities to get their fellow students to vote for them. Election followed steps the same as in the national or state election. Schools were invited to participate in the program. Birtsell No., 4 was asked to give their performance of the United Nations program.
The music festival was also held in Carrington. Each school was to prepare some numbers for this event. Judges were present and would write comments on the various numbers presented. Birtsell
No. 4 presented three numbers: a rhythm band selection, a tap dance in costume, and a Russian folk dance in costume. The comments were favorable and the students were pleased with their efforts.
To celebrate Mother's Day the boys and girls invited their Mothers to school for a special "Mother's Day Tea." After some appropriate readings and songs the Mothers were served tea with fancy sandwiches and cookies. It was quite a festive affair.
At the end of the school year, the seventh and eighth grades were required to take a State examination. These were really tough because the questions were sent in from all over the state. Then certain ones were chosen to be placed in the test. The text books that the schools in the state had were certainly not all the same, so some of the questions could very well not have been discussed in your particular school. It was definitely a time of nervous preparation for the teacher as well as the student. Upon digging through some old boxes I found some old exams. We reviewed these plus the year's work and hoped for the best. My students came through with flying colors!!
Some of the customs in the rural school was opening exercises which was the "Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag", an inspection of the hands and nails to see if they had been properly cleaned. The results of the inspection were dutifully recorded on a chart that hung on the wall; clean hands received an ivory bar, if they were questionable it was a yellow dot, and if they were really bad, a red dot.
Other charts around the room were for reading tests, spelling tests, and the amount of library books that had been read throughout the year. If the required number of extra books had been read then the student would receive a "reading certificate" at the close of the term.
This completed my first of what turned out to be a career of ten years of teaching. It truly was an experience that I shall never forget.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 418