Teaching Moments:
The Southen Summer School for Women Workers in Industry

Background on the Summer School for Women Workers
Additional Resources on the Summer School for Women Workers
Browse Summer School materials
Browse Mary Barker papers

Discussion Questions:

Browse through the printed matter concerning the Southern Summer School for Women Workers in Industry. What was the purpose of these schools? Who was invited to attend? What was taught at the school?

Look through the list of "Students, 1939." What can you learn about the school's students from this ledger? What about these students seems interesting, surprising, or unusual?

What was the relationship between these schools and the labor union movement?

Why do you think these schools were initially only open to women? How might the schools have changed after they became co-educational? How might the schools located in the South differed from similar schools located in the North?

Read some of the personal histories of students from the booklet, "Southern Summer School for Women Workers in Industry." What about these experiences strikes you as unusual, interesting, surprising? Do you think these women's experiences would be the same today? Why or why not?

 

 

 

 

Teaching Moments