Archive for October, 2009

Teachers not allowed to visit ice-cream parlors…

Posted by Blanca in Everything else on October 3rd, 2009

It has never stopped to amaze me how fast and how much the world changes from decade to decade. And even more amazing is the speed in which we get used to those changes and easily forget that what we now take for granted was probably unthinkable and unacceptable when our grandparents or even our parents were our age.

And when it comes to life as a woman, especially as a working woman, we really have a short memory issue.

Just check below … it is a teacher’s contract drafted in Spain in 1923. It spells out a list of things that a teacher should and should not do to keep her job, and most of them do not make any sense at all!

Really, can someone explain to me what was wrong with a teacher getting married? or even more puzzling, why couldn’t a teacher visit an ice-cream parlor?

Notice that they were not allowed to drink beer, wine or whisky. Does that mean that they could drink vodka, gin and tequila?

This is the translation to English, or scroll down to see the original document in Spanish and have a good laugh:

Stamped as a Historical Document

Castilla – La Mancha

Teachers’ contract – 1923

This is an agreement between Miss_____________, teacher, and the Education Council of _______________ School, wherby Miss ____________ agrees to teach during a period of eight months starting on ______ September, 1923. The teaching council agrees to pay Miss _____________ the amount of (75) per month.

Miss _____________ agrees:

  • Not to get married. This contract shall automatically become void if the teacher gets married.
  • Never to be accompanied by men.
  • To be at her home every day between 8pm and 6am – unless she needs to attend a school event.
  • Not to visit any ice-cream parlors downtown.
  • To never leave the city, under any circumstances, without permission from the president of the council.
  • Not to smoke. This contract shall be void if the teacher is found smoking.
  • Not to drink beer, wine or whisky. This contract shall be void if the teacher is found drinking beer, wine or whisky.
  • Not to travel by carriage or car with any man, expect her brother or her father.
  • Not to wear bright-colored clothes.
  • Not to dye her hair.
  • To wear at least two petticoats.
  • Not to wear dresses shorter than 5cms from her ankles.
  • Not to wear facial powder, not to wear makeup or lipstick.
  • To keep the classroom clean.
  • To sweep the floor at least once per day.
  • To mop the floor at least once per week with hot water.
  • To clean the blackboard at least once per day.
  • To light the fire at 7am so that the classroom is warm at 8am when the children arrive.

Contrato para maestras en 1923
¡Gracias mamá por compartir!

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