What was life like for a female teacher between 1910 and 1920 in the U.S.?

Life was fairly difficult for the American teacher between
1910 and 1920.  In one respect, the concept of education was seen in a narrow and
pedantic manner.  The strict emphasis on rote memorization was a part of the teacher's
reality during this time.  There was little else in way of innovation in the classroom. 
Basic teaching concepts included students reciting what teacher said in an exact
manner.  There were few men in the teaching field, so as a woman teacher, one was part
of the dominant majority.  The demographics of the classroom was dependent on where one
was teaching.  Rural classrooms were still reflective of the "one roomed schoolhouse"
where all the children were piled in.  Students ranged in ages, and probably more
alarming, in ability.  It would not be unusual for a teacher back then to have about
fifteen different reading levels in one classroom.  This made individualized instruction
really difficult, and compelled the teacher to embrace the rote memorization approach
because it was "one size fits all."  The urban setting was more akin to the modern
school, but only in appearance.  While the urban child probably had a stronger grasp of
education concepts, I think that the influx of immigrants into America would have made a
classroom where kids enter speaking different languages a reality.  In both of these
settings, some of the challenges still faced in the modern classroom can be
seen.

One other element might have come into play.  Towards
the end of the decade, John  Dewey's pragmatic approach to education was becoming more
accepted and the question might have been how many teachers at the time were on the
"cutting edge" in trying to embrace his philosophies, ones that contradicted the
strictly traditionalist approach to pedagogy.  I think that this becomes a question that
the individual teacher of the time period would have to answer in seeing how much they
were encouraged to actually reflect and try something new against the vast inertia of
Status Quo.  This too, is a condition seen in the modern setting to a great
extent.