Honoring my "teacher" ancestors today.
On the left is Efa Hope Carr, 1889-1980. She was a primary school teacher in Nashville, Washington County, Illinois. She wanted to marry Melville Potter but they delayed their marriage because once married, and "being a woman of carnal knowledge" she could no longer be a teacher. Needing that money to start their lives, they waited a year but finally did marry in 1917.
On the right is husband's mother, Esther Mary Oswald, 1913-1998. She graduated from Cheney Normal School (now EWU) in 1930 and by age 18 was teaching in rural Newport, Washington. She remembered that some of the boys in her class were her same age. Still a teacher, she married Chuck Phillips in 1941. By start of the school year 1942 she was pregnant and assumed she'd have to quit teaching. But no, the war was on and too many male teachers had gone off to war, and, as she told me, "they said to just put on a smock and go to work." So she did.
WHAT a difference between then and now! First, a 4-year Bachelor's Degree is needed to become a teacher (plus more schooling for higher education). And, according to Google:
Moral requirements for teachers today center on ethical conduct, professional responsibility, and fostering a positive learning environment. These include prioritizing student well-being, maintaining confidentiality, demonstrating respect and fairness, and upholding honesty and integrity in all interactions. Teachers also need to be competent, accountable, and committed to ongoing professional development.
When my daughter, Jane, was in 5th grade, her young man teacher was Mr. Lannigan. He was married and they were expecting their first baby and Mr. Lannigan took the kids through all nine months of that journey. Jane loved it and never forgot Mr. Lannigan.