Taking my education seriously

This semester, I decided to take Introduction to Women's Studies because I had a bit of extra room in my schedule and it sounded like a class that I would be interested in. I was right; I have enjoyed this class incredibly. It is a very discussion driven class and I have enjoyed hearing the perspectives of my classmates. In this class, our professor, Carol Jarvis, often mentions literature which has been influential in the women's movement, but due to the time constraints of a semester-long class, we cannot even begin to read all of them. I decided to read one such book, Manifesta: young women, feminism, and the future. This book was written by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards who are two Third-Wave feminists (Third-Wave simply refers to the most recent surge of feminism beginning in the early 1990s).

While the book wasn't quite as interesting as I would have hoped, I did enjoy the insight of the authors, particularly in the Prologue, entitled "A Day Without Feminism" and the first chapter, "The Dinner Party." As you might guess, the prologue highlighted just how different our society would be had feminists not been advocates for the empowerment of women in their relationships, in the professional world, or in education by describing the state of women in the year 1970. Here are a few lines that struck me: "If she gets a loan with her husband - and she has a job - she may have to sign a 'baby letter' swearing that she won't have one and have to leave her job." (7)

The reason that I enjoyed Chapter One - "The Dinner Party" more than the rest of the book is because it told about a dinner party that the authors had with six of their female friends where they covered anything and everything related to feminism. In the chapter, the authors related the stories and conversation from that night to surveys, books, and articles, exhibiting the relevance of feminism in our daily lives. Here is quote from the end of the chapter: "Manifesta is an attempt to open people's eyes to the power of everyday feminism right in front of our noses. We must see its reality if we are to corral that energy into attacking the inequalities that still exist." (49)

The final chapter of Manifesta is entitled "A Day With Feminism" and offers a view of the future in contrast to the prologue "A Day Without Feminism." I finished the book with conflicted feelings; I have so much hope because much of what they presented doesn't seem that far off, but there are still major strides that need to be made. The most astounding thing for me to realize was that regardless of how paychecks, legislation, or percentages indicate equality, much of equality still has to do with the attitudes of the people.

I think that an awareness of women's studies will help to make me a better teacher, particularly in the area of math education. Both in my class, Introduction to Women's Studies and in Manifesta, various sources have discussed why girls typically tend not to do as well in math. As a teacher, if I am aware of the issues that girls face particularly in a math classroom, then I might be able to help eliminate some of those dynamics. For example, some researchers think that girls would rather discuss a math problem and come up with different ways to solve it, while boys tend to find the most efficient way to find the answer. If I am aware of these dynamics, I can structure my class in such a way that both boys and girls can be successful in math.

Another thing that I have done periodically this semester is meeting with a study group, mostly for Linear Algebra, but also to study for our Inclusive Schooling midterm. For Linear Algebra, it has been especially helpful because I have struggled in that class this semester. By working through problems together, we are able to clarify things with each other. For me this is important because sometimes I can go through an assignment, thinking that I am doing everything correctly; only upon turning it in do I find out that I had misunderstood a crucial concept. As a teacher, it is also important to learn how to work in a group because you need to learn a balance of independence and dependence.