Beards, Teachers and Education: Embodying Wisdom in Whiskers, 1880-1945

In the contemporary era, the beard is sometimes celebrated, as is the case in Hipster sub-culture.  In modern times however, the beard can also be seen in a negative light, as is the case of the beards of religious extremists or simply as a function of a new immigrant's appearance as they walk down the street.  Given its significance, it is important to re-examine this cultural phenomenon.  Particularly if one is a historian of education, one should look at the beard as it appears in the classroom. Visual representations of male teachers over time have been subject to various characterizations.  This paper seeks to examine codes of teacher conduct, dress codes and the history of “teacher fashion” as they relate to the male teacher and in particular, the beard and or facial hair.  Was this an accessory of the body in education or did it convey other meanings for male teachers? Why is this important?  Attire, grooming and hairstyles all can contribute to several statements that teachers may wish to make in the classroom and in the school.  The beard can speak to discrimination, race, ethnicity, power, respect, and integrity.  The beard can also speak to position in the school hierarchy, ambition, and status. Also at different levels, the beard can also make statements about, age, sexual orientation, relationship and marital status.  Are all these things embodied in a beard of an educator!? Specifically, the paper will undertake an analysis of the beard through some of these lenses and a comparative evaluation of codes of conduct, dress codes, photos of teachers as accessed through teachers’ federation documents, and other primary source material.  Secondary source articles in these areas will also complete the picture. The time period of the study will be the 1880s through 1945.  The main geographical area of the study will be the provinces of Ontario and Quebec in Canada and potentially some of the Great Lakes states. Preliminary Bibliography Burant, T., Christensen, L., Salas, K. D., & Walters, S. (2010). The New Teacher Book: Finding Purpose, Balance, and Hope During Your First Years in the Classroom : Rethinking Schools. Cassagnes-Brouquet Sophie, Dousset-Seiden Christine, « Genre, normes et langages du costume. », Clio 2/2012 (n° 36) , p. 7-18 Ceccoli, W. J. (1980). The Courts and Teacher Grooming, Dress Codes. NASSP Bulletin, 64 (436), 89-96. Dilloff, N. J. (1973). Federal Court Litigation Over the Regulation of Adult Grooming. Alb. L. Rev., 38 , 387. Graham, G. (2004). Flaunting the Freak Flag: Karr v. Schmidt and the Great Hair Debate in American High Schools, 1965–1975. The Journal of American History, 91 (2), 522-543. Grosvenor I, L. M. 2001. Ways of seeing in education and schooling. History of Education 30: 105–108. Johnston, M. A. (2013). Beard Fetish in Early Modern England: Sex, Gender, and Registers of Value : Ashgate Publishing Limited. Kestere, I., & Kalke, B. (2015). The Visual Image of Teachers: A Ten-Country Perspective. Revista Colombiana de Educacion (68), 19-40. Le Gall, Jean-Marie. (2011). Un ideal masculin? : barbes et moustaches, XVe-XVIIIe siecles. Paris :Payot, Peterkin, A. (2001). One Thousand Beards: A Cultural History of Facial Hair : Arsenal Pulp Press. Rubi, F. C., & Garcia, B. S. (2011). The photography and propaganda of the Maria Montessori method in Spain (1911–1931). Paedagogica Historica, 48 (4), 571-587. doi:10.1080/00309230.2011.633924 Troup, D. P. (1975). Long Hair and the Law: A Look at Constitutional and Title VII Challenges to Public and Private Regulation of Male Grooming. U. Kan. L. Rev., 24 , 143. Waggoner, C. What Teachers Wear to School: The Administrative Dilemma. Wall, C. (2008). Picturing an Occupational Identity: Images of Teachers in Careers and Trade Union Publications 1940–2000. History of Education, 37 (2), 317-340. doi:10.1080/00467600701878038 Weber, S., & Mitchell, C. (1995). That's Funny, You Don't Look Like a Teacher!: Interrogating Images and Identity in Popular Culture : Falmer Press. Welch, S. R. (2001). Revolution and Reprisal: Bavarian Schoolteachers in the 1848 Revolution. History of Education Quarterly, 41 (1), 25-57. doi:10.1111/j.1748-5959.2001.tb00073.x Wilson, J. (1989). Professional Fitness: wisdom or witch‐hunt? Westminster Studies in Education, 12 (1), 83-89. doi:10.1080/0140672890120107

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