Minimum Essentials in Manners and Right Conduct for High School Students

When you were in high school, what kinds of rules and regulations were in place? What actions resulted in detention or punishment? Were there books or pamphlets available that told you how to act or dress? Proper etiquette and behavioral standards have changed immensely over the last 100 years. While parents still guide the behavior of their children, there are less resources available that dictate the “right conduct.” For better or worse, many of the rules for behavior and conduct written in the early 1900s and in the 1920s seem outdated. However, pamphlets about this topic help show how society has changed and how such rules have fallen by the wayside as our culture evolves.

Minimum Essentials in Manners and Right Conduct for High School Students was written in 1921 by William E. McVey, the principal of Thornton Township High School in Harvey, Illinois. McVey believed the advice in the booklet would allow high school students to, “prepare themselves for a higher standard of living, a more refined and wholesome citizenship, and a happier and more prosperous future.” The pamphlet goes on to outline how this can be achieved through acts of school loyalty, lunch room and table manners, behavioral guidelines for the school corridors and school parties, introductions to new people, invitations, respect for others, and self-respect.

Some of the advice in the book is still relevant today and encourages students to be studious and attentive in class. Boys and girls are told to be courteous and respectful to others. Swearing is actively discouraged, as well as vandalism. While not written down in books or pamphlets today, parents and teachers continue to teach children these positive traits and warn against negative actions. However, many of the social interaction guidelines are no longer taught or relevant. For instance, large gatherings of students should be avoided because there is the danger that they will become boisterous. The pamphlet further states, “Girls do not make yourselves conspicuous by talking to the same boys every time you have a moment in the corridor. High school days are days for friendships, not silly sentimentalism.” Later on, McVey tells girls not to linger on the streets talking to boys because it could damage their good name and “a good name, which is the greatest possession a girl can have, may be easily lost.” 

This pamphlet shows the change in emphasis regarding an individual’s reputation. All the conduct rules in the pamphlet are focused on acting appropriately in order to please the public and solidify an individual’s good reputation. In other words, the aim is to teach proper conduct so that these students graduate from high school and act in ways that will create a positive public image for the nation and an overall “wholesome citizenship.” McVey is more concerned with how the students’ actions look to people outside of the school than as to whether the conduct is actually inappropriate. In his mind, boys and girls simply standing outside and talking creates an improper image and must be rectified. He is worried what the public will think. This pamphlet is an interesting peek into the mindset of people in the 1920s. There is a sense that people are always watching and judging your behavior. In McVey’s mind, the solution to this is that everyone must conform to certain standards to avoid any ideas of possible misconduct. A unified front seems to be the goal as McVey particularly geared this publication towards American students. Perhaps in the aftermath of World War I, conformity was a way to promote the strength and unity of the United States. By teaching teenagers etiquette, they would grow up to conform to certain standards that positively represented the United States and American society to the rest of the world.


Works Cited
[Minimum Essentials in Manners and Right Conduct for High School Students, 1921, Box 1, Folder 13], MS-627, Carl C. Harsh Oakwood High School Collection, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio.