Democracy's Angels: The Work of Women Teachers

While Democracy's Angels enhances our understanding of citizenship edu- cation in postwar Canada, its narrowly circumscribed theoretical and research parameters exclude important empirical evidence. Although it is significant, as [Kristina R. Llewellyn] points out, that the 20 women teachers sh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Labour (Halifax) 2013, Vol.72 (72), p.326-328
Main Author: Patrias, Carmela
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
Canada
Citizenship
Citizenship education
Democracy
Education
Equality
Gender
Inequality
Llewellyn, Kristina R
Nonfiction
Race
REVIEWS / COMPTES RENDUS
School boards
Secondary school teachers
Secondary schools
Students
Teachers
Women
Women's work
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Summary:While Democracy's Angels enhances our understanding of citizenship edu- cation in postwar Canada, its narrowly circumscribed theoretical and research parameters exclude important empirical evidence. Although it is significant, as [Kristina R. Llewellyn] points out, that the 20 women teachers she interviewed deflected her attempts to discuss resistance to or pro- tests about their unequal situation within the educational system, print sources suggest that such protest not only oc- curred in the 1940s, but also attracted public attention, some of it sympathetic to the quest for equality by female high school teachers. In 1944/45, for example, male high school teachers appealed to the Toronto Board of Education for high- er pay than their female counterparts, invoking the family wage arguments. While many women teachers seemed to agree with this demand, others organized to fight against unequal pay based on gender. One of their spokespersons was the female vice-president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation, Toronto District. The protesters received support from women school trustees, a number of women's groups, the Toronto District Labour Council, and even the conservative Globe and Mail. In other words, resistance by women teachers was not necessarily covert and informal. Nor, apparently, was it radical dissenters un- able to succeed within the system who necessarily carried out such protest. (129)
ISSN:0700-3862
1911-4842