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By Carla Ward


A September 20 New York Times article (now only available on WestLaw) entitled "Many Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood" prompted several letters to the Editor, including the following:

To the Editor:
Re "Many Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood" (front page, Sept. 20):

I was shocked and dismayed by your article not because I do not value the immense importance of being a mother but because as a young woman living in a post-feminism world, I cannot comprehend the ultimate passivity with which some women of my generation have resigned themselves to maintaining the status quo.

I agree that in today's society it is not possible for a woman to "have it all" and be both an outstanding career woman and an outstanding mother. But this does not mean that as women we should be content and not try to promote change by pushing for more equal participation in child-rearing between men and women and for the creation of a more family-friendly workplace and schedule.

Just because women cannot "have it all" does not mean that we should stop demanding it.

Amy L. Breglio

Here is how my letter to the Editor would go:

To the Editor:

As a third year law student and wife, I was shocked and dismayed at your article. It seemed to imply that choosing to be a mother after gaining an advanced degree would be wasting opportunities and throwing away a valuable education. To be a mother is not lauded as a valid aspiration.

In no other vocation does one have such an extraordinary influence over the life of another. A stay-at-home mother will be the one providing the daily moral, emotional, and intellectual guidance children need.

I have no desire to leave my child's upbringing to a nanny or day-care. Juggling high-powered careers and children might be possible for some, but that does not mean it's desirable. As a parent, I am wholly responsible for the future of my child. I have no desire to leave that future in the hands of another.

George Washington once said, "My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her."

Call me crazy, but I would consider it a greater life achivement to raise the next George Washington than win that big case.

You know, it surprises me that more men aren't chiming in on this topic. I mean, don't you regret having to pull the weight financially and to have that burden of supporting a stay-at-home wife & kids?