Monday, August 3, 2009
Obama Asks Moms To Return To School...
I don't know if this is an exact quote (seriously doubt it) it is just the headline for numerous ads I've been seeing. And it breaks my heart. The economy is so bad and so many people are jobless and yet we would still undermine what moms do at home. It makes me sad that the entire attitude has become that moms want to work outside their homes, but aren't qualified. I have numerous friends who gave up lucrative careers to pursue motherhood, but I still am frequently asked (like, yesterday) when I'm "going to get a real job". Sad. Just sad.
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7 comments:
Somebody actually asked you that??? In Arizona??? It seems like everyone I meet (that's a mom) is a SAHM...and most of them either are homeschooling moms or intend to be someday.
And yes, I agree. Not only is it wrong, but very "old-fashioned". To think a woman stays home because she has to is out of touch with reality. In our family, I have the most education and left the better paying job with more benefits in order to stay at home with my kids. It is the most fulfilling "career" I have ever had and I wouldn't change it for the world! To actually be able to affect change in someone else's life...to hopefully see them grow up and change another person's life for the better...what could be better than that?
one thing you have to remember, though, is that you have a husband who works hard so that you can stay home. single moms don't have that option, and some lack the educaton to find a job that will provide for their families.
in defense of sahms, though, i've seen that ad, too, and have found myself taking offense by it. there are times when i find myself at my ten-hour-a-week cashier job thinking "i'm smarter than this", but then i remember that i chose that job because i want to be available for my children. and my husband has turned down offers of promotions that would free me from even working those few hours, because he doesn't want to be the dad who's never home. it's a choice we've made, but we're the ones who got to see the first steps, watch the t-ball games, clean up all the puke, and dry their tears. we wouldn't trade it for anything.
I don't believe Busy was making a comment AGAINST people who are not able to stay at home, and I know that was not my intention either. I honestly have no idea how single moms manage to work and take care of the things at home that they need to without help from a partner. They are strong women.
And if women want to work outside the home, or if they feel called to do so, then they should have that choice.
However (speaking for me, not Busy), there are many people who feel that staying at home is "giving up a career"...that it is not a choice, but something we "have" to do because we are not capable of anything else. My mom was one of these people. She thought for sure I would hate giving up my "adult time" and couldn't understand why I would "throw away" my college education. But this IS a "career choice" I have made and I honestly find it very fulfilling. So I resent it when I see those ads as if I didn't have a choice.
I think it is a great idea for single moms (or dads) to have the opportunity to go back to school. However, I think what Busy was trying to say is they should rephrase the ads to say "Obama Asks Adults to Return to School" (I have seen that ad too) instead of singling out moms and making us feel like we're doing something wrong.
Exactly. I just find it insulting when people assume I just couldn't do anything better with my life...which is true, but not in the way they mean it!
Did you know that dads are not eligible for additional financial aid through this program? Nope, only moms...
see, that's where i have an issue with the whole thing. like honor said, why not make it a program for "adults to return to school"?
Because statistically it's easier for men to return to school than it is women. We get grief for even getting pregnant in the workplace, much less taking more time off to go back to school.
It's a good thing for women to go back to school and it's a good thing to encourage women to go back to school.
I'm a SAHM who is also a part-time college student. I like being a role model for others not only for being willing to go back to that environment, but also to say, "hey, don't drop out of school or you'll end up a 40-year-old in a classroom with people born before she graduated high school". ;)
I totally agree with your sentiment. What we do is hard work, particularly for those of you home schooling. You should get a degree in patience.
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