Mary Lyon - Pioneer in Education

After searching around the website of radio show "Cavalcade of America", I decided to listen to an episode titled "Mary Lyon - Pioneer in Education" which aired in 1937. The epsiode described Mary's life and discusssed how she changed higher education for women by opening the first public college for women in the country. The epsiode in general reminded me of a movie, with narration and conversations and musical interludes, which had a calm atmosphere to it. I felt as though I was listening to a heartwarming story about a woman and her journey to better the world. While the epsiode was entertaining to listen to, I felt it did not have much historical context to it. The narrator tells the audience that women were not accepted in schools of higher education very well and that Mary Lyon opened the first public college for women but the rest is open for interpretation. I felt that the episode was more for entertainment purposes than for historical purposes.

One thing I found particularly interesting in the episode is how they portrayed what men and women felt about the issue. The episode gives the audience the idea that all men were against women being educated and all women for very much for it. This portrayal is very misleading I feel. While the women's movement was making a push for the educating of women there were also many women who were against this. The same goes men, there were men who were both for and against the education of women. Just because you are a man does not mean you think women should not be educated and just becauseyou are a women does not mean you think women should be. I feel this is important for people to know and the episode overlooks this stance.