Advice from the past...

[telophase]

I took a break and went over to the cookbooks section of the library to grab a book or two to check out, and noted that we have a metric ton (approximately) of home economics textbooks from the 1930s through the 1960s. I'd idly been hoping to find something as culturally sensitive and insightful as the World of Parties book I posted on some time ago, but, alas, you'll have to settle for an excerpt from The Mode in Dress and Home from 1935, which explains the importance of going to the bathroom on a schedule.

7. Have the proper elimination daily Careful attention must be given to the disposal of wastes from the body. Constipation is one of the chief causes of ill health and ugly complexion; it can be prevented by the habit of having a bowel movement at a regular time each day. Health and beauty on the outside result from health on the inside. How can we acquire this habit?

(1) Select a suitable time, preferably before or after breakfast.
(2) Drink plenty of water. A glass or two of water immediately upon rising will aid in proper elimination.
(3) Eat fruits and the root and green vegetables.
(4) Take some form of regular exercise out-of-doors

As you can see, there's a lot of decent advice in here, mixed with the occasional "Uh, what?!" changed-cultural-attitude moment. Most of the book contains detailed instructions on sewing and pattern-making, and how to select a pattern, and so on, but the very beginning and the very end deal with personal cleanliness and household management, respectively.

The chapters are also punctuated by little "Activity" suggestions. I note the section on proper elimination does not have an Activity suggestion.

There are exacting, detailed instructions on how to brush your teeth. The Activity for the toothbrushing section is:

Activity -- Collect pictures of suitable toothbrushes and select the one which is best suited for brushing your teeth. Give use of the toothbrush.

I think I have failed to mention what, to me, is the more astonishing bit of the personal hygiene sections: this is a textbook for high school. Detailed instructions on how to brush your teeth, I'd expect in the early grades nowadays.

Undergarments should be changed at least every other day or oftener, you'll be glad to note. And the Activity after the bathing section (which notes that cold water is insufficient for bathing), which shows that advertisers had managed to push body odor well into the public eye by 1935, such that it was in textbooks:

Activity -- Make a list of reliable deodorants, which are quite safe to use. Give the general directions for the one or ones which you think are best.

Also, at the end of the first chapter is a list of Suggested Class Problems, which includes:

2. Have a class discussion and demonstration of the proper use of cosmetics.

3. Appoint a committe to find information on how to care for the nails. Have a demonstration in class of a manicure.

6. Have a class discussion and a demonstration of the process of shampooing the hair.

10. Study a thermometer. Know the normal body temperature.

13. Plan a score card for judging the personal appearance of a high school girl.

15. Discuss the value of sunshine to the health. Why is the popular sun-tan fad a good one?

HOME PRACTICE

2. Prepare a scrapbook on health and beauty which you think would be interesting. Try to make your scrapbook attractive.

The second chapter has a schedule for a high school student which gives one hour per day for homework, but this has gotten long enough, so that shall be another post, later.

Comments

[torachan]

I read that as World of Panties.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Oh, goodness.

Ah, one hour per day for homework. Somehow, I suspect that's much closer to the recommended optimal amount than what's generally actually handed out these days. *quashes incipient rant* Just one of many reasons I chose not to teach K-12 and generally don't get involved in K-12 issues within my field--it's so, so borked.

But at least we're not handing out beauty scorecards in class...officially...

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I did significantly less than one hour of homework per day throughout my school career, but that's a combination of (a) reading damn fast, (b) saving it all up and doing on Sunday night, and (c) not caring enough about my grade to actually do the damn stuff, so I was a solid B student.

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I read really fast, but we always had so much make-work and silly projects in junior high. I don't know, though, since I home-schooled through high school due to a great deal of disgust with the entire enterprise. My 9th-grade student has probably 30-50 minutes of homework per night per academic subject at the rate of an average native English speaker.

[lady-ganesh.livejournal.com]

Ah, one hour per day for homework. Somehow, I suspect that's much closer to the recommended optimal amount than what's generally actually handed out these days.

Just what I was thinking!

[helen-keeble.livejournal.com]

13. Plan a score card for judging the personal appearance of a high school girl.

LOLWHUT? Seriously?

I assume that the next exercise is about assembling a useful shortlist of insults suitable for mocking the fat and ugly...

[sleary.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking of bringing my camera to work so I can photograph the weird shit I find in the stacks during my breaks. I kind of don't need another project, and yet....

Group blog?

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I never did write up The People's Cookbook, which I found in the stacks at the same time as the World of Parties, so that sounds like a good idea.

Yes, it is covered in burlap.

[cschells.livejournal.com]

More interesting, make a list of deodorants which are not quite safe to use. Try them on your classmates and make a scrapbook illustrating the results!

[awamiba.livejournal.com]

My second grader does an hour of homework every night. Just one. We quiz him on vocab in the mornings (but that's just 5 minutes or so). Our school really seems to have decent amounts of homework so far.

[cicer.livejournal.com]

13. Plan a score card for judging the personal appearance of a high school girl

One assumes that the cards are then posted in the cafeteria for public consumption? Or perhaps made into a nice scrapbook and distributed to members of the student body? *facepalms*

[dremiel.livejournal.com]

My 6th grader has about two hours of homework a day plus saxophone practice but he's in a magnet program that is writing and project intensive AND he's taking Japanese. There is always an additional writing assignment on the weekend but it's usually a short one. He knew what he was getting into. He also has Hebrew to practice everyday but that's rarely more than 15 minutes.

In general, the teachers seems to be aware of big assignments so it is uncommon for him to have major work or an important test at the same time a major project is due in another class.

The High School kids I know well are in an International Baccalaureate program and have 2.5-3 hours most nights.

[movingfinger.livejournal.com]

Other times, other problems, other standards

If these things are in a textbook, it's because there were kids who didn't grow up in homes where frequent shampooing or toothbrushes were common practice (I suspect my mother and her sister, in school at the time that book was written, can tell stories). From what you've got here, it looks like the emphasis was on turning out neatly-groomed, socially-acceptable-looking kids who wouldn't be turned down for, say, a salesclerk job because they smelled bad or had dirty nails.

The score card, I agree, would never have been a good idea anywhere! Ick.

I seem to recall reading that the big advertising push for deodorants came in the 1920's, but I'm not sure...

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, I'm collapsing a lot into "changing cultural standards." Also, this book is specifically a high school home ec book for girls, geared towards presenting oneself as neat and well-dressed, and teaching the skills necessary to become a productive wife and mother. I don't think there are any mentions of working outside the home, but I haven't finished it. (The vast majority of the pages are dedicated to detailed instructions on sewing and pattern-choosing, and quite useful!)

The fascinating part of this is that basic personal hygiene information is given to high school age students, as if only the ones who had the economic and academic ability to stay in school that long were worthy of it.