I graduated from High School in 1950 and throughout my time in the public
schools of Virginia I was taught by both unmarried and married teachers.
----- Original Message -----
From: "macbd1" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2007 11:57 AM
Subject: Re: [VA-HIST] Married Women Teachers
> Within a long list of state and federal legislature for Women's Rights the
> one that stands out concerning this discussion is: The Pregnancy
> Discrimination Act of 1978 that bans employment discrimination against
> pregnant women.
>
> Specifically as to teachers, in earlier times of the 20th century local
> school boards and administrators were reluctant to hire or continue with a
> newlywed female teacher who very likely would not be able to fill her
> contractural teaching term due to pregnancy. Moreover, there was of
> course the 'taboo' of not exposing children to daily viewing a pregnant
> woman in an educational environment, even during her early months....this
> simply opened the door to "things that shouldn't be discussed in front of
> children." I doubt there was any hard and fast rule or law about this,
> the actions of school boards/administrators simply expressed local
> sentiment and varied for specific cases, locations and times. Some
> newlywed female teachers also felt an obligation to decline contracting
> for another term knowing they likely would be committing a 'breach of
> contract,' or possibly of more importance to the teacher, it would be
> 'failing her kids' to disrupt their education.
>
> I have no scholarly basis for my commentary, just service on a local
> school board and discussions with teachers over many years.
>
> Neil McDonald
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tarter, Brent (LVA)" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, December 21, 2007 3:01 PM
> Subject: [VA-HIST] Married Women Teachers
>
>
> Va-Hist subscriber Bill Obrochta at the Virginia Historical Society
> asks:
>
>
> To All-
>
> For years, I have heard that in Virginia, through the 1950s, female
> public-school teachers who married were no longer allowed to teach. I
> have never found anything to confirm this. The only thing I can find
> that even touches on the subject is a report about teacher shortages in
> Virginia in the 1940s, which implies that female teachers who married
> often chose to leave the profession.
>
> So my questions: Was there a time when married, female teachers were
> legally prohibited from teaching in public schools? If so, by whom--the
> state or the locality? If the locality, was it a school board
> regulation, or just the custom of the board not to hire or not to renew
> contracts for this reason? Or was it the custom for female teachers,
> once married, to "choose" to leave teaching?
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Bill
>
> William B. Obrochta
> Director of Education
> Virginia Historical Society
> P. O. Box 7311
> Richmond, VA 23221-0311
> Phone: 804-342-9651
> Fax: 804-355-2399
> www.vahistorical.org
>
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