Assassination Trivia

[ReignetteC]

(05-12-2015 12:24 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Thanks, Roger, I love apples - just don't know what links them to teachers?

As a former grade-school teacher, I was intrigued by your question, Eva. So if found this Smithsonian article, "Why Do Students Give Teachers Apples . . . "

"Held up as the paragon of moral fastidiousness, teachers, particularly on the frontier, frequently received sustenance from their pupils. “Families whose children attended schools were often responsible for housing and feeding frontier teachers,” according to a PBS special, titled “Frontier House, Frontier Life.” An apple could show appreciation for a teacher sometimes in charge of more than 50 students.

"Apples continued to be a favorite way to curry favor even after the practical purpose of feeding teachers disappeared. Bing Crosby’s 1939 “An Apple for the Teacher,” explains the persuasive allure of the fruit. “An apple for the teacher will always do the trick,” sings Crosby, “when you don’t know your lesson in arithmetic.”

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-cultu...JySUMrz.99