School House Wards

Later Charles went to the Frame School in the southeast part of town. I took more interest in arithmetic lessons than in any other. My teacher, Fanny Gibbs Stoddard, gave me a prize for learning the multiplication tables very quickly. She offered me the choice of prize between her own photograph and a jackknife. I soon chose the jackknife but since have felt my embarrassment. I wished I had chosen the photo for I had lost the jackknife and then I should have respected my teacher more. I should not have been so blunt in expressing myself. Source

Went two and one half years to B.Y.C. then came home Jan.2 to teach first and second grade school in old frame school house. The pupils at that time had boys and girls who could only read in second grade and I had about 15 who were 14 and 15 years old and had hardly been to school, were full of mischief and had run the former teachers out, so trustees told me to control them if I did not teach a thing, so the first week I went early and stayed late to put work on the board for them to copy and learn and I did not attempt to teach the class for a week. Herschel Bullen, head trustee, lived just a block away and came twice every day and listened outside to see if orderly -- and told me to let him know if I had trouble and he would come and settle it. They were determined to break up the rough spirit the boys had in running teachers out. I began classes second week and had quite a time in keeping them quiet. When I rang the bell these big boys would run up and over the hill north of school and stay 10 or 15 minutes and come in grinning and laughing, thinking how smart they were. I gave them extra work to do for being late and it did no good. I told them then that if they were away next day I would have to use corporal punishment, so I took 3 long slender thorny willows or sticks to school with me the next day. I had used one for a pointer. At the time with the lip and cut off and it was on the desk, and I also had the three others handy. The next day at recess in A.M. six of them went up over the hill and when I rang the bell and came in 10 minutes late. I did not say anything until just as I closed at noon. I read the six names off and asked these to come up in front. All came grinning and took their places. I dismissed the rest and but few remained in the room. I said to the boys how terrible it was to keep breaking the ruled and- setting bad examples to the younger ones and now I was going to punish all with the thorn willows. I told the first one to come to my desk and told him to hold out his hand. I took hold of it and gave him a good whack with the willow and told him to go out which he did. I did the same to the others and all went out. The last one was the largest and heaviest although not the oldest. When I went to hit him he grabbed it from me and raised it to strike me. I grabbed my pointer before he struck me and laid it on him fast and furious over his shoulders and back and he crawled down from the bench and I pulled up his coat and thumped him a dozen times on his rear and then let him up. He went out and all the others were awe struck. He did not come to school that P.M. or next day but he came back the next after and was always as good as gold to me after that. I had no further trouble in all the seven years I taught after at home all the boys were good and behaved like gentlemen. That reputation followed me through my years of teaching. Source