The Savannah morning news., 1902-07-15
MUST RESIGN To WED
FEMALE TEACHERS IN PUBLIC
SCHOOLS MUST NOT MARRY.
SCHOOL BOARD so DECLARES.
MARITAL DUTIES AND DUTIES AS
TEACHERS DON'T GO TOGETHER.


Meeting - Board Has Always
Drowned at the Sound of Wedding
Bells, but the Custom of Old Has
Been Capitalized Into Law-Names
of Those who Will De Placed on
List of EligibIes of the schools.
w. e. Thompson, of TallapOOsa,
Made Assistant in High school.
No married women need apply for
places in Chatham county's public
schools hereafter. The doors are barred
to them.
The Board of Education passed a
formal resolution at its meeting yes
terday afternoon, providing that in the
future any female teacher of the school
system of the city and county. who
assumes the cares and responsibilities
of married life, shall vacate immedi-
ately her position in the schools.
The continuance in the school sys-
TEN of young women who marry has
always been more or less frowned
upon and discouraged by the school
authorities, so that it has become an
almost unbroken custom for brides to
file their designations as teachers on
the same day with the application for
q license to wed The custom, how
ever, has now been crystallized, by
virtue of the resolution. into law of
the board.
The resolution adopted was offered
by Capt. Henry Blum, and is as fol-
lows:
Resolved, That female teachers of
the system of public schools of the city
and county, from and after this date.
when contracting marriage, be required
to relinquish their positions as teach
ers."
There was little discussion of the res
olution, and it was passed by the board
by q practically unanimous vote. 1t
has been threshed over so often in the
past that little or nothing remained to
be said, and the members of the board
have been for some time convinced
that marital duties interfere too seri-
ously with the duties of teachers in
the schools to make the combination
desirable.
The action OF the board was induced,
however, by the effort made by two
teachers in the colored schools, who
had married since the close of the last
session or shortly before that time,
to secure reinstatement to the3- posi-
tons IN the system. They had failed
of election at the annual meeting OF the
board
They made application for reinstate-
ment and their application was re-
ferred to committee consisting of Col
George A. Mercer, the president of the
board; Mr.. j. r. Saussy and Supt. Otis
Ashmore. The report of this commit
tee was submitted at the meeting yes
terday and was in favor of upholding
the former action of the board and
declining to grant the petitions for re-
instatement.
Mr.. S. B. Adams introduced an
amendment to the report of the COM
nittee, which was in the following
terms:
1T being understood that the fail
ure 10 re-elect these teachers is not
due to any fault with them or either
of them as individuals or as teachers
but solely to the fact that in the iudg.
ment of the board their marital duties
may interfere with the discharge of
their duties as teachers"
With this amendment the report of
the committee was unanimously adopt
ed by the board. The discussion thus
aroused led to the consideration of the
general undesirability of young mar
ried women as teachers and the adop-
ton of Capt. Blun's resolution was the
result
Eligible for Teachers' Pieces
The list Of the successful candidates
at the recent examination for places
on the list of eligibles for appointments
to positions as teachers in the schools
was read at the meeting. OF the forty
white candidates only twenty succeed
ed in passing the rigid examination
prescribed by the board. while of the
sizty-three colored applicants only
eighteen were successful
The list that follows is arranged
alphabetically and not in the order of
merit OF those who stood the examina-
tions;
The successful white candidates
were: Miss Edna Alexis. Mr. w. G..
Allaben, Miss Nettie Christian, Miss
Cortnne benson, Miss Louise Falli-
CANT, Miss Mary Finney Mr.. w. P.
Jones, Miss Lila Mcintosh, Miss EN-
mic Nell, Miss Doline Purse, Miss Ruby
A. Rain, Miss Pauline d. Roberts,
Miss Annie Smith, Miss Nina Smith.
Miss Celia Starr, Miss Nina Sulta, Miss
Ruby Tommins, Miss Stella Way, Miss
May Woodbury. and Miss Elise Yonge.
The successful colored candidates
were Stella Bagnell Ethel w. Bisard.
Drusilla Blyler, Virginia Box, Susie
Cuyler, Martha Daniels, Helen M. Ell
lis, Robert Gadsden, Jennie Houstoun,
Samuel S. Kelson, Eta Mcintosh
Sarah A. Roundfeld, Georgia Sea-
brooks, Madeline Shivery, D. NJ. Smith,
Marie Spencer, Marie A. White and
Mamie Whitmore.
New High school Teacher.
The board filled the vacancy in the
teaching force of the High School by
the election of w. E. Thompson to the
position of assistant instructor. Mr..
Thompson is at present superintendent
of schools at Tallapoosa, Ga, and is
well and favorably known among the
teaching fraternity of the state. He
is an honor graduate of Emory College,
where he attained high distinction.
There were thirty-five applications
for the position TO which Mr. Thomp-
son was elected, embracing a number
of young teachers of experience and
proved ability. Mr.. Thompson, how
ever, was the choice of the majority of
the board, and with the showing made
by the first ballot in view his election
was made unanimous.
The Committee on School Houses
asked further time for the considera-
ton of the offer made by the owners