School bias

In chapter 8 the text refers to bias women face in school. Gender- stereotyped curricula (p 194) is something I think many women are faced with at some point in school.

I remember when I was entering high school I was so excited with the fact that I would be able to pick and choose courses I was interested in. It felt liberated to be able to take academic courses that would be in a field I was interested in (business). I remember early on going to my counselor to pick classes and expressing what courses I was looking for and then having her place me in home economics. I am not saying there is anything wrong with courses like that but that wasn’t what my interest was in. I felt like she wasn’t listening to my desires she just saw me as another girl. I was more interested in the accounting and business law courses and she made it such a challenge for me to get in those courses. She would often ask me “if I was sure” or “wouldn’t I feel more comfortable taking home economics like my friends.” I was so taken back by having a woman pigeon-hole me like that it really pissed me off! I mean aren’t we suppose to stick together and here she was trying to turn me into a housewife! I didn’t want to cook or sew or play with fake babies I wanted to tell her that every girl doesn’t want to do that with her life. I was upset I had to eventually change counselors. I felt like there was a huge amount of pressure (p 198) just to take what was offered to me and not make a big deal about it. I didn’t want people to look at me like I was the person to make something out of nothing but at the same time I wanted to explore courses I actually wanted to pursue after high school. I never have been the type to hold my tongue because I was taught “a closed mouth doesn’t get fed.” I took a lot of slack because not only would I not take that classes she wanted me to but I went on to have another counselor because my needs weren’t being met. It was a little difficult in the beginning to have to see her when I would see my new counselor but in the end I felt I made the right decision (regardless of what others thought). I ended up with a man as my final counselor and I never had a problem getting into any of the classes I wanted. I don’t know if he just didn’t want have the same issues that I had with my first counselor or if he really was interested in keeping me engaged but I never had a problem with getting the classes I wanted. I felt like he pushed me harder because he saw my potential.

"Man/Woman's work"

Over the weekend I met a gentleman and over the course of our conversation he informed me that when he gets married he wants his wife to take care of the house and raise his children. I asked him why she had to stay home and take care of "the house " while he worked? He stated if he could provide for his family then his wife should take care of the house and raise his children. Growing up that was what his family structure was like and he saw nothing wrong with that. It made me wonder is there any way to change that type of thinking? Really when you think about it we all had different upbringings so does that mean we are bond to how we were raised? Is there anyway to break free from that? It upset me because I don't think there should be man's work or woman's work but I understood that we are all a product of how we were raised and some people can't see past that (I believe it's called being old fashion).

this is a test...