Thursday, December 9, 2010
Finding a balance
Nowadays 57% of all college students are women, but there is still some gender discrimination in universities. My husband and I are both in school and it can get difficult sometimes with a baby but we've been able to work it out so that he can watch her when I'm in school and vice versa but I've still had some difficulty with some professors. I had one professor tell me to drop his class because he didn't feel that I could do well in his class being a mother. I personally don't see how having a baby makes me a less capable student, but I've met quite a few people with that same opinion. I also recently met a couple that when they got married the husband asked his wife to drop out of school because his education was more important. He said that she didn't really need her degree anyways and that if things worked out she could study when he was done. But then he decided to go to law school and now they have a baby and it's been decided that she just wont get to finish her college education. These are obviously personal decisions of every person but I got the distinct feeling that she really wishes she could have finished school. I feel that an education helps everyone, whether you plan on working outside of the home or not. Even though men take on the role of the primary breadwinner, it does not make education unnecessary for women. I have met so many men who have been unable to find jobs in their careers in the hard economy and their wives are working full-time to support the family. I am studying translation, and I plan on continuing to work from the home once I graduate. And even if I didn't want to work after graduating, I don't think that makes my education obsolete. What do you think?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hey Michelle - I'd like to start out by saying great idea for a blog! Now on to the fun...
ReplyDeleteI've said it before, and I'll say it again. More often than not,the more educated a mother is, the greater the advantage her children will have in life. I mean, who is going to be teaching them to actually learn? Who is going to instill a real love for reading and discovering? Not the public school system! I earned a BA in English. No, I'm not working to bring money into our home. But that does NOT mean my education is being wasted or unused.
We did the same thing you two are doing now. Our son was born one year before we both graduated. It was tough attending classes through morning sickness, and then later arranging our schedules so that one of us could always have him. Plus, I did not have strong intentions to work once we started our family, so there was a small temptation financially to stop going to school. But both my husband and I knew that I would be dissatisfied if I had dropped out. Ultimately, graduating together was one of the more rewarding experiences for us thus far in our marriage.
But even in our fairly ideal situation, I found that I made greater sacrifices academically. Somewhere along the way, we silently agreed that since my husband was the one destined to earning money for us, his grades were more important. Though he didn't mean it as such, it felt belittling.
This experience made me realize something very sad about our educational system and society. I think that the problem of women being denied academic opportunities because of their gender is based on the socially accepted value of education. In other words, the purpose for gaining education in our society is to make money. When, in the eternal perspective, the importance of education goes way beyond fiscal ends.
Um...to make a long answer short - NO! Your education is NOT obsolete.
Nicely Said Amanda, I couldn't have said it better. . . I for one am dying to go back to school. It's been 3 years now and I just feel unaccomplished. I'm not married or anything so it feels like more of a blow to me. But it's important to not give up and persevere because our children learn more so by what we do, not what we say. Which makes it that much more important to get our education/degrees because it shows to us and our children that we accomplished what we believed to be the right thing.
ReplyDeleteSoy Daniela de El Salvador,
ReplyDeleteTalvez aqui las cosas no son tan distintas, tengo un Bebe de 2 años y ha sido mi compañero de clases desde los tres meses.
Creo que en ningun momento me ha hecho sentir menos el llevar a mi bebe a clases al contrario cada vez que recibo una buena calificación se que es por el amor que tengo hacia el.
Me case hace casi 4 años y se que no es facil y aveces por ser mujeres se nos pide que no estudiemos, pero como dice amanda es un bendicion tener esposos buenos que nos den desu apoyo para seguir estudiando.
Ahora un consejo para todas y como dice el blog, necesitamos ser femeninas, y porque dejamos de serlo los hombres nos hacen menos importantes, recuerden lavar su cabello, bañarse bien y oler rico y bestir siempre bien hara que sus esposos les amen mas, ellos ven mujeres lindas en sus trabajos y clases en la Universidad que tambien vean mujeres hermosas fisicas e intelectualmente.
Amino mis amigas no es necesario ser millonario para verse bien.
Que los hombres dejen de pensar que solo las mal vestidas y desarregladas son inteligentes, llego la hera de las mujeres que siendo mamas, amas de casa o empleadas son capases de tener un titulo universitario, ser femeninas y buenas esposas.
Animo!!!!
I think education is important no matter what your gender is. I know most of women, including myself, will probably end up at home taking care of the children, meals, laundry and other tasks that don't require a college degree but that doesn't mean that my education is not important. I am studying Molecular Biology and it is really hard sometimes... but what keeps me going is the thought that some day I can tell my children I sought for the highest education I could get. I just do it for my future generations. I just want to set the example and of course being able to help them whenever they have a biology or chemistry related question that will probably come up every day. Education is important no matter who you are or what you do.
ReplyDelete