In the 1930s and reprinted in 1974, approximately 85 percent of the teachers in U.S. public schools were women--"schoolma'ams." This book provides a portrait of women teachers of that era, as well as a comprehensive overview of their lives, their careers, the conditions under which they taught in rural and urban schools, and the educational practices of that period. Chapters cover the growth in the number of female teachers during the 1800s; teacher characteristics and stereotypes; why most female teachers remained unmarried; profiles of an unmarried, a married, and a widowed teacher; "queer" teacher types and their neuroses; the case of a mentally ill teacher; student perceptions of their teachers and the teacher-student relationship; teacher background and motivation to teach; teacher training, selection, and appointment; relationships with school boards and superintendents; teacher turnover; the teacher's place in the community; her private life; teacher salaries and economic position; tenure, pension, and old age; the occupational opinions of two young women--one who left teaching to enter business and one who left the business world to enter teaching; teaching as a career; professional organizations; and the schoolma'am of tomorrow. Includes many vignettes and personal narratives about teaching experiences. Contains references in most chapters. (SV)