Module 6

History and Philosophy Module 6 1. Did improved educational opportunities for women in the new nation significantly expand their participation in American society? Even with the hoops and struggles that women had to go through to get an education, in my opinion it has expanded in American Society. Education from women has evolved from dame schools to women seminaries, to learning at a college level. Dame schools weren’t mainly focused on the women, “the primary focus of dame schools was to prepare boys for admission to the town schools, which until the 19 th century, girls were not allowed to attend” (Madigan, 2009). At the beginning when education was started, the focus was mostly on boys not girls. Girls could not even go to town schools. If they could attend town schools it was during school breaks and holidays, so they were separate from the boys. From being taught in kitchens came the academy movement. “The function of the academy was to provide a moral, literary, and domestic education for young women” (Madigan, 2009). Women could learn to read and how to act in society. They were taught domestic roles, which is the common idea that women should serve in domestic roles during this time. “Despite the expansion of women’s role in society, through the mid-1960s girls were channeled into occupational choices that were limited to four categories: secretarial, nursing, teaching, or motherhood” (Madigan, 2009). Looking forward to today, one thing that surprised me that Madigan shared was there are some schools that offer gender separate educational opportunities. It was not easy getting an education for women but for African American women it was a even a bigger struggle. Even though public schools were being creating, African Americans were not welcome to attend. “Common school reformers, unwittingly or not, fastened citizenship to whiteness, often rendering schools totally inaccessible to African American” (Baumgartner, 2018, p.654). African Americans had to relay on their own institutions in the community and private organizations to obtain an education. Even though there was a struggle to an get education they wanted to learn, society didn’t want them to succeed and there was also a debate over the education curriculum; “. . . some leaders recommended gender specific curricula, wherein women learned “ornamental subjects” such as needlework” (Baumgartner, 2018, p. 657). Getting an education would help with social, moral and intellectual of African Americans amongst the black protest. (Baumgartner, 2018, p. 660). During this time, one thing that united students, and the curriculum together were Christian teachings. During the protest, they relied on that faith. “By invoking an ethic of Christian love, these young women showed that religious beliefs and values ordered their lives” (Baumgartner, p. 663). Although they didn’t have a typical education like we have today they still developed an education rooted in faith. References Jennifer C. Madigan (2009). The Education of Girls and Women in the United States: A Historical Perspective. Montgomery Center for Research in Child & Adolescent Development.