Ok, guys, in an effort to get some comments going here I'm going to ask for your advice on a few things. Also because I need some advice. You can even respond with one word answers if you want but any help would be cool.
Caecus and I will be done with our schooling here in Daytona this winter and I've been thinking about starting college applications. However, at this point I'm probably going to have to pick a major and here is where the problem lies. I don't know what I want to study! Here are the subjects I've been considering:
Education - While I'm pretty set on becoming a teacher, I don't know what I want to teach. Also, I know I'll have to take some education courses but do I have to major in education specifically? I don't want to teach young children; high school or college level would be my choice.
Photography - I'm already half way there and I could probably get a job teaching photography while working on a masters towards something else if I so desired. But I don't know as I really want to keep studying photography. Don't get me wrong, I definitely love it but I think at this point experience would be the best way to continue learning.
Art History - Ok, this is just a daydream of mine but imagine the awesome career opportunities! Besides teaching, I could be a museum curator, a restorer, a buyer or dealer, I could organize exhibitions, go into investment, authentication, reproduction, so many cool things. I also think it might be a very difficult profession to break into and there's not a whole lot of fall back.
English - I would totally teach high school or college level English. How fun would that be? Designing your own curriculum and deciding which books and stories and plays to read sounds awesome to me. It's something that I think I would get a lot of enjoyment out of and I personally believe that I would be good at it. I think I could get some kids interested in good literature or, at least, I could try. The most influential teachers I've had have been art/photography teachers and English teachers. It's pretty inspiring.
Health - Since comprehensive sex education is one of my pet causes, I've thought that perhaps I should join the good fight and educate people comprehensively about sexual health and safety. I suppose this is usually part and parcel with general health education, nutrition and human development and such, which I'm not quite as enthusiastic about but it's a pretty important field.
Alright, aside from things that I think would be neat but haven't seriously considered (gender studies, pharmacology, poli sci, activism [can one major in activism?], young adult counseling), these are the main considerations. Whatcha'll think? What are you majoring in/want to major in/did major in/planning to make a career in?
Second item on the docket, I have to write a research paper based on one of the speeches I did for my speech class. The speeches I have done so far are the history of NOW, comprehensive sex education, and I'm currently working on how beer is made. I'm leaning toward sex ed. Do either of the others seem like they'd make better papers?
I'm also presently working on a research paper on Kate Chopin's view of womanhood in The Awakening but it's sort of turning into views of upper class, white womanhood in The Awakening and how poor women and women of color were largely ignored even in the realm of feminism and women's rights until rather recently (even though the Civil Rights Movement and the Women's Movement in the 1960s and 70s closely coincided, they were more or less superficially allied forces). Anyway, I'll probably put that up once it's complete.
I'm currently watching a 20/20 report on prostitution in America, which has become a pretty hot topic in light of the Elliot Spitzer ordeal. Diane Sawyer is presenting it and I'm a little wary of her because of her stupid-ass "moral authority" question to Madonna but so far it seems to be a sympathetic and honest piece and she's covering it pretty thoroughly. Prostitution is such a tragic and epidemic problem all over the world. The worst part is that when it does get attention in the media, it's usually covered with this prurient and disapproving attitude, it doesn't help anything. There needs to be some major changes in the way sex work is viewed in this country and people need to realize once and for all that the women should absolutely not be taking 90% of the blame for it. Of course, I'm of the opinion that there needs to be some major changes in the way sex in general is viewed in this country. I might post a review of the program when it's over, we'll see about that. Until someone else starts posting, I'm just going to talk about whatever the heck I feel like and since I pay a lot of attention to U.S. politics and women's issues, I'll talk about that.
Alright, I'm tired of standing on my soapbox for now. Let me know if you have any opinions on the questions I asked!
2 comments:
I'm probably the worst person you could have advise you on practical concerns, but since you're asking, I will do my best.
Education seems to me the best fit for your goal of teaching in some capacity. Since I don't know anything about it (and refuse to research) this is pure assumption, but it seems that no matter where you teach, you need a teaching certificate, and to get one of those...
As far as the research paper goes, I think comprehensive sex education would probably be your best choice. You seem to handle controversial issues well, and the topic seems to encompass more of your interests than the other options.
I'm looking forward to reading the finished product, whatever you choose.
Hi sweet heart! Too many questions to answer, but there was a book I read about the very early stages of the women's movement that said that, when women were trying to get the vote, they had to turn their backs on women of color in order to do so. I know there's got to be some good research out there if you still need it, have you tried JSTOR?
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