Diversity and Adversity: Resilience in American Higher Education, 1860-1890’ and Today; Gender and Education Diversity in Higher Education
Introduction
Over the last forty years of working in the field of Education, Betty Colonomos, has observed the growth of diversity in Higher Educations as one of the most positive impacts. In Colonomos’s opinion, “The student population shifted, so the demands shifted to meet their needs, and as well, our understanding of their needs. Diversity expansions, provides us with a wider opportunity of cross culture learning, with classes such as; Black studies, Women studies, and Social Justice.” Colonomos has also observed in addition to the curriculum of colleges, the need to attend college sways with the demands of the work force. Examining the idea that, “for over half -a- century the job marked has moved from manufacturing to a service economy. Most service jobs today require an education making it impetus for people to go to college. Today, you just cannot support your family on jobs like coal mining. The evolving job market, and cost of living, has made it crucial for people to go to school, changing the History of Higher Education.” This paper will examine diversity expansion and the evolution of higher education, and how that has or has not impacted women. We will do so by way of a comparison of “American Higher Education, 1860-1890’” to today (Thelin, 2011). Women and Education
Civil War While there were some women colleges at
He suggests in order to reverse these trends of colleges, and help restore the freedom in society, the audience should actively come together and require that Congress outlaw discrimination based on college degrees. College cannot truly make all people equal as many people face barriers of achieving a higher education, which then creates a division of class due to a lack of opportunity. Banning the use of degrees to evaluate skill and talent will go a long way toward opening up more genuinely equal opportunities. This amendment would help create more fair opportunities to those who don’t have a degree but do have certain skills. As Blank states “there are far more too many people who “take” French than who “talk” French. There are far too many people who “pass” history than understand it” (Blank 265). This suggests that most college courses don’t really help students actually learn and retain the skills they “master” because students mainly worry about actually “passing” rather than “learning”. Blank argues that this issue is becoming more and more of a problem as it is “converting the educational system into a training facility” (265). In trying to become multi-purpose, dispersed, and culturally aware, colleges are becoming the opposite as they lose the essence of compulsory schooling and become more curriculum based
Jopwell is a recruiting firm which connects the minority job candidates with the Tech companies in Silicon Valley. The main issue faced by the Tech companies is that the referral candidates are not serving the purpose and they can’t find talented minority candidates suitable to their companies. The companies are aware of the benefits like increased financial returns by having diversity in their workforce. Jopwell is currently serving 45 companies by providing them a pool of thousands of talented minority candidates and has been successful in placing a significant number of candidates in these companies. The company is focussing on diversifying the whole organization by filling the non-technical roles as well like finance, marketing,
“What Is College For” by Andrew Delbanco, shows the need for both a universal college system; one which caters for all of society, and one which provides a liberal education. Delbanco gives many reasoned thoughts on how, and why the college system has become restricted, to purely those of a higher socio-economic background, rather than being exclusive to people of all backgrounds. The idea of college being a platform for people to learn, advance their skills, and become whatever they want to be has seemingly diminished over time. The ideas in favor of such an educational system are put forward, but they are foreshadowed in my opinion, by the notion that people should have the same educational opportunities in life; regardless of their economic or social background. A universal education system is needed for our society to prosper, especially if it provides a liberal education; this is not just for the individuals that make up a community, but for the community, as a whole.
African American education systems and colleges faced many issues systematically and socially. The process of integrating colleges was a process faced with opposition because the idea that higher education was made for strictly for white upper-class men was still the underlying ideal. While equal opportunity was promoted in the light, behind the scenes, systematically money, policy, procedure hindered black education and equal opportunity. Realizing this injustice, black students sought to find their own solutions to social justice issues happening not only within higher education but their communities while leading by example.
I was very excited when I saw this essay prompt because diversity is actually one of the main criteria that drew me into NC State. All throughout my schooling life, for as long as I can remember, I never attended any schools that were diverse. There was always one extremely predominant race or gender, and it’s something that truly disturbed me. I am excited to attend a college that is so diverse in many aspects, that I will be able to benefit from in multiple different ways. I will be able to learn and understand new perspectives which will help me gain an open mind and heart to be able to accept different kinds of people. I will be able to familiarize myself with different backgrounds and cultures, because I am so accustomed to my own, I
What is the single greatest personal asset that will serve you in realizing these goals?
Unfortunately, notwithstanding poet Louisa Fletcher's desire to start over, colleges and universities in the United States will not at any time soon access the Land of Beginning Again. Those institutions must enact meaningful change transitions from where they exist today, and there is much change that is needed. To wit, innovator and strategic management consultant Fred Buining asserts that higher education is in the "eye of the hurricane," which means that leaders, scholars, and educators are not doing enough to meet the challenges they face. Buining suggests that there is "no critical mass" in terms of the changes that are needed in higher education. Moreover, he believes that while today's student in colleges and universities are getting younger the professors and instructors are getting older, issues like cultural diversity and commercialization threaten institutions of higher learning. This paper reviews and critiques scholarly sources that address issues of diversity and commercialization on college and university campuses. Thesis: colleges and universities are in many respects becoming very much like corporations, and this is truly the wrong direction for higher education
When I started this phenomenal journey of researching, African-American professionals in higher education, I never realized that indeed there was truth in the obstacles, restrictions and biases in their way that must be overcome. In this research paper we will highlight and discuss some of the reasons that African- American professionals faces in higher education and some of the resources, that can be used to dismantle the indifferences. The progress has been slow in the academic arena for African-Americans in higher education. It has being over two decades from 1980 to 2003 African Americans make up only 4.3% of full time faculty in Americans universities and since 2003 it as only gone up by 1.2%. Progression toward a goal to dismantle obstacles to academe life for African- American professionals is the only way to winning the battle in education (Schwarz et al 2010).
As a woman myself, it is hard to imagine a time when I would not have been allowed to attend college, let alone be writing this paper. As children most of us heard stories from our grandparent’s about what life was like they were young. I can remember laughing at the thought of “walking up hill both ways” to get to school. With the liberties American Women have today, it is easy to take for granted everything the women before us fought so hard for. It is easy to forget the treatment they suffered in their struggle to bring us to today. In this paper we will examine the lives, struggles, and small victories of women that have led us to
Michelle Obama’s “Bowie State University Commencement Speech” and Mike Rose’s “Blue-Collar Brilliance” both address the similar theme of a higher education. Obama motivates her audience by connecting to the fight for education by African Americans and the drive required to complete a higher education throughout history. Obama’s central argument is to inspire the graduates, such as previous generations have done, to encourage future generations to care about their education, continue on with higher learning, and also to get them back on track if they begin to stray. Obama cites multiple statistics such as ones that declared educated African Americans actually live longer and make more money than those without a degree or who have dropped out of high school. On the other hand, Rose addresses the common held belief that work requiring less schooling also requires less intelligence. Rose provided two stories; one about his mother Rosie, and one about her brother Joe, neither of whom finished high school. Rose declares that their lack of institutionalized education did not mean they were not educated in other ways. In their lines of work, one at a factory and one at a restaurant, required a combined demand of both body and mind. The primary thesis Rose is trying to point out is that our society today devalues everyday learning and we offer limited educational opportunities that cause us to reinforce cultural divides. My feelings on the issue of higher education are mixed. While I
“The subject of the Education of Women of the higher classes is one which has undergone singular fluctuations in public opinions” (Cobbe 79). Women have overcome tremendous obstacles throughout their lifetime, why should higher education stand in their way? In Frances Power Cobbe’s essay “The Education of Women,” she describes how poor women, single women, and childless wives, deserve to share a part of the human happiness. Women are in grave need of further improvements in their given condition. Cobbe suggests that a way to progress these improvements manifests in higher education, and that this will help further steps in advance. Cobbe goes on to say that the happiest home, most grateful husband, and the most devoted children came from a woman, Mary Sommerville, who surpassed men in science, and is still studying the wonders of God’s creations. Cobbe has many examples within her paper that shows the progression of women as a good thing, and how women still fulfill their duties despite the fact that they are educated. The acceptance of women will be allowed at the University of New England because women should be able to embrace their abilities and further their education for the benefit of their household, their lives, and their country.
Women were so tired of being treated unequal to men and started to look for change. They rose above society to make a point that women deserve an education so they can better themselves. “By 1886, there were 192 women's assemblies, and an additional number of women joined formerly all-male assemblies” (Manning 2013). By the end of the 1800’s, the number of women that were done being mistreated started to rise rapidly. Women continued to take over men’s “jobs” because they were just as capable. It was unusual for women to try to attend colleges, but they gradually started to apply. “Although few persons obtained a college education then, by 1880 women constituted one of every three students enrolled at institutions of higher learning, and many remained single. Of eight thousand female college graduates in 1880, only five thousand were married” (Sklar 1998). Marriage seemed to be one of the main factors that restricted many women into getting a college degree. Women during that time were better off because they did not have to worry about men’s daily opinions of them and how they should act and
The foundation of colleges for women as well as events at women’s rights conventions intellectually challenged society’s views on women’s traditional roles. As education became more of a public governmental service, the educational
The concept of diversity is one that individuals may not think of when they think of nursing. Diversity is a major component to nursing and the care that is provided to patients. In this concept analysis, antecedent, attributes and consequences of diversity are identified. The following antecedents are: race, social economy, knowledge, gender, and education level. The attributes of diversity are individual, variety, perception, difference and civilization. The consequences of diversity are as follows; acceptance, decision making, cultural competency qualifications, respect, degrading, trusts
In today 's world where the population, especially of the United States, is growing gloriously diverse, institutions of higher education must also reflect this aspect in their student body. The purpose of colleges and universities is to provide students with the education and experience they need to succeed after graduating as well as expand their thoughts and perspectives. Thus, they must create and maintain a similar environment in which students will live and work in the future. Although diversity has been emphasized as a priority for many schools, socioeconomic diversity is often disregarded. However, socioeconomic diversity plays an important role in developing the perspectives and minds of students. Thus, it is essential for the admission offices, especially of prestigious universities like the University of Pennsylvania, to recruit and admit more economically disadvantaged students as well as for the schools to meet the needs of and maintain those students.