velvetpage (
velvetpage) wrote2007-01-30 12:49 pm
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Professional women, higher education, and other ramblings
I was thinking again this morning on a topic that often occupies my thoughts, at least peripherally - the problem of higher education and careers that require it, for women and mothers.
Let me elaborate.
When i was finishing my fourth year of university, I was one of about half my program who were approached by faculty with a request that I apply for the Masters program in my field (French Linguistics.) I had the marks. I had the contacts in the department. I was assured that if I applied, I'd get in, and that I would have a T.A. job for the duration of the program.
I didn't really think about it at the time, because I already had. I turned it down. Two months after finishing my B.A., I got married, and two months after that, i went to Teachers' College for my one-year B.Ed. program. The following September, I started working as a teacher, at a salary of almost forty grand. I didn't really discuss the decision with Piet, either, though we did discuss whether we should get married before or after Teachers' College. I'm very glad we decided on before, for various reasons that don't belong in this post.
My reasoning had nothing to do with ability and everything to do with life goals. I wanted a career. I also wanted to have a child, hopefully before turning thirty. I wanted a house, a stable income, a job that wouldn't require that I move - I had done enough moving. In short, I was ready to move on with the benchmarks of adulthood. At least, that was how I phrased it to myself.
I know several other teachers whose reasoning was very similar to mine - including the half-dozen or so from my department at Mac, who went on to TC with me at Brock or elsewhere. My friends list is full of women who have managed their children, their educations, and their careers, in various ways. Almost all of them have, at some point or another, agonized over these choices. It seems to have become a rite of passage for educated women to agonize over the mix of parenting and career choices in their lives.
Someone in another journal read a short version of that story, and claimed that the subtext was, "Women can't be good mothers and good professionals at the same time." Now, I'm sure there are people who think that, and I'm sure there are many women who feel pressured to give up on their professional lives in order to raise their children. I'm not denying that. But that subtext is not present in my story. I chose what I did for many reasons, but the ability to do both things took a back seat, always, to my willingness to do them. I didn't want that PhD badly enough to delay or deny myself the other things I had set as goals. I chose not to go into law because the extreme workload of many lawyers didn't appeal to me, in part because it would make family life more stressful. And, as I pointed out to her, I AM a good mother and a good professional, at the same time.
So, friends list: tell me your stories. Are you delaying children in order to get that grad degree? Did you have children while working on higher education? Have you experienced that subtext?
And, while we're at it: it occurs to me that universities have it backwards. The most expensive years are usually the last years. Medical school costs a lot more than a B.Sc. Tuition on undergrad degrees is regulated in Canada; tuition on graduate and professional degrees is not. It would seem more logical to do exactly the opposite. School should force students to prove academic ability before continuing beyond a B.A., but the financial obstacles should be removed as the academic ones become more stringent. Discuss. :)
Let me elaborate.
When i was finishing my fourth year of university, I was one of about half my program who were approached by faculty with a request that I apply for the Masters program in my field (French Linguistics.) I had the marks. I had the contacts in the department. I was assured that if I applied, I'd get in, and that I would have a T.A. job for the duration of the program.
I didn't really think about it at the time, because I already had. I turned it down. Two months after finishing my B.A., I got married, and two months after that, i went to Teachers' College for my one-year B.Ed. program. The following September, I started working as a teacher, at a salary of almost forty grand. I didn't really discuss the decision with Piet, either, though we did discuss whether we should get married before or after Teachers' College. I'm very glad we decided on before, for various reasons that don't belong in this post.
My reasoning had nothing to do with ability and everything to do with life goals. I wanted a career. I also wanted to have a child, hopefully before turning thirty. I wanted a house, a stable income, a job that wouldn't require that I move - I had done enough moving. In short, I was ready to move on with the benchmarks of adulthood. At least, that was how I phrased it to myself.
I know several other teachers whose reasoning was very similar to mine - including the half-dozen or so from my department at Mac, who went on to TC with me at Brock or elsewhere. My friends list is full of women who have managed their children, their educations, and their careers, in various ways. Almost all of them have, at some point or another, agonized over these choices. It seems to have become a rite of passage for educated women to agonize over the mix of parenting and career choices in their lives.
Someone in another journal read a short version of that story, and claimed that the subtext was, "Women can't be good mothers and good professionals at the same time." Now, I'm sure there are people who think that, and I'm sure there are many women who feel pressured to give up on their professional lives in order to raise their children. I'm not denying that. But that subtext is not present in my story. I chose what I did for many reasons, but the ability to do both things took a back seat, always, to my willingness to do them. I didn't want that PhD badly enough to delay or deny myself the other things I had set as goals. I chose not to go into law because the extreme workload of many lawyers didn't appeal to me, in part because it would make family life more stressful. And, as I pointed out to her, I AM a good mother and a good professional, at the same time.
So, friends list: tell me your stories. Are you delaying children in order to get that grad degree? Did you have children while working on higher education? Have you experienced that subtext?
And, while we're at it: it occurs to me that universities have it backwards. The most expensive years are usually the last years. Medical school costs a lot more than a B.Sc. Tuition on undergrad degrees is regulated in Canada; tuition on graduate and professional degrees is not. It would seem more logical to do exactly the opposite. School should force students to prove academic ability before continuing beyond a B.A., but the financial obstacles should be removed as the academic ones become more stringent. Discuss. :)
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Economics and what is right are at odds here. The value of a higher degree is worth more than the value of having a B.A. in a matching discipline. Something that is worth more should cost more.
At the same time, there's the awareness that somebody who simply can't afford the further training may be the next genius in that field, but nothing may come of it without postgraduate studies.
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I had two opportunities to do a PhD, and turned both of them down because I was already working in my field - something that most history MAs can't say. I was very, very lucky to have the job I did, and I wasn't prepared to give it up in exchange for a degree that might net me a better job, but might also be a lot of work for nothing more than my own personal interest in the subject. I still believe that my years of work experience will probably serve me better in the long run, career-wise, than the PhD would have - though it would probably be even better to have both!
The decision to have a baby came about because I was employed at an institution that would give me a very beneficial maternity leave (topping it up to 95% of my full pay for some of the year - 6 months or so? I forget exactly.) We knew that we might not have such a good opportunity if I were to either start a degree or move to another job, so we took it. Our thoughts were that we could always find reasons why it wasn't the perfect time to have a baby, but that realistically, it was better than many people's situations, and that we would find a way to make it work. And so far we've done that.
Of course I've felt tension between my family life and my academic life. But I think having this time to spend at home with my son is beneficial, both to him and to me. I have more perspective on my career than I used to, and I think I'm more prepared to look into alternative career paths than I was before.
And, to address your final point, I think they have the system the right way around - higher degrees should be more expensive, because otherwise too many people would do them, and there are already far too many people with PhDs who can't get work in their fields. My advice to anyone going into an advanced arts degree is a) only do it because you love it, not because it'll get you a job, because there's a good chance it won't, and b) don't go into debt for it. If they can't offer you full or nearly-full funding, it's not worth it. That said, most universities can offer funding to at least some students, so the financial obstacles are hardly insurmountable if you're well-qualified.
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And for what it's worth, I feel the same way about men. Men who work 80 hours a week and are barely home have a hell fo a challenge to live up to the title of excellent father.
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And even though I KNOW you work more than 40 hours a week, you also get summers off!! (At least here in the States.) So over the course of the year, I think it probably evens out--during the school year, you have less time, but then during summers you can devote all your attention and energy to your kids, should you so choose.
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I didn't go to grad school because I met Gord and wanted to get married. My career goal as of now is to go back to get my MLS and get a job. But I am more than willing to wait until my youngest is in school so I don't have to put him in daycare - that's important to me. So by the time I am done with school and have a job, my kids will be old enough to stay home by themselves for a couple hours after shcool, and I won't feel bad about leaving them.
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After that disappointment I sort of gave up on school. I worked. Enjoyed being a young adult and spent my money. Then I met my husband, got married and wanted kids right away. I know have a good paying job that I only got because of my experiences of the last 10 years, but I regret not going to school. I want to go back, I'm just not sure what for and if we'll be able to afford it. Only time will tell I guess.
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I don't have experience raising kids, but I do know my own expectations for myself, and being gone for 10-12 hours a day is not among them. I know there are people doing this in my program, but I really don't get how they are actually DOING it.
IF on the off chance G and I get married and decide to start a family before I finish grad school, then I'll probably quit working to finish school ASAP. Or go half time to each, if possible. But I think that's probably not going to be a concern, so I don't think about it much.
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My experience is there is tremendous prejudice against active motherhood and advanced degree work. The saddest thing is that the most virulent cases I encountered was from the female tenured professors. Either they were empty-nesters for the grad work, or more prevalently, they never had children.
FWIW due to financial situation, I left the program ABT. I did go on to become a social worker and a teacher. And believe me, teaching is anything BUT a 40 hour a week job. ;)
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