Having completed this course and this research assignment, I have learned more about what women went through as they became teachers in Canada. It was interesting to learn more about the ideology of separate spheres and how this impacted the experiences of women. Although it makes sense, it is interesting to think of the teaching industry as an extension of the private sphere, which made it more acceptable for women to bridge the gap between the private and the public spheres. It was also interesting to look at how the experiences of women varied depending on whether they were teaching in urban or rural environments. It is easy to take for granted where we are today in terms of teaching being a woman dominated industry. In my research, I focussed on the late-19th and early 20th-centuries. I think it would be really interesting to look at the modern teaching industry and what the future looks like. I believe that male teachers are important to the teaching industry and that male teachers provide a positive role model, especially for young boys or children who do not have a father figure in their life. It will be interesting to see if the numbers ever begin to shift and if we start to see more males go into teaching, especially at the younger grades.

I have an increased appreciation of the subject, and I believe that taking what I have learned into my future career will benefit be and make me a more well-rounded teacher.