Women in Higher Education - Essay Example

Women in Higher Education Women in Higher Education Introduction Evolution of Topic Over the years, women have played an important role in significantly altering the trends of education all around the world. In case of America, many great women of different times and cultures have strived hard to fulfill their aspirations regarding learning and education. The American Revolution was quite an important event in the country’s history and change in educational patterns was one of the many changes it brought with itself (Blandin, 1909). It raised awareness regarding female education in the community and created several opportunities for the American girls to seek knowledge and education (Thelin, 2004). The idea of educating women started with the realization that educated girls would certainly make successful mothers in the future which would be, in every way, beneficial to the country. Many important figures in American history, mostly ladies, have worked to their fullest to achieve the education system that is seen today in America. There were some who undertook the agenda of opening colleges for women, while there were others who promoted co – education and gender equity (Graham, 1978). It is because of all the efforts of these great people that women actually outnumber the men in colleges now and the traditional gender difference or gap has been undoubtedly reversed (Thelin, 2004). Start of Beecher’s teaching career Born in September 1800, Catharine E. Beecher was an American lady who had a great vision as educator, particularly in the case of females. She sought her education from a private girls’ school in Connecticut (Sklar, 1973). However, the disappointment that the school’s limited number of subjects gave her made her quite thirsty for knowledge and she started teaching rare subjects like philosophy and mathematics to her fellow girls (Blandin, 1909). After graduation, she took up a permanent job at as a school teacher at some school in the nearby area. The idea of Hartford Seminary was inspired by the work of Emma Willard and the Troy Female Seminary she opened. Willard was the first person to open a school in America which taught young girls subjects like science and math. Beecher agreed with Willard’s idea of providing the American boys and girls with equal opportunities of education and thus opened a private girls’ school by the name of ‘Hartford Female Seminary’ in 1823 (Cott, 2000).Following the Hartford Seminary, she made great efforts to open other schools in the Midwestern area. Reasons for opening of Hartford Seminary Beecher was a lady with the belief that the opportunities offered to the girls of her time were quite limited and insufficient. She believed that women were no different from men and thus deserved to be given the chance to seek high – quality education. At her school, Beecher introduced a large variety of subjects and employed a lot of recognized and renowned alumni to teach those subjects (Graham, 1978). She also wrote and prepared her own textbooks for the school’s curriculum after analyzing the deficiencies that the existing ones had (Sklar, 1973). At her schools, she also introduced the listening activities, encouraged the use of intonation and introduced the kindergarten level of schooling (Thelin, 2004). Importance of Beecher’s works After retiring from her school, Beecher wrote a book about the role of American women in the society of that time and argued about the status they deserved (Sklar, 1973). Her writing also emphasized the growing need of teachers in the society gave forward her idea of the promotion of female teachers. Beecher believed that the female gender had much refined natural instincts of teaching than males (Sklar, 1973). However, she held the idea that characteristics like self – sacrifice were not inherited but instead, had to be taught. Hence, she set up an agenda to groom the young American girls by providing education of the best quality and encouraged many young American women to join the teaching profession. She also emphasized the position of women in the domestic area of the household and her writings provided excellent guidance to the women dealing with domestic matters. Throughout her life, Beecher continued to be the vital force driving the development of formal and higher education for the American women. Certainly, all of Beecher’s efforts pushed America and its education system to a brighter, prosper and ‘learned’ future (Cott, 2000). Establishment of Oberlin College The Oberlin College was founded by two missionaries belonging to New York in a clearing located in an Ohio forest. Another attempt at educating and facilitating the women of America was the introduction of the co – educational system. The first higher education co institution in not only the country, but the world, was known as the Oberlin College, in Ohio (Thelin, 2004). It was founded in 1833 with admissions formerly opened to only the preparatory classes and later on, to all of the departments of the college (Blandin, 1909). Reasons for the establishment of Oberlin College Being an arts college, the institution aimed to elevate and upraise the position of females in the society and providing them with the educational privileges they had previously been deprived of. Moreover, it was hoped that the co – educational environment would increase the competition among the student body over the years and thus, contribute greatly to improved results for the Oberlin College (Cott, 2000). Importance of Oberlin College The first few female alumni of Oberlin College graduated with diplomas and degrees in the Ladies Courses only (Cott, 2000). Moreover, it lacked an environment that genuinely appreciated the importance of having female faculty at the college. However, this certainly changed over the time as the female students started pursuing careers in other different fields as well and the administrative system improved. Oberlin has also played a major and quite appreciable role in supporting and promoting the educational needs of the African Americans. Almost 40 black women attended Oberlin College in its early years (Cott, 2000). Oberlin has been well known for being a place that welcomes every kind of race, culture, gender or nationality with open arms and it was this broad – mindedness of the institution that had such a significant impact on the educational system of America. Foundation of Mount Holyoke College An association called the Seven Sisters comprises of seven of the best institutions in the country founded to educate the young female artists (Blandin, 1909). It was the most important institution founded for women during that time as the opportunities provided at Mt. Holyoke were quite unusual, different and exceptional. Mount Holyoke was basically the first of the seven colleges built under the Seven Sisters and proudly served as a model for the foundation of the rest (Thelin, 2004). It was established in 1837 and was upgraded to a collegiate level in 1888.  Reasons for the foundation of Mount Holyoke College The promotion of liberal arts for the women of America was paid much attention as a consequence of the Revolution. Mount Holyoke was established with the aim that it would help in promoting female education. Because of her work with Mt. Holyoke, its founder, Mary Lyon, has been considered as an impressive innovator in the field of female education (Cott, 2000). She established a study system at Mt. Holyoke that involved disciplinary standards and the prospect of their students competing well in the outer world. She ensured to provide an atmosphere which regulated both academic and domestic matters, which proved to be very successful and 70 percent of its graduates adopted the teaching career in the future (Horowitz, 1984). Importance of Mount Holyoke College Under her guidance, the institution instigated a very large movement in the 19th century which was determined to build further institutions for the education of American women (Horowitz, 1984). Lyon raised the academic standards of female education and introduced brilliant and creative methods of teaching to facilitate the learning process of the students at her institutions. Lyon’s hard work and determination soon gave Mt. Holyoke the honor of being the first female Ivy League institution which was a major turning point in the history of American education (Horowitz, 1984). Conclusion It is interesting but certainly not surprising that Lyon made her efforts at the same time when Beecher did and it was through their joint efforts that American women gained the honor of being ‘well – educated’ (Horowitz, 1984). Oberlin College was also founded a time mutual to Beecher’s Seminary and Lyon’s Mt. Holyoke. This interwoven relationship highlights the needs of the American education system of that time and how the efforts of such great people along with many others gave women a worthy status in the higher education of the country. Work Cited Blandin, I. M. E. (1909). History of higher education of women in the South prior to 1860. New York: Neale Pub. Co. Cott, N. F. (2000). No small courage: A history of women in the United States. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Graham, P. A. (1978). Expansion and Exclusion: A History of Women in American Higher Education. Signs, 3, 4, 759-773. Horowitz, H. L. (1984). Alma mater: Design and experience in the womens colleges from their nineteenth-century beginnings to the 1930s. New York: Knopf. Sklar, K. K. (1973). Catharine Beecher: A study in American domesticity. (ACLS Humanities E-Book.) New Haven: Yale University Press. Thelin, J. R. (2004). A history of American higher education. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. Read More