Young Teachers Learning on the Job

Many rural teachers were incredibly young and often just barely out of school themselves. Margaret Gibson, for example, began teaching at Tarryall School at the age of sixteen, only a few years older than some of her students. As Jack Smith remembered, “Margaret Gibson was my first teacher over here… She was a young gal and she was trying to teach all those kids at once… [And] there were boys eighteen, nineteen years old going to school.”[1] In these one-room schools, teachers like Gibson were responsible for instructing students across multiple grade levels, often without much formal training or support. They adapted quickly—designing their own lesson plans, managing a wide range of student abilities, and improvising with limited materials. Without enough textbooks, they used newspapers, family letters, or oral storytelling to teach reading and history. Arithmetic was done on slate boards, and recitations were often conducted in unison, with the whole room repeating facts aloud together.[2] 

These young teachers also had to manage discipline and classroom dynamics, often in schools where the rules were informal and the challenges many.[3] Earning the respect of older students—some of whom were nearly adults themselves—required maturity, confidence, and emotional intelligence well beyond their years. Teachers needed to strike a delicate balance between authority and approachability, creating a supportive environment while maintaining order. In many cases, they became more than educators: they were mentors, counselors, and moral guides. Their influence extended beyond academics, shaping students’ work ethic, behavior, and sense of community responsibility in profound and lasting ways. 

Children and teachers in front of their school on 6th Street at Fairplay in 1912.

Their roles also demanded courage and quick thinking. One Wednesday morning, a furnace pipe in the school overheated and ignited part of the upper room. Thanks to the immediate action of Mr. Davidson and Miss Bissenich, who grabbed fire extinguishers and responded without hesitation, the fire was contained before major damage could occur.[4] Incidents like this revealed how these educators were not only responsible for teaching lessons but also for ensuring the safety of everyone in the building. Whether navigating the challenges of multi-grade instruction, maintaining discipline, or responding to emergencies, rural teachers embodied resilience, leadership, and deep commitment. They stood as pillars of their communities—trusted, admired, and remembered for the powerful impact they had both in and out of the classroom.