now your daughter can get her mrs. degree for real

now i don't have children yet, but i say bye to adoptive children each fall as they go off to university. i have high hopes for them. college is such a wonderful time for growth personally, socially, and educationally.

disturbed i am that youth will come into this time of growth with the end result of being a housewife.

[in speaking of a humanities course only open to women] such courses are needed to arrest the collapse of the American family and society -- a view held by many conservative Christians in America.
..

Evangelical Christians number about 60 million in America and many see the country's social ills as stemming from the decline of the traditional family with the mother at home and the dad at work -- a family they see as Biblically sanctioned.

ugh..

nothing against the housewives of the world. i respect it tremendously, plus i'll probably be one myself (more on that later), but why pay the college fees for that.. plus, what kind of stigma does that label a young girl with when they meet a man.

boy: "hey, what is your major?"

girl: "i'm in the mrs. degree program."

boy: "that's cool (internal dialogue "runaway, runaway")"

today i was listening to a youth specialties podcast interviewing ginny olson the author of "teenage girls." somethings she said hits this kind of effort on the nail head. 1) girls today are more narrowly defining themselves, and not looking at themselves holistically, ie. their identity is tied into being able to capture or "be" someone's boyfriend over capturing a vision for who they can be. 2) we go after the symptoms of problems without looking towards the real causes.

this class perpetuates both of these root problems, it ties a persons identity with who and how they are in a relationship with and it doesn't really go after the problems to divorce, abuse, etc. which all have something to do with the man.. does the man get a class or two? "daddy degree," that is the next thing

 

there is an interview as to the intent of the class.

Q: What are the reasons for offering it and what are the needs for it now?

... It is a course of study whereby a woman can prepare herself intellectually and in her basic skills to be a better homemaker."

Q: This brings us back to why you see the need for it.

A: "We have rampant divorce in our society, literally hundreds of thousands of children who are bereft of one of their parents. We have abusive situations ... We have women who are trying to make homes without the basic skills they need. We have young women who are going to the ends of the Earth (on foreign missions) for Christ and the church and find themselves in situations where the ability to be a good homemaker is a survival technique."

Q: What would the curriculum involve?

A: "It's a ... four-year program. Two years of classical Latin, two years of classical Greek. It requires them to read almost all of the great books of the Western world. In addition to that they have 23 hours that is directly associated with homemaking enterprise ... this requires a three-hour course in general homemaking.

"In that we are primarily talking about the Biblical backgrounds for the making of a home. We are talking about relationships to husbands and to children. And then there is a three-hour course in clothing design and apparel ... there is a personal family management course which includes how to make and maintain a successful budget."

now the funny part, for this with regards to my family.. i am the one that has the degree from the human environmental sciences college of my uni. in the past it was known as home ec, the building still has that etched on the front. my wife makes more than me, which will probably get exponentially more than me as the years go (the church doesn't usually do regular pay increases). so as i see it, i am the future mom.. sorta..

why can't i go and get my mrs. degree? or does the bible require a female parent at home?

thanks revfife

updated: music city bloggers has picked up this post and put together some links from prior conversations. good stuff all the way around.