Research Paper on Womens Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research Paper on Womens Rights - Essay Example However they overlooked the fact that raising children, milking cows, washing clothes and all the other household chores require heavy intensive labor. And recent experiments and tests have shown that women are more pain tolerant than men. The biological implication of the women as the child bearer has also played a pivotal role in incarcerating them in the house. The common view, that a woman's place is in the house basically stem more from that than any other reason. Even after the invention of contraceptives and abortions, due to which they have a greater control over child birth, societal pressures force them to take up the position of a dedicated wife and mother. Due to this pressure the world fails to see and benefit from the intellect of talented women. Most of them fail to finish college and even if they do a little percentage pursue careers. Traditionally, females are expected to learn skills from their mothers. More emphasis is given on developing instincts for running houses rather than a profession. During the 1960s many studies revealed that girls tended to achieve higher in early school years rather than in high schools. A major reason was that girls themselves were never aware that they can have more prospects than just being a house wife. The concept did not exist in their minds. They accepted whatever was ingrained in them. However this trend has been changing over the years. (Eisenberg & Ruthsdotte, 1998) General History Taking a trip down the lane of history it can be seen that the formal education of girls has always been given less importance than that of boys. When America was a colony, the girls used to study in dame schools. They did not have any master school of their own and they could only attend the school for boys if there was any room available for them. This was mainly in the summers when all the boys were out working. However the number of women students started increasing gradually and by the end of the 19th century it had reached great levels. This was due to the fact that more and more women colleges and universities were opened and these women could even apply in regular institutes. In 1870 it was recorded that one fifth of the students studying in the colleges and universities were females. Another survey held in 1900 showed that this proportion had increased to more than one third. As for degrees, women were found to be obtaining 19 % of all the undergraduate college degrees around the start of the 20th century. By the end of the 20th century, this figure had dramatically risen to about 49 %. Even in graduate studies these women were seen to increase in number. Around the mid 1980's they were earning 49 % of all masters degrees and 33 % of all doctoral degrees. Also around the same period it was recorded that 53% of all college students were women from which more than a quarter were above the age of 29. Political History of Women Liberation First Wave The women rights movement began on the 13th of July 1848 when 6 women met for tea. Their conversation drifted towards the situation of women and feeling discontented with it they decided to take action. Today we are living the legacy of the conversation between these women. After two days of the

Conflicting Views of the California High School Exit Exam Essay

Conflicting Views of the California High School Exit Exam - Essay Example First, what is the minimum education children should have to graduate Are there a set of standards which have to be met, and a certain level of proficiency achieved Secondly, what does a high school diploma symbolize If it is meant to suggest that a person has attended high school, than by all means drop the exam. However, if it is meant to suggest that this student has an education, and has learned and met minimum levels of ability, then the exam should stand. Otherwise the degree is devalued for all those who truly earned it. Finally, can California make a clear case for discrimination, and prove that the exam is not fair to underserved children If so, then the results can not be validated. If they can prove that all children (while possibly not evenly served) have had enough opportunity to pass the exam, then the results should be upheld. By reviewing a brief history of the exam, and looking at both sides of the argument, it is clear that the exam should remain valid, and those 47 ,000 students should not be awarded their diplomas. The California High School Exit Exam is a new and fairly untested program. Originally slated to count towards graduation for the class of 2004, the schools held off until 2006, after state wide improvements were made to the schools. The exam tests for proficiency in eighth grade level math, and tenth grade level English. A student must get a fifty-five percent or higher to pass, and has six chances to pass the test. All over California people are arguing about the California High School Exit Exam. They claim that it is unfair, and that it expects too much of the students. Randy Dong, a California journalist suggests that it is not in the interest of education that these children are being tested, but rather in the interest of social promotion. He says "we are throwing algebraic and geometric problems at students who cannot even perform basic arithmetic" (Dong 2006). However, the exam only tests through eighth grade math and tenth grade reading (Washburn 2006). These children have twelve or more years of education, yet they can not pass proficiencies below their own level of academia. While Dong is in the minority, arguing about content, his view is important. In reviewing what is at stake, it is important to ask how low United States citizens are willing to set the bar in education. What should be a minimum level or proficiency to have a diploma Where Dong argues that algebra is too high a stan dard for students graduating from high school, others argue that the standards set by the test are two low. In an editorial from the Press-Enterprise, it questions "Freedman decreed that requiring students in low-performing schools to answer correctly just 55 percent of the questions in eighth-grade math and 60 percent of the questions in 10th-grade English - even after six tries - is an arbitrary violation of the state constitution." For students whose education has respectively passed four and two years beyond those levels, those minimums seem low, not high. With six tries, and tutoring available, no child should be able to fail that test, and if they do, then why should they be allowed a diploma Judge Freedman ruled that denying students the diploma would negatively impact their self-esteem, but what about the devaluation of the