Different aspects impacted the work of primary school teachers in the 19th century: the lack of materials for the teaching of classes, the delay in paying salaries and the release of resources to pay the rent of the houses where the classes worked, the health issues that implied the removal of the teacher for treatment, among others. Given this context, the objective is to inform how the teaching profession was configured based on the challenges faced by primary teachers in the 19th century. As a research in the field of History of Education, newspapers and official communications will be taken as sources, being analyzed from the conceptions of configuration and representation. It is possible to perceive that the profession of primary teacher was configured in the face of challenges and confrontations, corroborating the construction of the representation of the qualified teacher in the 19th century.