WORLD WE DARE TO IMAGINE POST I

“The world has kissed my soul with its pain, asking for its return in songs.” Once an abused wife but now an outstanding teacher, Emily concluded her story with Tagore’s poem. She was my teaching partner at Casa de Rosa, an organization providing sanctuary and education for underprivileged Hispanic women. Our class was designed to help illiterate Hispanic women acquire Basic English skills to improve employment opportunities and better integrate into American society. While my students were able to improve their confidence and socioeconomic conditions by taking this class, it was also a valuable learning opportunity for me. Their eagerness to learn and understand despite my rusty teaching skills always encouraged me when I struggled with materials in class. Education bonded us together and inspired me to devote my time to striving for education equality for women in our society.

Women are often regarded as diligent homemakers rather than high economic achievers under existing social prejudice, especially in traditional Hispanic and Chinese households, like Emily’s and mine. Being the only female in my family, I was initially pushed to excel in school work but later pressured to halt my pursuit for higher education to start a family. The gender gap in education makes it harder for women to achieve economic independence and social freedoms by limiting their access to building cultural capital and achieving personal development. However, my students proved to me that knowledge can make huge differences in these women’s lives and their communities, which then benefits the whole society with positive impacts on the current gender issues. Investing in women’s education will lead to increased gender equality and benefit disadvantaged female individuals and their communities. In the future, I want to provide more accessible resources, like my English class for women who are experiencing unfair treatment in education to acquire the ability to enrich and empower themselves. This is what motivates me to continue my work with female empowerment organizations like Casa de Rosa.

In the future, I want to work for Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women (YWCA), one of the most established non-profit organizations promoting gender equality in the US. Run by Dara Richardson-Heron, a Barnard College alumna, YWCA provides women more than education opportunities to receive job training and financial literacy, but also a understanding of autonomy and empowerment. As a devotee of gender equality myself, I am particularly inspired by YWCA’s philosophy of focusing on the root of inequality by contributing to the early stage of younger female’s development. Programs like Early Head Start aim at providing early-learning centers and prenatal education for expecting women and preschool lessons for 3-to-5-year-old girls. At YWCA, I want to first work as an Early Head Start teacher to gain a better understanding of the needs of non-native English-speaking female and provide English classes that help them to better integrate into American society. In the future, with the help of other YWCA divisions, I want to design a thorough Early Head Start system from basic language skills to financial and immigration assistance to help new immigrant moms and the early development of their children.