Page 22 - All About History - Issue 12-14

Education

ACADEMIC’S WING COLLAR
MORTARBOARD THE HEIGHT OF ACADEMIC FASHION

THE MARK OF A Teachers were as subject to the fashions of the time as any other
LEVEL-HEADED EDUCATOR respectable member of society, whether they would have liked to admit
to it or not. The ‘Edwardian Collar’ sometimes worn by some fashionistas
The academic’s hat is thought to have evolved today was actually a style that took a back seat to the wing collar in the
from a similar headpiece worn by the Catholic early-20th century: this small but distinctive style is as commonly used
clergy in medieval times, them being among by barristers today as it was by teachers in Edwardian times. A cravat was
the most educated members of society. sometimes worn with it.
From the Reformation period onward it was
awarded to those with master’s degrees and
by Edwardian times, any postgraduate could
legitimately wear them. Not all schoolmasters
did, but it was a powerful symbol of authority.
THE

POCKET WATCH Anatomy

TIME TO BE EDUCATED of
By the early-20th century, pocket watches
were widely available and affordable for
most of society, yet were still a significant
enough purchase that a quality timepiece
was a kind of status symbol for the affluent AN EDWARDIAN
and successful gentleman. For an Edwardian
teacher, the ritual of reaching into the
SCHOOLTEACHER
waistcoat to retrieve their pocket watch and
decide whether it was time to end the lesson
or not would have been part of his control
over the classroom.

CHALK AT THE READY EARLY-20TH-CENTURY EDUCATOR

ESSENTIAL TOOLS OF THE TRADE 1901-1910, BRITAIN
Blackboards have been giving way to
whiteboards and projectors in recent years,
but just over 100 years ago they were the
only way to illustrate a point or set tasks
for the entire classroom. The breast pocket
of an Edwardian teacher’s jacket made a
decent receptacle for chalk: it made their WHIPPY CANE
clothes dusty but in the event of a pupil
disrupting the class, a teacher with a keen KEEP THEM ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW
eye had a small projectile handy that he
It’s hard to believe that correcting pupils with the cane
could throw at the unruly pupil.
wasn’t officially banned from British public schools
until 1987 and not until 1999 in private schools. During
Edwardian times it was just part of the day-to-day for
disciplining school children. The cane was usually made of
bamboo or birch and was administered with a few short,
BLACK CLOAK sharp strikes on the hands or the buttocks – ‘six of the best’
for the most unruly children. In the absence of the cane, a
THE SAME COLOUR AS THE belt or a leather strap would serve just as well.
TEACHER’S HEART
Like the mortarboard, the cloak was a typical
piece of dress for an Edwardian schoolmaster.
It was indicative of an education through the DUNCE CAP
Victorian period that finished with a graduate
degree. Unlike classrooms today where a STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES
teacher can wear what they like as long as it’s
smart, early-20th-century authoritarians were Humiliation has formed a time-honoured part of discipline in the
expected to dress in simple shades. classroom for centuries, along with physical punishments. An
Edwardian teacher would likely have experienced the administration
of the dunce cap from his own school days, if not himself then on
one of his fellow pupils. This paper-cone hat would have been within
arm’s reach of the teacher and was given to class clowns to wear
on their heads as they stood in the corner of the classroom, quietly © Ian Jackson/The Art AGency
facing the wall for an hour or possibly even longer.

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