Who Carries the Burden of Education In the year 1979, Adrienne Rich presented a convocation speech entitled “Claiming an Education” to the students of Douglass college, an all women’s school. The ideas of “clear thinking” and “active discussion” were prioritized throughout the essay. Rich was born and lived during a time where it was uncommon and nearly shunned for women to work for themselves (608). Throughout Rich’s life, people viewed women as mothers before any other career they pursued. As a feminist, Rich encouraged the students of Douglass college claim their education and thus take control of their futures. The speech that Rich delivers conveys her stance on education, political issues, and how it affects the lives of the students.
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Rich makes this argument to say that women do not have the same, fair chance as men would because they are not getting more than a man’s perspective. The education they receive is what the men believe is important for them to learn or not to learn. This argument is slightly biased due to Rich’s feminist ideals and political views, however the statement is fairly true. Personally, I agree with Rich’s statement because I,too, am a feminist, however I can recognize that she lets her bias play into her portrayal of her …show more content…
The author was a feminist, meaning her ideals aligned with those of someone who wants equal rights and opportunities for everyone. Feminism helped Rich to come to the conclusion that most women were perceiving their education the way the male administrators thought was the right way to go about things. Seeing as men are oftentimes viewed as the standard, the norm, the dominant discourse, this is a reasonable argument to make. Conversely, Rich was encouraging the women of Douglass college to take control of their educations and, thus, their futures. Rich could have factored the difficulties of many women not envisioning themselves as successful in a male dominated profession. Seeing that women were often expected to be mothers and housewives, the direction. This is why Rich says that women should claim their education. If women take control of their education, regardless of what others will say or think, they will take control of their futures. She says that students should “take responsibility towards ourselves” in our school work. While this was presented to a women’s college, this should be taken and utilized by all people who wish to be academically
Rich makes this argument to say that women do not have the same, fair chance as men would because they are not getting more than a man’s perspective. The education they receive is what the men believe is important for them to learn or not to learn. This argument is slightly biased due to Rich’s feminist ideals and political views, however the statement is fairly true. Personally, I agree with Rich’s statement because I,too, am a feminist, however I can recognize that she lets her bias play into her portrayal of her …show more content…
The author was a feminist, meaning her ideals aligned with those of someone who wants equal rights and opportunities for everyone. Feminism helped Rich to come to the conclusion that most women were perceiving their education the way the male administrators thought was the right way to go about things. Seeing as men are oftentimes viewed as the standard, the norm, the dominant discourse, this is a reasonable argument to make. Conversely, Rich was encouraging the women of Douglass college to take control of their educations and, thus, their futures. Rich could have factored the difficulties of many women not envisioning themselves as successful in a male dominated profession. Seeing that women were often expected to be mothers and housewives, the direction. This is why Rich says that women should claim their education. If women take control of their education, regardless of what others will say or think, they will take control of their futures. She says that students should “take responsibility towards ourselves” in our school work. While this was presented to a women’s college, this should be taken and utilized by all people who wish to be academically