Clara's Argumentative Essay

Since Clara was remarkably shy, her mother, Sarah Stone Barton, became extremely worried about her. Her mother decided to consult a phrenologist who was staying in their home at the time (American Council par. 2). Lorenzo N. Fowler told Clara’s mother to “Throw responsibility on her. As soon as her age will permit, give her a school to teach”(American Council par. 2). Eventually, she took his advice and became a teacher at the age of fifteen. She worked at many different schools before eventually settling down in North Oxford and built a schoolhouse (American Council par. 3). For the next ten years, Clara would watch over the students and operatives (American Council par. 3) In the nineteenth century, corporal punishment was popular,

but Clara refused to physically discipline her students (History Net par. 4). After ten years had come and gone, she decided to further her education (American Council par. 3; History Net par. 5). After only a year of study, she decided to move to New Jersey, where at the time had zero free public schools (History Net par. 5). She offered to teach students for three months without pay, but only if the school was free (American Council par. 3). The town committee agreed and Clara’s program eventually became extraordinarily successful (American Council par. 3). Her program started with a low amount of students but grew to over two hundred students by the end of the year (History Net par. 5). As more and more students started attending her school, the town had to build a school to fit all the students and hire an assistant teacher (American Council par. 3; History Net par. 5). The assistant teacher eventually took over her position as principal due to a large opposition to a woman running a large school (American Council par. 3). She resigned in the end because she did not want to be second-in-command to a male who was being paid twice the salary she made as the principal (American Council par. 3; History Net par. 5). After Clara resigned, she never became a teacher ever again (American Council par. 3).