Clayton museum goes back to school with new exhibit

Picture yourself as a teacher in Clayton in the late 1800s or early 1900s.

Your day begins with a walk across Mitchell Creek and up the steep wagon road to the two-room schoolhouse at the top of “School Hill.” (It’s the same path children currently take to Mt. Diablo Elementary.)

The first order of business is to draw a bucket of water and, if the weather is cold, start fires in the stoves at 7 a.m. to have the classrooms warm by the time the students arrived at 8. The floors are swept daily and scrubbed with hot, soapy water once a week.

Your behavior and personal appearance are subject to many restrictions, and failure to follow all of them will result in immediate dismissal. “Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor in any form … or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, intention, integrity and honesty.”

If you are a male teacher, you are allowed one evening each week “for courting purposes” – or two evenings if you are a regular churchgoer.

Female teachers can’t marry while under contract, and the dress code is strict: Dresses cannot be a bright color, and you have to wear at least two petticoats underneath.

At the end of your 10-hour school day, you return to your room in the house of a local Clayton family and spend the rest of your evening “reading the Bible or any other good book.” If you are a woman, it’s an unspoken rule that you are available to babysit should the need arise.

Learn more about the history of the local schools and teachers at the Clayton Museum’s exhibit “School Days,” running until June 21.

The Clayton Museum is open 2-4 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays at 6101 Main St. Admission is free.