Now, I'm generally not a fan of calling attention to people with rocks for brains, mostly because I think stupid people get too much attention anyway. However, in the aftermath of a stunningly incoherent speech about women, education, men's inherent leadership role, and job creation from Miss Utah in the Miss Universe pageant and the incredibly disheartening news that Sarah Palin will be entering the network news circuit as a political commentator (admittedly on Fox News, but that's still more viewers than she should be getting), I need to speak up.
I am all for female role models. We definitely need more of them.
But, for the love of all that is good in this world and for the sake of creating a better future for the next few generations of girls, can we please stop treating ignorant, uneducated women as something endearing or desirable?
We have a culture that says that women are bad at math and science, despite repeated studies that show that the gap in performance occurs over time, as girls LEARN they aren't supposed to be good at math and science. We discourage women from entering leadership roles, and those who do are often met with sexism and criticism of their mental and emotional capabilities in their role. And, despite the continued push for empowering female education, we still hear things like "My boyfriend thinks I'm too smart for him" (vlogbrothers video) or "'If smart guys like dumb girls and dumb guys like dumb girls, what do smart girls get?' 'Cats, mostly'" (Modern Family).
Glamourizing and promoting the idea that it's "cute" for a woman to be ditzy or ignorant makes intelligent girls feel like their intelligence is a hindrance -- something to be ashamed of and hidden if they ever want to be loved or taken seriously. But what good does it do for society to teach half the population that, if they're good at something, they should try and hide it?
Ignorance isn't cute. It isn't funny. It's sad, it's an insult to our education system, and it's really bad for the way girls see themselves.
Angrily yours,
Rachel Leigh
This is a blog about things, about thinking about things, about talking about things, and about being as snarky and poignant as I can manage. I hope you enjoy it.
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Monday, June 17, 2013
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
On My Fake Major
It's no secret that I'm a Political Science major -- I blog pretty often about politics (although I do try to keep it non-partisan (...I said "try," people, no writer is without bias!)), and it even says in my bio that I'm an "aspiring political activist." I am quite proud of my studies and the work I hope to do in the future, and I'm not ashamed of my major.
Which is why I get really annoyed when people treat me like my major isn't real. I almost feel like I didn't even really choose my field; Political Science chose me. By the time I came to college, the gravitational pull in that direction was so strong that no one I went to high school with even has to question what I decided to major in. I chose my major because it's what I'm passionate about, because the work I do for it is good, and because I'm very excited about what doors it may open for me when I graduate.
So let's get down to the nitty-gritty of why people seem to think my major is "fake."
My favorite question, by far, is, "What are you planning to do with that? Become the President?"* Now, if you're an Actuarial Studies major, an Astrophysicist, or studying Chemistry with plans to take up Pharmacology later in life, feel free to ignore this part of the discussion -- your unemployment rates are literally zero and you are therefore pretty much exempt from this whole issue. You will always have jobs because your fields are either too depressing, too boring, or too complicated for the vast majority of students, so we will always need people like you! Go you! But if you are planning to major in pretty much anything else, you can expect your job prospects to be pretty grim. Almost every field sees an unemployment rate of around 7%. Interestingly enough, the unemployment rate for students with Political Science degrees? 6%, according to a study done by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce**.
Let's face it, there are only so many Fortune 500 companies in the world to run (incidentally, there are 500 of them), which I'm pretty sure means that, even if everyone in charge of every one of those companies either retired or died, there STILL wouldn't be enough available positions for all of the Business School graduates from just my tiny University alone from the last three years. So I guess that makes your "job prospects" question a moot point. I appreciate your concern.
The other major (get it?) question I get a lot in relation to my major's legitimacy comes down to the number of units in my major. My major has a 10 unit class requirement (which equates to about 35-40 credits for all you crazy credit-system students out there), which is, admittedly, on the lower end.
There are a few reasons I think this complaint lacks legitimacy. First, we're all still required to complete the minimum 32 classes to graduate that everyone else is. We don't suddenly get to call it a day after a year and a half. Second, part of the reason the major is so small and flexible is because they encourage us to pick up minors, second majors, research, or study abroad semesters, and they want the major to be flexible enough to accommodate that. I actually feel bad for some of my friends in the hard sciences or business programs who just don't have the flexibility to go abroad. Third, and in my opinion, most importantly -- trying to take an entire semester of Political Science courses is crazy. If your brain doesn't explode from all the readings (which often contradict each other because theories contradict other theories and often those contradict practice), your fingers will probably freeze up and develop early-onset carpal tunnel from all the papers you'll write.***
It's not that I think other majors don't deserve credit -- I absolutely do. Most students I know work hard and get stressed, and everybody has their own skill sets. I, for one, am glad my best friend from high school is the Engineering major and I am not, because I would build bridges that would collapse and kill people. But while most people I know in my field recognize and respect the legitimacy of other majors, it makes me sad that we don't get the same respect in turn. Our skills are different than yours and our paths and passions took us in a different direction. Why does that make us any less worthy?
Studiously yours,
Rachel Leigh
* Leaving aside the fact that very few of the Political Science majors I know want to become politicians. That's a post for another day (one which is currently in the works).
** Source: http://graphicsweb.wsj.com/documents/NILF1111/
*** Shout out to Dr. Dagger and Dr. McDowell for combining to make me write more papers as a first semester freshman than many of my friends will write their entire time in college!
Which is why I get really annoyed when people treat me like my major isn't real. I almost feel like I didn't even really choose my field; Political Science chose me. By the time I came to college, the gravitational pull in that direction was so strong that no one I went to high school with even has to question what I decided to major in. I chose my major because it's what I'm passionate about, because the work I do for it is good, and because I'm very excited about what doors it may open for me when I graduate.
So let's get down to the nitty-gritty of why people seem to think my major is "fake."
My favorite question, by far, is, "What are you planning to do with that? Become the President?"* Now, if you're an Actuarial Studies major, an Astrophysicist, or studying Chemistry with plans to take up Pharmacology later in life, feel free to ignore this part of the discussion -- your unemployment rates are literally zero and you are therefore pretty much exempt from this whole issue. You will always have jobs because your fields are either too depressing, too boring, or too complicated for the vast majority of students, so we will always need people like you! Go you! But if you are planning to major in pretty much anything else, you can expect your job prospects to be pretty grim. Almost every field sees an unemployment rate of around 7%. Interestingly enough, the unemployment rate for students with Political Science degrees? 6%, according to a study done by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce**.
Let's face it, there are only so many Fortune 500 companies in the world to run (incidentally, there are 500 of them), which I'm pretty sure means that, even if everyone in charge of every one of those companies either retired or died, there STILL wouldn't be enough available positions for all of the Business School graduates from just my tiny University alone from the last three years. So I guess that makes your "job prospects" question a moot point. I appreciate your concern.
The other major (get it?) question I get a lot in relation to my major's legitimacy comes down to the number of units in my major. My major has a 10 unit class requirement (which equates to about 35-40 credits for all you crazy credit-system students out there), which is, admittedly, on the lower end.
There are a few reasons I think this complaint lacks legitimacy. First, we're all still required to complete the minimum 32 classes to graduate that everyone else is. We don't suddenly get to call it a day after a year and a half. Second, part of the reason the major is so small and flexible is because they encourage us to pick up minors, second majors, research, or study abroad semesters, and they want the major to be flexible enough to accommodate that. I actually feel bad for some of my friends in the hard sciences or business programs who just don't have the flexibility to go abroad. Third, and in my opinion, most importantly -- trying to take an entire semester of Political Science courses is crazy. If your brain doesn't explode from all the readings (which often contradict each other because theories contradict other theories and often those contradict practice), your fingers will probably freeze up and develop early-onset carpal tunnel from all the papers you'll write.***
It's not that I think other majors don't deserve credit -- I absolutely do. Most students I know work hard and get stressed, and everybody has their own skill sets. I, for one, am glad my best friend from high school is the Engineering major and I am not, because I would build bridges that would collapse and kill people. But while most people I know in my field recognize and respect the legitimacy of other majors, it makes me sad that we don't get the same respect in turn. Our skills are different than yours and our paths and passions took us in a different direction. Why does that make us any less worthy?
Studiously yours,
Rachel Leigh
* Leaving aside the fact that very few of the Political Science majors I know want to become politicians. That's a post for another day (one which is currently in the works).
** Source: http://graphicsweb.wsj.com/documents/NILF1111/
*** Shout out to Dr. Dagger and Dr. McDowell for combining to make me write more papers as a first semester freshman than many of my friends will write their entire time in college!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
On Danish Kids (also, an update)
It's been ridiculous recently, sorry I haven't been posting.
As you may or may not know, I was in Brussels, the Hague, and Amsterdam all last week, so my internet access was unreliable at best. Lessons I learned on that trip:
Today, we took a tour of the Danish Parliament, the Folketing. Admittedly, I'd done this before, but it was kind of cool to get one from a prominent Parliamentarian and we ended up talking about our impressions of Denmark - namely Danish attitudes towards children.
Which is what I thought I'd talk to you all about today. The Danes have a very different idea about children and childhood than we have in the States. Children are given a lot of freedom - I've seen 6 or 7 year olds riding the Metro alone or in small groups, and apparently in a kindergarten class one of my friends is working with, the students are given a lot more free choice about what they're going to do with their time.
The stereotypical example is that Danish mothers will often leave baby carriages (with the babies inside) outside of stores and cafes while they go inside, because the likelihood that your child will get kidnapped in Copenhagen is unfathomably small.
But I just think the level of independence and choice they give children is really interesting. We structure the lives of children so much to help and protect them, but from what I can see, Danish kids seem to do pretty well on their own.
Pedagogically? yours,
Rachel Leigh
As you may or may not know, I was in Brussels, the Hague, and Amsterdam all last week, so my internet access was unreliable at best. Lessons I learned on that trip:
- Even most EU citizens are confused about what the EU does
- Sharing a room with 11 other people is detrimental to my ability to sleep
- A man with a faucet on his head isn't normal, but in Amsterdam it is
Today, we took a tour of the Danish Parliament, the Folketing. Admittedly, I'd done this before, but it was kind of cool to get one from a prominent Parliamentarian and we ended up talking about our impressions of Denmark - namely Danish attitudes towards children.
Which is what I thought I'd talk to you all about today. The Danes have a very different idea about children and childhood than we have in the States. Children are given a lot of freedom - I've seen 6 or 7 year olds riding the Metro alone or in small groups, and apparently in a kindergarten class one of my friends is working with, the students are given a lot more free choice about what they're going to do with their time.
The stereotypical example is that Danish mothers will often leave baby carriages (with the babies inside) outside of stores and cafes while they go inside, because the likelihood that your child will get kidnapped in Copenhagen is unfathomably small.
But I just think the level of independence and choice they give children is really interesting. We structure the lives of children so much to help and protect them, but from what I can see, Danish kids seem to do pretty well on their own.
Pedagogically? yours,
Rachel Leigh
Friday, June 22, 2012
On "High School Never Ends"
Has anyone considered what high school reunions are going to be like for our generation? Like, "Hey, uh, sorry I deleted you on Facebook" or "Yeah, I already knew you took that job in Boston because it showed up on my News Feed" or "I can't look at you the same way since you tweet constantly about your bowel movements."
The whole point of a high school reunion is to catch up with the people you cared about in high school, but thanks to our massively inter-connected world on the internet, there's really no "catching up" to do. Anyone I still even slightly care about from high school is still my Facebook friend, probably also a connection on LinkedIn (because I am professional when it comes to my talent for doing nothing productive), on my Skype contact list, and potentially someone I follow on Twitter. And everyone else, I really don't care about enough to want to reunite with them.
There's no room for some "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" stunt, because everyone already knows who you've become in the last *insert number of* years.
What are you talking about?
Of course I invented post-it notes and married a billionaire!
In all seriousness, though -- I can't even imagine what I would talk to people about at a high school reunion at this point. Even with my friends, there's this sort of comfortable silence sometimes because we already know what's going on in everyone's lives. And if that's the case, then what's the point?
Thankfully no longer in high school,
Rachel Leigh
The whole point of a high school reunion is to catch up with the people you cared about in high school, but thanks to our massively inter-connected world on the internet, there's really no "catching up" to do. Anyone I still even slightly care about from high school is still my Facebook friend, probably also a connection on LinkedIn (because I am professional when it comes to my talent for doing nothing productive), on my Skype contact list, and potentially someone I follow on Twitter. And everyone else, I really don't care about enough to want to reunite with them.
There's no room for some "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" stunt, because everyone already knows who you've become in the last *insert number of* years.
What are you talking about?
Of course I invented post-it notes and married a billionaire!
In all seriousness, though -- I can't even imagine what I would talk to people about at a high school reunion at this point. Even with my friends, there's this sort of comfortable silence sometimes because we already know what's going on in everyone's lives. And if that's the case, then what's the point?
Thankfully no longer in high school,
Rachel Leigh
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