Girls, Women, and Education

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For our next class, we’ll be focusing on the importance of education for girls and women around the world, so make sure that, in addition to doing your normal reading as assigned, you also take a look at Worksheet #3. This is the last Weekly Reading Worksheet in the first part of the course, and your first exam on Tuesday, January 25th will be based on all three Worksheets.

Women and (their lack of) education globally
As you’ll learn from your reading for our next class, nearly a billion people in the world are illiterate, and about 2/3 of them are women. The good news, though, is that global rates of illiteracy among women and men are decreasing. The GENDER GAP in primary schooling is almost equal (i.e. the same amount of boys and girls are enrolled in grades 1-6 in most of the world’s countries).
But here’s the bad news:
• It is still the case that less girls and women are enrolled in school than boys and men worldwide, and they are removed from school at an earlier age.
• While both boys and girls are attending primary school, the GENDER GAP increases in secondary and higher education. Fewer girls than boys are going on to grade 7, and even fewer women are attending college or university.
• In countries around the world, women remain dramatically under-enrolled in sciences, technology, and engineering, all of which are largely considered the domain of men.
• In the West, rates of FUNCTIONAL ILLITERACY are rising as people have stopped reading books and newspapers.

Take the time, too, to have a look at this fantastic video.

Clearly, as we’ve mentioned in class, if a person doesn’t have access to education, that can (and usually does) lead to a whole host of other problems. Why do you think it’s important for people to know how to read? And why, according to our reading for Thursday, should women and girls be educated? What’s the link between a lack of education and poverty? Think about all the obstacles that women living in poverty may face—simply because they don’t have access to financial resources. This link between a lack of education and poverty is why achieving universal primary education and ensuring the equality and empowerment of women are two of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals.

Also as you’re reading for Thursday and looking at the maps as assigned in Seager, think about the following questions:
1. Why are illiteracy rates so high among women? What has caused the GENDER GAP in education, particularly at the secondary and university levels?
2. What are some of the obstacles that prevent women and girls from getting an education?

There are many, many people and organizations around the world working to achieve GENDER PARITY in education at all levels. One of them is Women's Education Worldwide, which hosted a Student Leadership Conference at Mount Holyoke College in 2008:

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Claim your education
The extraordinary obstacles that prevent the majority of girls and women globally from achieving (or even conceptualizing) their intellectual potential is why I wanted you to read Adrienne Rich’s famous speech, “Claiming an Education,” which she delivered as the commencement address at a small women’s university in 1977. Rich’s speech inspired me first as a student, and it continues to do so now that I’m a professor. As you’re reading this piece, think about the following questions:
1. What’s the difference between receiving and claiming an education? And why does that difference matter?
2. Rich claims that women’s experiences and perspectives have largely been erased from university curricula and from university administration. Do you think that this is the case at MRU?
3. Rich calls for a contract between women students and their professors. What does she mean by this? What responsibilities should professors have toward their students? What responsibilities should students take for their own learning?

Administrative stuff
Remember that you'll write your first exam in class next Tuesday, January 25th. You're able to bring in as many handwritten, loose-leaf notes as you'd like to help you as you write.

Also, please remember to start thinking about your Term Project: Which transnational feminist organization would you like to learn more about? ON Thursday, I’ll be asking you let me know about your plans. We're having a workshop next week with the Women's Studies librarian, and I'd like to give her some idea of what you're working on so that she can help you find some appropriate research materials.

Lastly, don't forget that one of my favorite parts of my job is getting to know my students, so don't hesitate to come by during my office hours if you'd like to chat with me about anything--including as your thinking about a topic for your Term Project. And if you can't make it during my office hours, just e-mail me, and we can arrange an alternative time to meet.

That's all for now. Happy reading!