Throughout history, education has taken the face of men. Specifically, our existence has been ruled, quite dominantly, by men. Males have ruled as kings, conquered continents, and killed the meat necessary for our survival. Women, on the other hand, have performed the cleaning, cooking, and sewing; only recently, in the past 100 years, have women gained equal academic rights as men and have become incorporated in our education systems. This shift in the perspective of women has benefitted not only our country but the world, and women have most definitely taken advantage of their opportunity. Women now earn 25 percent more bachelor's degrees than men, catapulting their gender ahead that of men when it comes to the growth of the United States’ intelligence. This jump has allowed an exceptional amount of criticism toward the current school systems, much of which is untrue and undeserved. Although men appear to lose interest in school faster than women, and women have in fact passed men in the successfulness of their schooling, the causes for their lack of continuance in education is not because of discriminatory systems or Ann Hulbert’s idea of “gender disparity,” but rather more logical and objective reasons.
Men can earn as much, if not more, money than women with less education. Currently, 133 women will graduate from college for every 100 men (Brooks 411). Brooks also understands that by sheer force of numbers, women will be holding more and more leadership jobs in our nation (411). However, a male-ruled history has produced thousands of basic jobs most often performed by men rather than women. Farming, a necessary tool for survival during the early years of America, is nearly an all-male job. This, as well as hundreds of oth...
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...“gender disparity.” Men and women are created equal, and this phrase has held true in our education systems. Women’s interests in our this current age often require a college degree to achieve their dream. Men, on the other hand, often believe college is not for them. Men and women are extremely distinct creatures with different tendencies, thus resulting in contrasting opinions on college. Eventually, we may come to the conclusion that women are just plain smarter.
Works Cited
Bauerlein, Mark, and Sandra Stotsky. “Why Johnny Won’t Read.” The Language of
Composition. 1st ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2008. 408-410. Print.
Brooks, David. “Mind over Muscle.” The Language of Composition. 1st ed. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008. 410-412. Print.
Hulbert, Ann. “Boy Problems.” The Language of Composition. 1st ed. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2008. 414-417. Print.
Ann Hulbert’s article, “Boy Problems,” discusses the variety of differences concerning the gender educational disparity. This essay exemplifies how learning can be divisive between genders, percentage of college graduates, and some possible explanations for women’s increasing success in the educational field.
As mentioned above, women’s role were unjust to the roles and freedoms of the men, so an advanced education for women was a strongly debated subject at the beginning of the nineteenth century (McElligott 1). The thought of a higher chance of education for women was looked down upon, in the early decades of the nineteenth century (The American Pageant 327). It was established that a women’s role took part inside the household. “Training in needlecraft seemed more important than training in algebra” (327). Tending to a family and household chores brought out the opinion that education was not necessary for women (McElligott 1). Men were more physically and mentally intellectual than women so it was their duty to be the educated ones and the ones with the more important roles. Women were not allowed to go any further than grammar school in the early part of the 1800’s (Westward Expansion 1). If they wanted to further their education beyond grammar, it had to be done on their own time because women were said to be weak minded, academically challenged and could n...
The once male dominated, corporate, "white collar" America has seen a phenomenal influx of women within the last thirty years. Although a female lawyer, physician, or CEO is no longer considered a rarity in our times, women still face quite a deal of oppression in comparison to their male counterparts. In retrospect, some professions have always been controlled by women, and men have not made a noticeable advance in these fields. In 1970, finding a female lawyer to represent you would be a difficult task, since less than five percent of the profession were women. Today, that number has risen to almost thirty percent. The percentage of female doctors has almost tripled in the course of thirty years. African Americans have not made such a conspicuous progression within the last fifty years, while women have made a tremendous impact on the corporate world. One may wonder, how did women make these extraordinary advances? For the most part, it is due to the education they receive. At the present time young girls are encouraged to enroll in classes dealing with math and science, rather than home economics and typing. As pointed out by Nanette Asimov, in her essay "Fewer Teen Girls Enrolling in Technology Classes", school officials are advocating the necessity of advanced placement, and honor classes for teenage girls, in both the arts and sciences. This support and reassurance than carries over onto college, and finds a permanent fixture in a woman’s life. While women are continuing their success in once exclusively male oriented professions, they are still lacking the respect and equality from their peers, coworkers, and society. The average male lawyer, and doctor make twenty-five percent more money than their female equivalent. Women have always lived with the reputation of being intellectually inferior to, and physically submissive to men. This medieval, ignorant notion is far fetched from the truth. In 1999, high school men and women posted similar SAT scores, being separated by a only a few points. In addition to posting similar scores on the SAT, the average males score was a mere two-tenths of a point higher than an average females score on the ACT. Even though a woman maybe as qualified as a male for a certain occupation , women receive unwanted harassment, and are under strict scrutiny. A good illustration of this would be the women represented in "Two Women Cadets Leave the Citadel.
Imagine living in a time when your only role is to get married, bear children, and take care of your house and husband. Adrienne Rich proposes an ulterior idea in her essay “Taking Women Students Seriously” Women should not only question the gender standards but discuss the gender norms that society has created; by discussion and attention to the matter we can eliminate it all together. Women are not represented in school curriculums enough and have a large misrepresentation in society. Rich draws attention to: What women have working against them in education, how women are perceived in the world by the media and advertising, and the gender roles that society pressures young children to contort to. By striking up a discussion
Do humans let their gender define their capability to learn? In the “The Gender Gap at School,” David Brooks talks about how “Male reading rates are falling three times as fast as among young women’s” (Brooks 391), because teachers are not providing equal reading interest in both genders. However, gender does not play a role in males capability to succeed in their education for reading. “The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be, rather than recognizing how we are” (Adichie).
“In the United States and several other countries, women now actually surpass men in educational achievements” (Josh, “Harvard Summer School”). Some women are more educated and qualified for most
Ever since the women’s suffrage movement of the 1920s, there has been a push for eliminating sexism and providing equality between men and women, especially in the workplace. The United States, along with most of the world, has made great strides in gender equality since then. Women can vote, and have careers, and men are able to stay home with the children if they choose to. But are the sexes really equal now? There are three common answers to this question. Some say yes, while the most common answer is no. The debate does not end there, however. It is typically assumed gender inequality is oppressing women and limiting their rights. Regardless, there are those who say the system is harming men instead. So, if gender inequality still exists,
In one section of “Men and Women’s Studies: Premises, Perils, and Promise,” Michael Kimmel discusses how men have helped women to gain equal rights within the educational system (Kimmel, 26). He explains that as pro-feminists, men who made efforts to understand feminism and support women, as well as implement equal rights for women, realized the importance of women’s education (Kimmel, 26). According to his essay, many American men, as well as women, helped to create an educational system for women, which was seen as a “revolt” against inequality and the subordination of women (Kimmel, 26-27). Kimmel argues that pro-feminists tried to provide an opportunity for every woman to study; one such example is Henry Durant, an American pro-feminism activist, who established Wellesley College for
Education was sex segregated for hundreds of years. Men and women went to different schools or were physically and academically separated into “coeducational” schools. Males and females had separate classrooms, separate entrances, separate academic subjects, and separate expectations. Women were only taught the social graces and morals, and teaching women academic subjects was considered a waste of time.
In the 1960s the civil rights movement inspired a new women’s movement, and women began to speak out for fair treatment at school and in the work place. Before these movement girls were warned about math classes being too difficult and were told that a college or a graduate degree was a waste of time. Boys were encouraged to study math and science to ready them for careers. Girls were supposed to be good in English and prepare to become wives and mothers. (Blumenthal 1) Past Generations that grew up with the development of education would now wonder why the genders would want to be separate when once they fought to be together.
The first all female schools began in the early 1800’s. These academies favored more traditional gender roles, women being the home makers and the men being the bread winners. The first generation of educated women was the result of single-sex colleges in 1873. Wendy Kaminer, an investigative journalist, states that “single-sex education was not exactly a choice; it was a cultural mandate at a time when sexual segregation was considered only natural” (1). Women of this time were technically not allowed to attend school with males. Feminists of this time worked hard to integrate the school system and by the early 1900’s, single sex classrooms were a thing of the past. In 1910, twenty-seven percent of colleges were for men only, fifteen percent were for women only and the remainders were coed. Today, women outnumber men among college graduates (Kaminer 1). After all the hard work of early feminists, there are thousands of people today who advocate bringing back the single sex classroom.
If one takes a closer look at the issues surrounding the differences between the male and female roles in the workforce and in education, one will notice that women tend to be one step below men on the "status" or "importance" ladder.
The right for women to be educated has been long sought after. The history of women education started the beginning of feminism. Education, over the last two hundred years, has changed women lives in America according to Barbara M. Solomon. In the early years of American history women were discouraged from getting a higher education it would be considered unnatural for women to be educated, and women were only taught domestic skills such as sewing, cooking and child-rearing. American women began to seek opportunities for further education, as well as equal rights. The history of women’s education has evolved through events that have shaped the culture of America today. To better understand the women’s education movement, it is important to know the background of its history.
Women have undoubtedly made "Substantial educational progress." ( Women 3) We should not forget that the large gaps between the education levels of women and men in the early 1970's essentially disappeared for the younger generation. Females on average outperform males in reading and writing, and take more credits in academic subjects. They are more likely than males to attend college after high school, and are as likely to graduate with a post-secondary degree. All of these accomplishments have accumulated with time and effort from women that have made a difference. It has taken years to get to where we are, but how far have we really come?.
Women have had quite a few hurdles to get over since the 1950's. In 1958 the proportion of women attending college in comparison with men was 35 percent. (Friedan,