Deck 8: National School Reform: The Early Cold War ERA

Question 1

Critically analyze Mary Leal Harkness's critique of vocational education for girls.

Answer 1

Mary Leal Harkness's critique of vocational education for girls focuses on the limited and often gender-stereotyped options available to young women in vocational education programs. She argues that these programs often steer girls towards traditional "female" careers such as secretarial work, nursing, or cosmetology, while neglecting to offer them opportunities in traditionally male-dominated fields such as engineering, technology, or skilled trades.

Harkness also points out the lack of support and resources for girls who are interested in non-traditional vocations, as well as the societal attitudes that discourage them from pursuing these paths. She emphasizes the importance of providing equal access to a wide range of vocational education options for young women, and of challenging the gender norms that limit their choices.

Harkness's critique raises important questions about the role of vocational education in perpetuating gender inequality and limiting girls' career prospects. It highlights the need for systemic change in how vocational education is structured and delivered to ensure that it empowers young women to pursue their interests and talents, regardless of gender stereotypes. Her analysis calls for a more inclusive and equitable approach to vocational education that recognizes and supports the diverse career aspirations of girls.

Question 2

Do you believe that any of Augustine's views on women and men continue to influence the educational experiences of girls and women today? How, specifically?

Answer 2

Yes, Augustine's views on women and men continue to influence the educational experiences of girls and women today. One way in which this influence is seen is through the perpetuation of gender stereotypes and biases in educational settings. Augustine's belief in the inherent inferiority of women has contributed to the historical exclusion of women from certain fields of study and limited access to higher education. This continues to impact the educational opportunities available to girls and women today, as they may face societal expectations and institutional barriers that discourage their pursuit of certain academic and professional paths. Additionally, Augustine's emphasis on the importance of women's chastity and modesty has contributed to the policing of women's behavior and dress in educational environments, perpetuating a culture of victim-blaming and limiting their freedom of expression. Overall, Augustine's views on women and men have had a lasting impact on the educational experiences of girls and women, influencing the opportunities available to them and perpetuating gender inequality in academic settings.

Question 3

If the Seneca Falls Declaration was purposely based on classical liberalism-which was the dominant ideology of the time-how could the document have been considered radical or extreme in its views? Explain.

Answer 3

The Seneca Falls Declaration, written in 1848, was indeed based on classical liberalism, which emphasized individual rights, limited government intervention, and equality before the law. However, the document was considered radical or extreme in its views for several reasons.

First, the Seneca Falls Declaration called for women's suffrage, a concept that was almost unheard of at the time. While classical liberalism did emphasize individual rights, it typically did so for property-owning men, not for women. The idea of women having the right to vote was seen as a challenge to the traditional social and political order, making it radical in the eyes of many at the time.

Additionally, the Seneca Falls Declaration also called for women to have the right to own property, receive education, and pursue careers, all of which were radical ideas in a society where women were largely expected to focus on domestic duties and child-rearing. These demands were seen as extreme because they challenged the traditional gender roles and power dynamics of the time.

Furthermore, the Seneca Falls Declaration also criticized the legal and social status of women, pointing out the inequalities and injustices they faced. This critique of the existing social and legal order was seen as radical and extreme because it called for significant changes to the established norms and power structures.

In conclusion, while the Seneca Falls Declaration was based on classical liberalism, its calls for women's suffrage, property rights, education, and critiques of the existing social and legal order were considered radical and extreme in their views because they challenged the traditional gender roles and power dynamics of the time.

Question 4

Do you see any parallels to the past in examples of conservative, liberal, and radical thinking about the roles (and therefore the education) of girls and women today? Give examples and evidence to support your view.

Question 5

Critically evaluate what you take to be the most important claims and resolutions made in the Seneca Falls Declaration. Why do you think the twelfth and last resolution would have been only narrowly passed, instead of unanimously passed, as the others were?

Question 6

Given your understanding of the history and educational experiences of women as a marginalized group, what "lessons" have you, or should the larger community of educators, take away from this understanding?

Question 7

The historical exclusion of girls from schooling prior to the Revolution was grounded in the view that

A) girls didn't need formal education to take a productive place in society.
B) girls were not suited for intellectual activities.
C) education could be damaging to the female nature.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 8

The term "cult of domesticity" refers to

A) the use of accepted beliefs about women's role in the home as an argument for increased formal schooling of girls.
B) fundamentalist Christian groups that required women to work only at home.
C) groups of women that were tried as witches for occult practices in their homes.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 9

By the late nineteenth century, girls outnumbered boys in public high school graduation,

A) but a bare majority of all high school-aged girls actually completed high school.
B) but fewer than ten percent of the entire high school-aged population graduated.
C) but for the first time a majority of all high school-aged students were graduating high school.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 10

In 1861, Matthew Vassar established a college dedicated to

A) the best intellectual preparation for women that money could buy.
B) state-of-the-art vocational education programs for women.
C) the cult of domesticity.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 11

Public vocational education for women became a significant educational issue during the Progressive Era at about the same time that

A) new immigration raised questions about educating foreign-born youth.
B) industrialization and bureaucratization created more office opportunities for women.
C) vocational education for boys became a major educational concern.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 12

In the Progressive Era's approach to differentiated curriculum,

A) academic education was considered appropriate to boys but not to girls.
B) girls were tracked into vocational programs without regard to their social class backgrounds.
C) gender interacted with class in influencing whether girls would be enrolled in the vocational or academic curricula.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 13

Harkness's views on vocational education are not only critical with regard to girls and young women,

A) but critical of wasting any student's time in vocational coursework.
B) but critical of vocational education in general.
C) but critical of the view that motherhood is a woman's highest calling.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 14

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott appear to endorse a view of women's capacity for rationality that is

A) contrary to that held by Jefferson and classical liberals.
B) very similar to the view later held by Mary Leal Harkness.
C) similar to that held by Matthew Vassar.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 15

The reason Mary Leal Harkness felt the approach to women's education needed to change was that

A) women needed a wider opportunity to pursue "feminized" professions.
B) women have the right to choose their vocations as much as men, and education should facilitate that through vocational courses.
C) women needed more thorough academic education to develop their intellectual capacities.
D) women's place in the "artisan" class needed to be further developed.

Question 16

A problem with the academy system with respect to woman's education was that

A) the girls' curriculum was separate but not equal to the boys'.
B) the schools were overcrowded.
C) the best education for women was offered in other places.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 17

Why is it important to study women's education separately from that of males?

A) because the education of females has been importantly different in purpose and content from that of males
B) because it's only fair to women
C) because school should be examined in a unified gender-neutral manner
D) None of these answers is correct.

Question 18

Anna Julia Cooper

A) was one of the first African-Americans to receive a Ph.D.
B) like Catharine Beecher believed women to be subordinate to men.
C) was a university president.
D) was a university president and one of the first African-Americans to receive a Ph.D.

Question 19

The most common ideological perspective(s) on the social roles of women in the nineteenth century was/ were held by:

A) conservatives, who wanted to maintain the status quo.
B) liberals, who accepted existing definitions of the female role but attempted to expand those definitions to improve educational opportunities for women.
C) radicals, who demanded both a new, expanded definition of female roles and a new education approach to expand opportunities.
D) All these answers are correct.

Question 20

What two components most led to the Progressive Era changes in the nature and purpose of women's education?

A) Progressives and Progressive educational reform
B) domestic sciences and commercial education
C) liberals and new liberal ideology
D) political-economic change and sensual-classical liberal ideology