16-year-old Helena Muffly wrote exactly 100 years ago today:
Saturday, March 2, 1912: Well I really think I worked pretty good today. I put things in order and washed up and a lot more that comes under Saturday duties .Ruth was up to Turbotville attending Teachers’ Institute so you see I had to be busy. Tweet is here this evening.
Her middle-aged granddaughter’s comments 100 years later:
Grandma’s 20-year-old sister Ruth was a teacher at one of the one-room schoolhouses near McEwensville. Ruth had graduated the previous spring from high school and immediately got a teaching position.
A hundred years ago teachers weren’t required to attend college, though they had to pass tests in various content areas. The Saturday teachers’ institute would have provided training and professional development. And, it would have been a wonderful opportunity for the teachers in scattered isolated schools to gather, compare notes, and provide support for one another.
Tweet refers to Helen Wesner. She was a friend of Grandma and Ruth.
Good insights into teacher activities of the era. Thanks, again, for sharing. 😉