Fifteen years ago it was considered “edgy” to teach Zora Neale Hurston’s novel “Their Eyes Were Watching God” to high school students. The curriculum leaned heavily on Dead White Males.
My class still appreciates the classic DWMs, but Hurston’s novel is the origin of the “Changing Women’s Roles” senior seminar Eliot Waxman and I conduct annually.
Over time, I have noticed shifts in attitudes toward women’s roles, but one thing never changes: Students, both male and female, are surprisingly aware of the conflicts and frustrations their mothers feel as they juggle their many roles.
We begin the seminar by writing a monologue as a stay-at-home mom or a professional woman recounting dreams and conflicts. All students become a fictional woman for the writing.
The monologues reflect an increased awareness that stereotypical gender roles are on the wane. Amy writes, “Both genders have a different set of expectations associated with it. Men should mow the lawn, run the country and watch football. Women should cook the meals, wash the clothes and cry at sad movies. Both are different, both are oppressive.”
Bobby’s fictional woman is a politician who recognizes her uphill fight ahead: “All I want to do is make a difference. If this means becoming the next Hillary Clinton, so be it. First I have to break the cycle. And right now I need to go cook dinner.”
The most profoundly moving monologues, though, are those — often written by males — that understand the difficult dimensions of a woman’s life. Andy’s monologue is remarkably incisive:
“Whenever people ask me what I do for a living, I am always stumped. When you have a job as demanding and thankless as mine, how can I shorten it to a one-sentence designation? I am a gourmet chef, preparing three meals a day for a party of five. I am a physician, perpetually on-call … I am a teacher, responsible for molding young minds …
“I am a chauffeur, shepherding my flock from ballet to karate. I am an accountant, handling the finances so that we always have enough to put away for our children’s future. I am a mediator. But all that doesn’t fit on a business card. So whenever someone says I am ‘just’ a mom, I explain there’s nothing ‘just’ about it.”
The seminar could end with these brilliant monologues, but it keeps getting better. Students discuss contemporary issues of women in politics and business: Do we have a double standard? Will the U.S. ever have a woman president? Are there salary discrepancies for women? Not surprisingly, there are no definitive answers, only interesting debate.
When we look at salary tables broken down by gender, we discover that interpreting data is as complex as interpreting the role of women in society or in our own lives. Complexity becomes the theme of the seminar.
The final activity is an essay, completed at home, asking students if there is any solution to the conflicts and frustrations many women feel as they balance family, work and friendships. Students never come up with a simple answer, but we all realize how hard it is to reduce either gender’s life to a two-dimensional business card.
Erica Jacobs teaches at Oakton High School and George Mason University. E-mail her at [email protected].
