Research

The following contains independent research conducted by our Museum Interpreters of the Tupperville School Museum.

This information may be used for educational or scholarly purposes as long as the Museum is cited as a source of the information.

Female Teachers in One-room Schoolhouses

Whether in Canada, the United States, or Great Britain, women dominated the profession of teaching during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Nova Scotia was no exception to this rule. Beginning in 1838, the Nova Scotia Assembly allowed women to teach at public school, and by 1892, 75% of all school teachers in the province were women. Young women were especially common in rural settings, teaching at one-room schools like that of Tupperville. Understanding their lives is crucial to understanding the broader context of education in rural Nova Scotia.

Segregation in Nova Scotian schools

While we often like to think of the introduction of Canada's public school system as progressive, a question should be asked as to whether it was equal for all children? Canada not only had its infamous First Nations residential school system but did you know that there were black segregated schools in Canada?

Maude Louise Jodrey

Although many teachers passed through the Tupperville School, perhaps none made as big of an impression on the community as Miss Maude Jodrey. Both the longest lasting and the final teacher of the school, Miss Jodrey taught for over twenty years between 1946 and 1970. Even now, she is still remembered as a strict but fair teacher who rarely missed a day, and always made attending school a joy.

Biographies of Tupperville Teachers

During its time as an active school, over one hundred teachers passed through the halls of the Tupperville School. Most only taught for a single year, and some only for a few months. Of those whose names are known, 65% were women. Although many teachers were
unmarried and under the age of 30, not all fit into this popular image of the young female schoolteacher. There were women continuing to teach after marriage, widows returning to a former job, and men of all ages with an interest in schooling.