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School Days "Pupils are expected to be neat and clean in their appearance, obedient to their teachers at all times while under their control, polite to each other, and attentive in their studies.” So begins the list of rules for O’Fallon public school students set forth in 1880. Those young scholars were educated in a two—story brick structure, O’Fallon’s first public school, built in 1861 on the present day northeast corner of 3rd St. and S. Lincoln Ave. It served as a school until 1902. Things were simpler back then when the rules were written——no electric lights, no air conditioning and certainly no TV or computers. Pupils did, however, have one frill not shared by their modern counterparts. They could take advantage of a shallow pond near the school which turned into a skating rink in the winter. The rules go on to state that pupils were required to be in their school rooms by 9:05 a.m. or 1:05 p.m. or 5 minutes after either recess. Tardiness without a written excuse from the parents was punishable by suspension for the remainder of the day. Pupils were “required to conduct themselves in an orderly manner, going up and downstairs, in or out of the school room.” Also, “no running or playing whatever” was allowed in the school building. A first offense meant a reprimand by the teacher and a note to the parents while the second offense resulted in a one week suspension. An immediate one week suspension was the price for “any scholar talking impertinently to any of the teachers or fighting.” The penalty for “indecency in language, conduct, or other gross misbehavior” was expulsion by the school board.
Such were the discipline concerns of O’Fallon school administrators back then. How times have changed!
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