The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1919-11-24
LET THE TEACHERS MARRY


normal course of events, should
marry and rear children of their own.
But a stern and foolish custom has
consigned them to single life Of
sacrifice and slow-consuming THRU
ism.
We teach and proclaim far and
wide our high-sounding ideals abou.
breeding up the human stock, and
yet continue this marriage ban upon
the potential mothers of million OF
the best children that might other
wise be added to the population.
The women school teachers OF
America are suberb class, highly Sc.
lected for their intellectual ability
their relatively sound physique, their
moral and spiritual worth and their
unusual fondness for children. II
they should be scored as class or
the basis of suitableness for mother
hood, they would doubtless outrank
the common average of those who are
rearing families today. SO we reward
the maternal worthiness of the schoo'
ma'ams by making them mothers Of
everybody's children except their own
Now, here is an old and unjusti,
fable custom, wrong to the individ.
ual and fraud against society. Not
that am especially sorry for the or
binary woman teacher. Aside from
her low wages her lot is not necessa-
rily hard one. But we have sought
only our convenience and have forced
her into a more or less artificial mode
of life.
I wish every school ma'anr in thu
land would strike for her divine right
to marry, her right to marry and stay
at the business of teaching without
public prejudice or fear of dismissal
SO long as she found it practicable
to continue in her class room post Of
duty. Under pressure of necessity
the extreme shortage of teachers
certain city boards of education have
broken their time-honored rule and
admitted married women to their
teaching forces, but they have appar-
emily not dropped the old prejudice
Already perhaps one-third Of our
half million women teachers have
passed the age of practicable MARI.
age and maternity. But the Others
are still within the limit and they
should be permitted to use every rea-
sonable advantage looking toward a
worthy matrimonial alliance.
And to all these I urge-study men
as well as books. Keep up close as
ISOLATION with manageable young
men. Nourish the mind on the
thoughts of the home and home keep.
ing. Keep your heart warm in its
love and sympathy for little babies.
Advertise in manner worthy of you
womanly dignity and your profession
that you are in the market for first
class husband. Thing and read an6
dream and sing the musical senti-
ments of love and maternity.
If were member of the board
of education, ! should let the bars en-
tirely down to the school ma'em and
say: "Go ahead. Marry a good man
if one comes your way. We shall be
glad to employ you so long as it is
convenient for you to remain with us
If you wish to become mother VIZ
will grant you an indefinite leave Of
absence. And should you later re.
turn to the school room, it will be nee
essary merely for you to show tha'
you have kept in touch with the pro
fession and that you are still capa
bic; then your name will be entered
on the preferred list Of appointees.
A quarter century of teaching and
mingling with thousands of teachers
has led me to the foregoing conclu-
sion.