Does anyone know the reasoning behind preventing teachers from marrying? Was it just women? What about male teachers? Could they be married? This explains why my mother left her much loved teaching job when she married my dad in 1916. She taught briefly at a school called (I think) "Tom Benton School" which was probably in or near Mahaska County. It was a small (typical for the time) country school that she remembered and talked about all her life. She felt that teaching was her true calling in life, but was never able to return to it. I remember asking her why she quit teaching and she said, "I got married!" as if that explained it completely. I just assumed she chose to stay home and be a housewife. Jeanne

Hi Everyone, I wish you were all in Iowa. Just last night Iowa Public Television ran a program on Iowa's old one room school houses. Among other things they discussed the fact that female teachers were not allowed to marry - while that rule did not apply to male teachers. They showed interviews with former students of one room school houses and even a few former teachers. One of the former teachers mentions that she had a friend (another female teacher) who kept her marriage a secret for 3 years! I'm not going to cite dates here, but basically the schools were owned and run by the counties - and even by individual farm families who may have joined together to build a school. The state did not have "jurisdiction" over the curriculum, the attendance requirements, or the employment of teachers. These were mostly all K-8 schools, but in order to graduate the eight grade the students had to take a "State of Iowa" examination. (BTW: I wonder if many of us could pass that same exam? I doubt I could.) The one room school houses were still being used in many counties into the early 1960's - when the state declared that all schools must form districts and fall under state oversights,etc. Also, Jeanne, I am almost certain that one of the schools they showed on the program was the "Tom Benton School.' I noted that because the building had the name prominently above the door, and I didn't recall seeing other buildings with names, maybe just numbers. Anyway, here is a link to the IPTV site with the program on the One Room Schools Houses", it also has videos, but for some reason I can't get them to run on my computer. http://www.iptv.org/series.cfm/20103/iowas_oneroom_schoolhouses Blessings, Kate ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeanne Surber" <surberj@earthlink.net> To: "Iowa" <IOWA@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 1:22 PM Subject: [IOWA] Why couldn't teachers marry? > > Does anyone know the reasoning behind preventing teachers from marrying? > Was it just women? What about male teachers? Could they be married? > > This explains why my mother left her much loved teaching job when she > married my dad in 1916. She taught briefly at a school called (I think) > "Tom Benton School" which was probably in or near Mahaska County. It was a > small (typical for the time) country school that she remembered and talked > about all her life. She felt that teaching was her true calling in life, > but was never able to return to it. I remember asking her why she quit > teaching and she said, "I got married!" as if that explained it > completely. I just assumed she chose to stay home and be a housewife. > > Jeanne > _____________________________________________ > > For additional information concerning how the list > works, how to sub and unsub and list rules, visit > http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~richard/ialist/ > _____________________________________________ > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > IOWA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 8.0.237 / Virus Database: 270.11.8/1987 - Release Date: 03/06/09 07:20:00

I started school in 1939 at Hansell, (Franklin County) Iowa. Our school was one of the early "Consolidated Districts", combining several one-room rural schools in Ingham and West Fork townships into one school with K - 6 Elementary, 7 - 8 Junior High and 9 - 12 High School. My Dad was born in 1901, and had attended the country school at the corner about three-quarters of a mile east of their farm. When the new school opened in Hansell just after the end of WW I, he was allowed to enroll in the high school, graduating with the class of 1921 at the age of 20. My Kindergarten teacher's name was Mrs. Mildred Young, and she had a daughter who was several years older than I, so the "Rule" apparently did not apply in our district. Single ladies (including teachers) rented rooms from Mrs. Jones. Ella kept an eye on her "girls", with plenty of eager assistance from the neighbor ladies. I don't recall that this had any particular effect on their behavior. Don Woodley RAOGK for Bremer, Butler, Floyd and Franklin Counties in Iowa. Researching Woodley, Butler, Ayers, Trindle, Cornford, Relf, Lingenfelter and others as time permits.

My mother became a grade school teacher after she graduated from high school and passed a battery of tests. She taught for six years and was terminated when she got married. Thirty years later, as a nurse with a science degree, she got back into teaching high school subjects. She really loved it. donkelly ----- Original Message ----- From: Jeanne Surber <surberj@earthlink.net> To: Iowa <IOWA@rootsweb.com> Sent: Fri, 6 Mar 2009 19:22:56 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [IOWA] Why couldn't teachers marry? Does anyone know the reasoning behind preventing teachers from marrying? Was it just women? What about male teachers? Could they be married? This explains why my mother left her much loved teaching job when she married my dad in 1916. She taught briefly at a school called (I think) "Tom Benton School" which was probably in or near Mahaska County. It was a small (typical for the time) country school that she remembered and talked about all her life. She felt that teaching was her true calling in life, but was never able to return to it. I remember asking her why she quit teaching and she said, "I got married!" as if that explained it completely. I just assumed she chose to stay home and be a housewife. Jeanne _____________________________________________ For additional information concerning how the list works, how to sub and unsub and list rules, visit http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~richard/ialist/ _____________________________________________ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to IOWA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message