New Orleans daily crescent., 1856-10-08
Ueu Orleaus 1aily Crestent.
School Teachers 1YarryIur,


This is the very delicate theme of controversy that
has been made very public by two letters Of recent
appearance in the columns Of our cotemporary, the
True Delta. The first, signed " Gertrude,i com
plains in strong terms of the practice of lady teachers
getting married and retaining their situations, to the
prejudice of those other lady teachers who are blessed
with neither husbands nor classes The second let
ter, signed " Mcdora," is response to Gertrude"
in which that champion of the unmarried teachers is
talked to in tone of sensible but polite indignation
There being thus two sides to the question, and to
use masculine expression, the fight being free:
by virtue of its publicity, cannot refrain from in
terering, in capacity Of umpire; entertaining, as
we do, sincere respect and admiration for all the
ladies' married and single, that honor and adorn the
educational cause in our city.
Gcrtrudes feeling in the matter is very natural and
her ideas are good in the abstract. Every one must
feel that where qualifications are equal the most
needy should be employed first there is nothing
wrong in that-it being assumed that unmarried ladies
are the most needy. But, to reduce such ideas to
practice in our public schools, would be wrong-ab-
surdlY wrone-and would have the certain effect of
depeciatng the dignity Of the school service to such
an extent that, in due tine young lady Of proper
seErespcct would ever think Of becoming teacher.
Suppose, as Gertrude would like to have it, every
teacher upon marrying should be furnished with
"Waking papers, 1t might look we'll enough to the
ladies interested-that is if there he others of Ger
trldes style of thnking-but it would look differ
emily to us men, To sec ladies leaving their classes
as soon as mated, and single ladies bouncing into
their places, would give the schools the appearance
Of a swectheart-market, in which every young lady
whilst setting lessons for her pupils would be also
setting her cap for husband. It would be making
matrimonya reward Of leadership and loss of teach
crship penalty Of matrnlony, which would be
equally absurd The idea, too, that respectable en-
ployment is incompatible with the married state, or
in other words that lady accustomed to active en-
ploynent lnnst, upon marrying, ,fold her hands and
become parlor-ornanent and a donothing, we must
say is inadnissibe. If the husband chooses such
thing and the lady is content, well and good but
should the lady feel disposed, with her husband
consent, to continue her maiden employment, no one
should raise Or has the right to raise any objection
unless marriage should vsby impair her usefulness.
And that marriage not only does not impair ladys
teaching capacity, but the contrary enhances it. is
we'll illustrated in this city that we cannot gne
how such an idea could be entertained. ~ g.
Another objection we would have to teachers quit
ting service upon marriage would be its declaration
that getting husband is stepping up in the world ;
whereas it very frequently step down. and a very
sad step, that cannot be taken back Teachers should
at least holdon long enough after marriage to dis
cover whether tller step has been up or down SO
that should they prove to have taken the latter they
Willie spared the modification Of applying for en-
.E!oyment after season Of apparent prosperity. Get
ting husband, it must be admitted, is something
still, it is not thing that should revoutionize ones
life manner Of Lying when NIlard Fillmore le
came President Of this Republic, his daughter was
school-teacher; but the young lady never once
thought Of quitting school that account. Now, if
We wtTe"a Jbtn lty~H91t N56lt$sacher, We might
think the getting Of husband to be a great thing
but it would be nothing compared to our becoming
daughter to Presdent-and as Miss Fillmore
didnt quit school, are very sure we would mt, for
such Il tritlc as a husband.
Finally, our decided conviction is that marriage
ought not to lie, and is not disqualification to any
human being male female in the discharge of any
. honorable employment. Tie sacred mandate, to
& be fruitful, and multiply, and repensh the eartl1,"
is Of universal application to teachers as well as the
rest Of the human family. And we hold that those
ladies who have after laborous study and the most
arduons application, done service to the public and
honor to themselves in teaching the young idea how
to shoot should be permitted if they feel so disposed
to participate in the blessed privilege of bringing the
young idea into existence, without an occasional
birth home depriying them of permanent berth at
school