34 INSTRUCTOR NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2006

The best, most surprising,and funniest advice from

the longest running teacher magazine. By Pamela Chanko

June 1898 June 1906 April 1916 December 1917

February 1926 May 1936 February 1944 November 1955

October 1955 April 1956 October 1966 February 1977

January 1986 July/August 1995 M

Instructor®

115YEARS

~OF~TEACHING

IDEAS

April 1916 December 1917

February 1944 November 1955

October 1966 February 1977

March 2005 August 2006

Advice for“Teacher Ladies”These preachy nineteenth-century pronounce-ments remind us how different life used to befor working women:

NO TEACHER CAN AFFORD TO BEDOWDY. Well-dressed hair and a smilewill make calico look like silk andsatin (1894).

OLD MAIDS ARE OFTEN HAPPIERTHAN WIVES. If you are ateacher with a secure place,don’t think it necessary toget married (1894).

A SMART TEACHER UNDERSTANDS THE PURPOSE OFMAKEUP—to enhance what nature gave her, or to putthere subtly what nature overlooked (1941).

5 Tips From Our First IssueThey still work! Maybe 1891 wasn’t so long ago after all!

1. “Don’t ignore the suggestions of parents.Investigate them and if worth adopting, adopt them;if not, reject them, explaining your motives.”

2.“If anything humorous comes up, laugh and letyour pupils do likewise. Do not imagine the school-room to be a place of solemnity.”

3. “Don’t prohibit whispering, but don’t allow toomuch of it either.”

4. “Visit families and invite them to visit the school.”

5. “Do only one thing at a time, but do it well.”

36 INSTRUCTOR NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 200636 INSTRUCTOR

115 years of ideas

1910: The cutting edge?The automaticsharpener.

“Our projector is soeasy even Johnny cando it,” said a 1957 ad.

In 1895, blackboard andchalk ruled. And mostplaces, it still does.

A 1918 ad insisted “no teacher can bear not to own a ColumbiaGramophone.”

1895 1940

Classroom Tech ... Through the Decades

Teacher-to-Teacher(Idea Swapping)

Over the years, Instructor hasreceived ideas from teachers that

were written long-hand, shorthand,mailed, mimeographed, faxed, and e-mailed. No matter what we called it—“Hints From the Schoolroom,” “TeachersHelp-One-Another Club,” or most recently,“Idea Swap,” it’s always been readers’favorite part of the magazine.

1905 I tell my students that they arecaptains of a company of soldiers—theletters being the soldiers—and they areto make their soldiers stand straight in arow. They don’t always mind if they arenot good writers. But they dislike verymuch when they are not good captains.—Mabel Ritzman

1915 To keep parents in touch withbeginners’ reading, I make booklets inwhich I print reading lessons. I ask par-ents to mark each lesson “Good” if wellread and underline words not known.The children are delighted and theresults are gratifying. —S.E. Rice

1966 I made giant paper lollipops.Each was printed with a letter of thealphabet. During reading readiness time, I walked around “selling” my lollipops tochildren who could “pay the price”—saythe name of the letter. —S. M. Sylvester

The Morning Inspection of Teeth (1917)“It is an excellent use of a few morning minutes,” said Instructor in1917. Most of us today are happy to skip over this classroom routine.

Have you tried bubble bath? Get some if you want tomake a day with a room-ful of problem childrenseem like nothing but adream.”—1941

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“Computer learning has so muchpotential. Students just love it!”shouted the October 1985 issue.

“A listening center makesreading group the coolest,” said a 1975 issueof Instructor.

No more note-books now that thehandheld tablet ishere. “This is thefuture!” said ourreviewer.

1975

Tips on Trips (1936)COUNT THE CHILDREN: At crosswalks, youshould stand in the middle of the street andstop traffic by raising your hand. Count thechildren at intervals. You may pick up a few!

VISIT THE FACTORY: In our modern world,few place make a more exciting field tripthan a factory floor. Whether Ford automo-biles or Hershey chocolate bars, our manufac-turing industries have many lessons to teach.

STAY CLOSE TO HOME: Consider parts of theschool building never visited, such as theengine room and supply room.

CHOOSE THE CHOO-CHOO: All children dreamof traveling the rails. Take them to the near-est railroad station to their delight.

What (Not) to WearThis list of fashion no-nos from over theyears proves that some rules are timeless.

n SHABBY HATS (1915) If your only pre-sentable hat is faded, rip off the trimmingand paint it (it’s child’s play to do).

n LOW NECKLINES (1926) Colored smocksare proper professional dress for teachers.The suitable necklines, and pockets largeenough to hold pencils and notebooks, addto their appropriateness.

n BEIGE (1956) Children love bright andvibrant colors. They love to wear them andto see them on you.

n TOO MUCH JEWELRY (1941) Plain clothesand costume jewelry belong together, likelobster and lemon butter. Garnish sparingly.

n DRESSY CLOTHES (1976) For messytasks, you can look chic and professionalin a pair of blue jeans with patches onthe knees and a grandfather’s shirt.

2005

“O Teachers of America, awake,arise, take up your duties with a full heart.You must make citizens of your pupils.”—1917

115 years of ideas

Trends in Phys-EdInstructor reported the latestthinking in child development:

DAILY RECESS: Childrenshould have two periodseach day given to exercise.Eight minutes each is sufficient.—1916.

BODY BUILDING: Isometricexercises in which childrenexert each muscle group fora few seconds ensures max-imum growth and coordi-nation. —1966.

YOGA: Through the yogaapproach to creative move-ment, children gain personal suc-cess in developing their minds andbodies. —1975.

1916 WritingPromptsthat couldn’t be weirderThe following prompts were suggested for compositions in 1916:

>> Title: The Boy Who Did NotListen to His Father

>> Title: Autobiography of an Olive

>> How What I Learn in Manual Training Helps at Home

>> Title: A Spool of Thread Entertains the Sewing Class

>> Compose a dialogue between two small boys, one of whom has a red apple.

>> Title: Reverie of the Family Dog

>> Where may whiskey, beer, etc. be bought? Do good men buy them or use them?

1976 Thispaper-machepig sports aseventies look.

2006 Thissheep usesgaffe tapeand cottonbatting.

38 INSTRUCTOR NOVEMBER /DECEMBER 2006

A classroom tea party affords children a pleasant opportunity to practice etiquette, and the fine art of conversation. Hold a tea party today.”—1927

Classroom crafts—from generation to generation As teaching methods and classroom technology have changed, the hands-on crafts kids love have stayed remarkably the same.

1957 An adorable “butter box” duck.

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Teaching DuringWartimeThe First and Second World Warscalled upon teachers to support thehomefront:

FROM “BUILDING PATRIOTISM”(1917): “Why read from a bookwith which children are alreadyfamiliar when President Wilson’sFlag Day speech is at hand?” “The ideal teacher will allow,nigh demand, pupils to bring inthe newspapers.

FROM “KEEP UP CHILDREN’SMORALE (1943): “This is not thetime for a spooky story, for inthese early days of what may be a long war, nerves are taut, chil-dren are excitable. Cheerfulnessis an essential, this implies ahappy ending.”

FROM “POSTERS TO SUPPORTTHE TROOPS” (1943): Try theseslogans: “A Stitch in Time WillMend Your Dress—And SaveSome Cloth For Uncle Sam” and“We’ll Study Today—Our NationWill Need us Tomorrow.”

Kids Are Heroes Too!Meet the winner and runners-up of our “Kids Are

Heroes” contest and the nominating teachers.

The Germ-Free ClassroomTips from teachers and experts on avoiding those

winter cold bugs.

Talking With Katherine PattersonWith the Bridge to Terabithia movie coming out

in February, we sat down with the Newbery-winnerto learn the real story behind the classic book.

Faith Ringgold Masterpiece PosterA poster and art workshop celebrating important

figures in African-American history.

In the Next Issue of Instructor

More ideas on page 52.

CelebrateChildren’sBookWeekBook Week has been around for 85 years,almost as long as Instructor. This yearit’s November 13–19.

GUESS THE STORY: A favorite game is onein which the teacher gives hints from astorybook until the title is recognized by achild, who thus scores a point. For exam-ple: The story is about a wooden doll.(Pause.) He is naughty. (Pause.) He has along nose. (Pinocchio.) —1945.

GIVE OUT ACADEMY AWARDS: Have pupilsnominate their favorite books, then makea list of the top 10 with second, third, andfourth choices listed as runners-up. Thechildren can make posters depicting thechosen books or issue a news release forcirculation to other classes. —1976

ADOPT LONELY BOOKS: Invite kids to“adopt” a “lonely” book during Children’sBook Week. Lonely books are those thathave not been borrowed in a long time. Toadopt a book, a child checks it out, readsit, and designs a new cover and a blurb.The covers are laminated and placed onthe books, and kids’ names are placed onthe adoption roster in the library. —1986

Forecasting the Future:Advice Ahead of Its Time1895 Do not shorten the reading period to make room for something else; if any change at all, lengthen it. There isno way for the pupil to learn to read,except by reading.

1937 Read aloud every day to childrenunder the third grade and several times aweek to those in higher grades. In hearingstories read aloud, children’s speaking andunderstanding vocabularies are widened,and their appreciation of books in generalis deepened.

1957 Phonics is being increasingly rec-ognized as an effective tool in developingthe ability to pronounce new words. Thisdoes not mean, however, that phonicsalone will make a child a successful read-er. Phonics is a means to an end, not anend in itself. nn

DOWNLOAD THE FULL TEXT OF “115 YEARS OF GREAT IDEAS” AT WWW.SCHOLASTIC.COM/INSTRUCTOR.

115 ideas

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