A Womans World Essay -- Feminism Equality Essays

A Woman's World There is a great distance present between woman in education and woman in society. Women in society, specifically the work place, do not reflect the portrayal of women in education. There is a thin line present between the identity of woman and what characteristics are needed to succeed in the work environment. Woman are capable of obtaining the characteristics that lead to success however, many may question where, when and how these traits are taught to women. In " What Does a Woman Need to Know? b Andriene Rich states that woman may need to look farther than what lessons are provided in standard education in order to achieve success in the working environment. " There is no women's college today which is providing young women with the education they need for survival as whole persons in a world today which denies woman wholeness."pg.65 It is a challenge for woman to express their womanly traits in a work place that where these specific characteristics are dined the opportunity for success. Women in education, women in work force, and the relationship between them repeatedly continue to teach women the lessons of survival are not provided in society, and need to come from within. I am presently a preschool teacher. In our school there is a library filled with children's books. Throughout each story I read to these three and four year old children I notice that there is a common message instilled within each story. This message includes a very specific idea of women and the roles in which one is expected to portray. These roles describe woman as a mother or child who is submissive, quit, non-confrontational and usually facing a dilemma that requires help from a male figure. Children are subjected to listen... ...at she is up against and can then begin to learn what tools are necessary in order to over come it. As a teacher I can shamefully say that this is the first time I have ever questioned myself as to the role I play in this situation. I now ask myself what can I do as an educator to better prepare the children? I am now aware of the influence I have, and have already begun to make changes in my own curriculum. It is now a goal of my own to deliver an education to students that accurately relates to the realities of society. Through my own experience's I have learned my own survival techniques and skills needed to achieve success and as a teacher I hope to share this with my students. Work Cited Rich, Adrienne. "What Does a Woman Need to Know?" The Presence of Others. Ed. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewics. Boston: Bedford / St. Martin's, 2000, 65-70. .