Note: Mary Sulzer is a "parent activist" - that is she is actively involved in her children's education, both at home and at school, in addition to an incredible array of other youth activities.
Mary wrote:
"I have felt for a long time that the cause suffragettes suffered and died for, all the strides feminists like Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem spent their adult lives working towards, have been totally erased by our current pop culture. One need only visit any local high school and view who these young girls choose to emulate... most of them look like they are auditioning for a hip-hop video!! And who can blame them; thanks to our sexualized society, they are getting that message at an early age thanks to movies, TV, magazines, Internet... what happened to striving to break the glass ceiling??? I think all of us of a certain age are totally disgusted with the way respect for women in general has been backsliding over the years... how did it get to this point, and how can we make changes??
"Sorry if the above seems to be a disjointed rant, but this subject is one we all should be concerned about. A whole generation of young people have less positive attitudes toward women. I spend a lot of time in the company of young males, and it seems as though "relationships" take a backseat to "hooking up." Was it always this way and I just didn't notice?"
Mad Malie answered:
"I think teenagers have always been at the mercy of their hormones. Despite that they also seem to want to make a difference and can be very idealistic. But the current generation has been assaulted by a barrage of unhealthy stereotypes and standards since early childhood. Add to that an education system that concentrates on creating automatons that pass tests without understanding the material and it is all part of the dumbing down of America. You can't argue with the idealism when you see those that enlist to fight for their country or the numbers that got actively involved in the Obama campaign. Unfortunately this idealism has sometimes been mercilessly used by cynical leaders."
Mary replied:
"You are so right on with regard to the current problems facing educators today. Good teachers are stymied and hamstrung by the rigid confines of the curriculum, which is one reason it is so hard to find inspiring, electric educators that students remember long after they have graduated. I am dismayed at how some teachers in the school system here choose to relate to the students... letting them call them by their first names, using inappropriate language (to seem cool to them). The claim is that SAT scores are rising, but what does that mean for kids who cannot learn the traditional ways, or worse think outside the box and are not encouraged and commended? It would be great if you could conduct a random poll to see what others thought of these issues, especially young women."
Mad Malie:
"Oh Mary, Mary quite contrary, you are making me think a series on education should be in the works!"
Here's what I think...
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Coincindentally, immediately after reading this entry I read the local paper. Guess what the first news entry is? http://www.registerstar.com/articles/2010/07/30/news/doc4c52449516af9198838067.txt
ReplyDeleteI feel that teachers are pretty much hamstrung in both what they're teaching and how they can maintain discipline the the classroom. Always having to play CYA. Schools not only place too much emphasis on test scores, but the ridiculous NY Regents requirement for all diplomas, as well as the lack of respect for those who trend toward the trades, the quick-to-label-the-kids policy to get more state aid, medicating those who don't fit the round hole, the top-heavy and out-of-touch administrators, the teachers' unions -- all of them pushing and shoving for their little piece of the pie --makes for an ineffective learning environment (emphasis on "learning").
Rules, rules, rules. It's just like being back in school. But not the schools I went to.
A male friend wrote: I'm reminded of a New Yorker Magazine cartoon of many years ago wherein a young lady is sitting in a stylist's chair with the stylist working over her, saying, "you are so lucky to be one of the few to have normal skin". Norms are not normal in our society. Airbrushed thighs on magazine cover models are obvious to the adult but are howling sirens of inadequacy to preteens and teens not yet equipped to discern misrepresentation. If this were to happen only on "men's magazines", one could make the argument that such actions were simply marketing to a particular demographic. The fact of the matter is that it happens on, "women's" magazines". Why? The question is begged as to whether or not "sisters" are there to help each other or perhaps competition at some level is always in the way. But what do I know.
ReplyDeleteI replied: Some women seem unable to be true friends with other women. I believe most not only are able but want and value their female friends. Most of the women I have worked with have been great. A small few have been AWFUL. One of the most beautiful, glamorous, successful women I have ever known, the subject of the first blog I wrote (a eulogy) was one of my clients when I ran my secretarial service. She was demanding, funny, brilliant and everyone who worked for her, no matter in what capacity, became a part of her "team." She was one of those rare people who managed to fill the people who worked for her with the same excitement and enthusiasm for the work that she felt. One of the worst relationships I had in my entire life was with another driven, charming, ambitious woman who never met another human being she wouldn't sacrifice to her own ambition. She was a lying, cheating Whore of Babylon. If I came across her bleeding in the gutter, I would step over her and walk on, hopefully without spitting on her.
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