have many very young children in your school at Cupertino Creek?”
Laura gave a little shudder. “Five of them under the age of seven. It was awful! Only one of them knew the alphabet, and none of them could sit still for more than ten minutes at a time. I would just get one settled, copying letters and numbers on a slate, and another one would have gotten up and wandered away. I finally figured out I had to pair each of them with an older student whose job was to keep them at their tasks. When the weather was nice, I would send one of the more proficient readers outdoors with the group of them to read aloud. That worked better.”
Annie chuckled. “Oh my, I don’t know how you did it.”
“I am not sure how I did it either. Not well, I can assure you. That was one of the reasons I jumped at the offer to teach at Clement. I was certainly more successful with the children at Cupertino Creek who were in the middle grades, and I am starting to enjoy my seventh graders.”
“It is interesting to hear your perspective. You weren’t here in December, but the newly elected Board of Education voted to lower the primary school teachers’ salaries a great deal. There was quite a public outcry, teachers writing letters to the editor, holding a large protest meeting, saying that they would have to leave teaching rather than take these ‘starvation wages.’ Did your friend Hattie tell you about it?”
“No, but that explains one of the comments that Mrs. DuBois, Clement’s principal, made when she was interviewing me. She said that she was glad I had been able to step into Hattie’s position at the last minute because there had been a terrible scramble to get all the positions filled in the lower grades in the week before Christmas.”
“That would make sense,” Annie replied. “I just looked it up in my back copies of the Chronicle . Prior to the Board vote, a teacher with the highest level certificate and ten years experience was making $70 a month in the primary grades. Now they can make no more than half that amount. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of them looked for jobs outside the city that paid better.”
“What could the Board be thinking?” Laura exclaimed. “You couldn’t pay me enough to teach a whole class of five - or six-year-olds! Hot sticky fingers pulling at you, unexplained fits of giggles, endless fights over who touched whom first, and tears when you try to give them the least discipline.” Laura shuddered again and continued, sounding defensive to Annie. “I know that sounds terrible since taking care of small children is something that a woman is supposed to do naturally.”
Annie laughed and said, “I never understood that attitude, but it’s very common. The newspaper said that one of the Board members justified lower salaries for the primary grades because taking care of the youngest children didn’t require any special training or experience to do well.”
“Poppycock!” Laura ducked her head and whispered, “Don’t tell Nate I used that term. I know it isn’t ladylike. But since I learned it from him, he will feel all guilty and give me a scold.” She then laughed.
Annie promised not to tell Nate but pondered what Laura had said about taking care of young children. She’d had very little exposure to children in her life. She had no siblings, and her mother taught her at home until she was twelve and her mother died. Then her father tutored her on shipboard as they traveled back east. Her first experience with school was at age fourteen when she started the Academy, but that was with girls her own age. Lately, however, Annie found herself thinking more and more about what it would be like to be a mother. What she would be like as a mother.
Laura looked at her quizzically, and Annie realized she had been silent too long. Thinking she might learn more about what had upset Laura last fall, she said, “So you didn’t like the babies in your class. What about the older
Laura gave a little shudder. “Five of them under the age of seven. It was awful! Only one of them knew the alphabet, and none of them could sit still for more than ten minutes at a time. I would just get one settled, copying letters and numbers on a slate, and another one would have gotten up and wandered away. I finally figured out I had to pair each of them with an older student whose job was to keep them at their tasks. When the weather was nice, I would send one of the more proficient readers outdoors with the group of them to read aloud. That worked better.”
Annie chuckled. “Oh my, I don’t know how you did it.”
“I am not sure how I did it either. Not well, I can assure you. That was one of the reasons I jumped at the offer to teach at Clement. I was certainly more successful with the children at Cupertino Creek who were in the middle grades, and I am starting to enjoy my seventh graders.”
“It is interesting to hear your perspective. You weren’t here in December, but the newly elected Board of Education voted to lower the primary school teachers’ salaries a great deal. There was quite a public outcry, teachers writing letters to the editor, holding a large protest meeting, saying that they would have to leave teaching rather than take these ‘starvation wages.’ Did your friend Hattie tell you about it?”
“No, but that explains one of the comments that Mrs. DuBois, Clement’s principal, made when she was interviewing me. She said that she was glad I had been able to step into Hattie’s position at the last minute because there had been a terrible scramble to get all the positions filled in the lower grades in the week before Christmas.”
“That would make sense,” Annie replied. “I just looked it up in my back copies of the Chronicle . Prior to the Board vote, a teacher with the highest level certificate and ten years experience was making $70 a month in the primary grades. Now they can make no more than half that amount. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of them looked for jobs outside the city that paid better.”
“What could the Board be thinking?” Laura exclaimed. “You couldn’t pay me enough to teach a whole class of five - or six-year-olds! Hot sticky fingers pulling at you, unexplained fits of giggles, endless fights over who touched whom first, and tears when you try to give them the least discipline.” Laura shuddered again and continued, sounding defensive to Annie. “I know that sounds terrible since taking care of small children is something that a woman is supposed to do naturally.”
Annie laughed and said, “I never understood that attitude, but it’s very common. The newspaper said that one of the Board members justified lower salaries for the primary grades because taking care of the youngest children didn’t require any special training or experience to do well.”
“Poppycock!” Laura ducked her head and whispered, “Don’t tell Nate I used that term. I know it isn’t ladylike. But since I learned it from him, he will feel all guilty and give me a scold.” She then laughed.
Annie promised not to tell Nate but pondered what Laura had said about taking care of young children. She’d had very little exposure to children in her life. She had no siblings, and her mother taught her at home until she was twelve and her mother died. Then her father tutored her on shipboard as they traveled back east. Her first experience with school was at age fourteen when she started the Academy, but that was with girls her own age. Lately, however, Annie found herself thinking more and more about what it would be like to be a mother. What she would be like as a mother.
Laura looked at her quizzically, and Annie realized she had been silent too long. Thinking she might learn more about what had upset Laura last fall, she said, “So you didn’t like the babies in your class. What about the older
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