The development of professional teaching and the role of women in the workforce as educators were two significant topics in Chapter 6. During the early 1800’s the ideal responsibilities of women were simply domestic roles where they tended the children and maintained a clean household. Shortly after the American Revolution, the domestic roles of women were linked with their responsibilities for shaping the characters of their children as future republicans. This ideology opened doors for them as educational instructors teaching in areas beyond the basic reading and writing subjects. Although women got paid less than men they looked at this position as a stepping stone that would hopefully allow them to fulfill other roles in the workforce.
Teaching methods were also an important factor that was discussed. During the nineteenth century, there were elementary schools where the majority of teachers had students recite information, stressing memorization, which has been proven to be an ineffective method of learning (pg 147). Since then, although many schools have tried to instill different classroom practices that apply a “learning by doing” method, can we say that major differences have arisen? What are some of the methods that were used in the schools we attended and how do they differ from those of the nineteenth century?
