Educating Mommies

In what has to be the ultimate feminist nightmare The New York Times reports that Ivy league schools are now turning out female students who want to be stay at home mothers.

One student the Times interviewed was 19-year-old Cynthia Liu a Yale sophomore, who scored 1510 on her SAT on a 1600 point scale, carries a 4.0 GPA and is also a pianist and runner. Her plans include going to law school but also to be a stay at home mom by the time she is 30. This attitude is due to her mother telling her that “you can’t be the best career woman and best mother at the same time” adding that “you always have to choose one over the other.” In her case it’s the mommy track.

Miss Liu isn’t alone. In an e-mail survey Yale conducted with 138 freshmen and senior female students who were living on campus 60 percent said they wanted to cut back on work or quit entirely when they had children. Only two of those surveyed expected their husbands to stay at home with the children while they pursued their careers. Molly Yard must be turning over in her grave.

Even Princeton President Shirley Tilghman was recently quoted as saying “There is nothing inconsistent with being a leader and a stay-at-home parent. Some women (and a handful of men) whom I have known who have done this have had a powerful impact on their communities.” Take that Ellie Smeal!

It has taken far too long for educators and others to realize that bringing home a corporate paycheck and a fancy title are no match for the satisfaction of being a stay-at-home mom and the infinite rewards that they receive as a result.