Gender Biased Hiring Practicies in S.C.

[Anonymous <xledford@hotmail.com>]

In the state of South Carolina there is a discriminatory 
practice in the hiring of secondary Social Studies teachers.  
I graduated in May of 1998 from an accredited state 
university with a B.S. in History.  I currently hold a 
South Carolina Teaching Certificate for Social Studies.  
There have been several job vacancies for the position of 
Middle and High School Social Studies Teacher in the county
in which I live as well as in the state of South Carolina.  
I have applied for these positions, but as yet I am unable 
to find a position in my field.  I underwent a screening 
interview last Spring at the Aiken County School District. 
I was ranked as a top candidate for employment by a panel 
of educational administrators from this District.  However, 
I was interviewed for only one of the available positions.  
I was told by the personnel department that I was not 
interviewed for the other positions because the District 
wanted to hire "Social Studies Teachers/Coaches".  In other
words, if you want to be a Social Studies teacher in the 
state of South Carolina, you have to want to coach football
and be a male.  I am an honors graduate, but my male 
classmates with a B.S. in History who had lower grades(and
some barely made graduation)have all found jobs.  I am 
considering taking a position at a private school (which 
pays much less than the public school jobs).  Can anyone 
out there please tell me how I can break this cycle of 
discrimination - and can I do it with out hurting my 
future employment prospects in this District.  
I have been told that if I will recertify in English, 
I have a better chance for employment.  There are a lot of
female English teachers in this State!