Reflection 2

What does the term equal educational opportunity mean at the David School?

Equal educational opportunity at the David School is very important. Mitzi, the David School Principal, is very good at making sure that the students who attend the school have the opportunity to be part of and create the culture of the school. Cody feels very comfortable with his teachers and has a very strong belief system. His comments regarding his religious views in science class are shared in a class discussion. Cody wants to grow up to become a preacher, and he feels comfortable sharing his beliefs with the teacher and as part of the discussion in class. Chris started a newspaper and a choir. Although the newspaper was not a success, the opportunity to create the newspaper was supported by the administration and staff, especially Mitzi, the art teacher, and the English teacher. The choir was able to perform at various functions and Chris felt very excited to work with the choir students to help them to become more successful. The choir teacher acted as a facilitator, while Chris worked with the students and Cody helped to find the choir’s melody. The David School culture is about empowering students to create programs or participate in programs that add value to themselves and others. The important part of Mitzi’s job is to hold these students accountable to their contract. This is a difficult task when the parents are absent from their students lives.

Do you believe that any of Augustine’s views on women and men continue to influence the educational experiences of girls and women today? How, specifically? Do you see any parallels to the past in examples of conservative, liberal, and radical thinking about the roles (and therefore the education) of girls and women today?

The biblical story of original sin is very interesting and Augustine’s interpretation of Genesis 3 has impacted woman, men, and society for over a thousand years. Do his views continue to influence the educational experiences of girls and woman today? I would like to say no, but I think they still do. White men have enjoyed the privileges that come from Christian beliefs. They were afforded an education, constitutional rights, and only in the last millennia have woman enjoyed the privileges that come from education, such as classical education, vocational programs, cultural programs and more importantly employment. The idea that woman were responsible for the fall of man is commonplace for a country that was founded by religious nonconformists who were escaping the threat of death by the king. It is no wonder that the woman have had to struggle for suffrage, education, and economic success. Girls were left to become the help to her husband and as mothers to educate her sons so they would become successful too. The only employment that woman could attain during the foundation of this great country was to obey and complement her husband. Today, we view woman as important contributors to society. They are employed, elected, and selected for various posts within the government and in the non-governmental workplace. Unfortunately this has only been within the last fifty years and the number of woman in these positions is small.

There are parallels between the classical, liberal, and radical thinking of roles of girls and woman today. The classical (conservative) view would never have woman educated or employed. The classical view would have agreed with Augustine and the early European settlers that woman should not be educated. The liberal view would have woman educated only on necessity. If woman need to be educated than it is for the benefit of her husband and son. They also believed that the curricula were not good enough for the woman to benefit her family. The curricula needed to change so that she could benefit the male members of her family. The new curricula would make her reasonable to her husband and unfortunately liberal woman accepted the traditional role for woman. The radicals attacked the root of the problem and Genesis 3. The radical women who met at Seneca Falls wanted gender equality, equal rights under the protection of the Constitution, and education. They believed that woman were created equal by God, after all Grimke wrote that it is arrogant of man to believe that they are superior to woman after they were not strong enough to say no to Eve. Today, woman still struggle with attaining equal rights and attaining an education. Pay is not equal to men, the struggle to work outside the house limits choices, and the ability to attend higher education is difficult for women to attain.