Heritage Toronto

Student teachers, Toronto Normal School, St. James Square, bounded by Gerrard, Church, Gould and Victoria Streets, 1898. Image: Archives of Ontario

Francis Esther (Hester) How by J.W.L. Forster, 1913, oil on canvas. Collection of the Toronto District School Board - Art Gallery of Ontario.

Hester How Public School, Elizabeth and Gerrard Streets, 1952. Image: Toronto Public Library

Elizabeth Street Playground, Gerrard and Elizabeth Streets, August 21, 1913. Image: City of Toronto Archives

Women in Education

Teaching in the 19th Century

Women teachers in Toronto faced tough working conditions at the end of the 1800s. They taught large classes – with as many as 100 students – for little pay. They were dismissed from their post if they married, although the same did not apply for male teachers. Strict rules governed their behaviour: they couldn’t drink, smoke, or wear makeup. Their dress lengths were regulated and even riding in a carriage with a man was forbidden.

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Lady Teacher’s Association of Toronto

In 1885, eight women stayed behind after a Toronto Teachers’ Association meeting. Their voices were not being heard at the association and they wanted to unify to improve their working conditions. The group formed the Lady Teacher’s Association of Toronto in 1888 and held their meetings at the Elizabeth Street School, where SickKids Hospital now stands. Some of their concerns included sick pay, municipal suffrage, and representation on councils.

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Equal Pay

The Lady Teacher’s Association of Toronto’s main fight was for equal pay. In the 1880s, women teachers in Toronto earned between $300 to $500 a year, whereas men earned up to $850 annually. They lobbied the board for pay increases each year, but progress was slow. By 1900, women still only made 45% of their male counterparts’ salary. The women knew their fight was not quick or easy one; they persevered. Year after year they fought for their cause, finally seeing progress. A predecessor for organizations such as the Federation of Women Teachers of Ontario and the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, they inspired similar groups in cities across Ontario.

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Hester How

In 1912, the Elizabeth Street School was rebuilt and renamed Hester How School, after a beloved teacher and principal. Hester How established a special class for delinquent boys in the Ward in 1881. Many doubted that a woman could succeed with this task, but How rose to the challenge. Recognizing that education alone would not reform the boys, she set up a free lunch program, summer camps, and health services. Her work had a positive influence on the children, and the new school building was named in her honour. Today, her legacy lives on at the Hester How Day Care Centre in City Hall.

*Sources:

Eva Kate Walker, The story of the Women Teachers’ Association of Toronto. Toronto, 1930.

Patricia Anne Staton, Speak with their own voices : a documentary history of the Federation of Women Teachers’ Associations of Ontario and the women elementary public school teachers of Ontario. Toronto: Federation of Women Teachers’ Associations of Ontario, 1987.

Mary Morison, “Looking Back: Women’s History in Ontario Teacher Federations” ETFO Voice, 2016.

Susan E. Houston, “How, Frances Esther,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography.

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Women in Education

Teaching in the 19th Century

Lady Teacher’s Association of Toronto

Equal Pay

Hester How

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