The article studies the expectations placed on teachers' exemplariness in Finland in the first half of the twentieth century. Finnish elementary school teachers have traditionally been described as model citizens, embodying the qualities of loyalty, diligence, impeccability, and piety. Those who lose their model status have been ignored in research. As a consequence, the parameters of permissible teacher conduct have remained unclear. By observing teachers who were guilty of infringements and errors, we are able to define the type of behaviour that the local communities deemed to be unsuitable for teachers. This also shows the parameters of acceptable behaviour, which could be seen as the determinants of model citizenship at the local level. This article reveals how the parameters of model citizens were defined much more strictly on the local level than on the national level.