From Glassboro to a Global Impact
When the Normal school first opened it graduated 236 students from its first class comprising of majority women. The normal school was very successful and increased their enrollment each year as more and more aspiring teachers were coming to be educated and trained in the teaching profession. Women, however, were drawn to this profession for several reasons. According to a Glassboro Historical Society member, June Armstrong, she stated women were attracted to this profession because it allowed them the opportunity to make money, continue to take care of their children, and obtain a voice in society. She also stated teaching was one of the first full-time jobs and careers women obtained due to its flexible schedule and caregiving characteristic the job entailed. Women were still viewed in the early 1920’s as the caretakers of the family and still viewed as second class citizens. Women were not granted the same opportunities, through education at that point in history, therefore, normal schools were one of the only options for women to pursue at the time. Therefore, teaching allowed women to acquire a sense of power and leadership when conducting and organizing a classroom.
The Glassboro Normal School helped play a pivotal role in the local and global influence of women within the teaching profession. In New Jersey, there are 2,516 schools and 678 operating districts. According to the New Jersey State Education Department, there are over 116,351 full time teachers working in the state of New Jersey, and 75% of those teachers are women. Women have dominated the teaching profession. According to Education Week, an educational editorial, discovered there are 3.8 million public school teachers in the U.S. About 3.6 million of the teachers today work in traditional public schools, while about 218,500, or 6 percent, work in charter schools. In primary schools, nearly 9 in 10 teachers are women. Normal schools such as Glassboro have had a global and instrumental role of leading to the domination of women within education careers.
Reference:
“New Jersey State Education Department Facts.” Harassment, Intimidation & Bullying (HIB), NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Office of Information Resources Management (OIRM), Bureau of Geographic Information Systems (BGIS), www.state.nj.us/education/data/fact.htm.