Essay 1-101 mother never worked PDF

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Jimenez 1 Kristina Jimenez Diaz-Cooper English 101 Essay #1 17 September, 2015 The Work of Mothers: A Thankless Job In the essay My Mother Never Worked, by Bonnie Smith-Yackell, the author makes the reader question the value of a hardworking stay at home mother and what she contributes to society when the subject of Social Security Benefits are not granted to her. Women have come along way since the 1920's, being able to make their own decisions about motherhood and facing the criticism that society gives, feeling that they are justified in judging a woman's choice. To be a mother, there is not just one way to do it. There are many types of women in the world, some of which strive to be a wonderful homemaker and devoted wife at home, and others that strive to be the first women executive in their office to provide for their family, and both types of women are equally courageous and a feminists in their own right. Both types of woman will try their very hardest to reach their goal and be the best mother they now how. The two are very different, but ultimately, the same in the sense that they chose to bring life into the world, but just have different views on how to raise them. They both face the same pressures as a mother, but choose to cope with their many responsibilities in different ways. With either lifestyle, they are women who advocate their right to make their own choice for what is best for their families and what make them happy, and makes their families work. The controversy surrounding this essay is that a stay at home mother has no value to tax-payers, but it is also an issue of women's rights and the continuing pressure that women feel to be either a good mother at home, or a career mom who can help provide. The Women's' rights movement brought to light the fight that women faced, of being unappreciated by society. For a long time, being a mother and wife was a women's greatest accomplishment and they needed not have any other goals in life. The life of a homemaker,

Jimenez | 2 though very hard, does not make any money, therefore a woman is merely a right-off for her husband. The heroin of this essay was a hardworking and devoted mother, having had eight children and all of whom went on to graduate high school and lead productive lives. That was the life of a farmer in the 20's, she worked harder in one day, than most people will see in their lifetime and her hard work benefitted all of her family, providing food, clothes, and milk on a daily basis. But that lifestyle directly benefits her family and not society. She did not pay to any taxes, yet all children went to public school and graduated.The author's mother, Martha Smith worked side by side with her husband on their farm and he was entitled to his social security, perhaps he was the only one who claimed any taxes for their hard work and their property that they saved so long and so hard for, might have only been put in his name. To the government, a person can only have value if they contribute their taxes so that society can function, keeping things like schools and libraries running. People may have many feeling on the topic of Social Security which can only grant to the persons benefactors if the individual "contribute a percentage of their wages to a fund that they may draw from"(123). Although her story is very tragic, there are many women in today's society that raise children by themselves, receive paychecks and still pay taxes on each check, however meager it may be. This situation may not happen to a women in today's world, because women are far too informed of their rights, in a country that charges so much for taxes, most Americans will fully expect to receive what is owed to them or their family when the day comes for retirement or death. Stay at home mothers, even today, feel the scrutiny of not working and the effects of society judging them for not being an active member of society, contributing to the workforce and the economy. A homemaker (by some), is identified as a non-feminist since the women's rights movement fought so hard for all women's rights to vote or work, but they choose to stay at home and tend to their husbands and children as if it were still the 1920's. However, there are

Jimenez | 3 many views of the value of homemakers, some women strive to be an attentive, extremely involved, loving mother and are proud to be able to be the person who shapes their child's life from the beginning. Most people were raised by stay at home mothers, although it was a different time, families came to rely on this person for food, school work, cleaning, compassion, fresh clothes, seamstress, nursing and many other things that people just took for granted. A homemaker was a glue that held the entire household together, and yet was regarded as a person with no education or opinions. Over the years, the role of a homemaker is a little different, they are not just regarded as non-educated people, but now have evolved to soccer moms, charity members, coaches, PTA members, coupon-ers, and learning more ways to help contribute to the family, rather than just sitting at home eating Bon-Bons, watching soap operas, like what society used to perceive them as. Being an attentive wife and mother, may make some women completely satisfied, striving to be like their mothers' before them, which does not make them non-feminists, it just makes them individuals who choose to live life the way they want to. But they must also face the reality that living in a country that all people benefit from taxpayer programs, and all people must pay taxes, although a mother at home does so many things for her family, she does not pay taxes, she cannot be considered a contributor, and therefore she is not entitled to receive from a fund she never put into. Career Moms are much more common in today's society. The authors mother herself questioned whether or not she wanted to be a wife and have many children, and was not sure if she wanted that to be her whole life. She knew the responsibility that comes with parenthood and the obstacles they would face, which are still problems faced by parents today. The story stated that Mrs. Smith and her husband saved for a long time to buy their property in the 1920's which was probably only about $300 or less. In today's society, monthly rent is about $1,500 and the demands of women to make money to help provide for their family is much higher. Although

Jimenez | 4 there are many women that would love to stay home to raise their child, the financial pressure that todays parents face, make it impossible to do so. The burden of providing for the family is not just up to the husband anymore, and a mother may not be able to stay home and tend to a vegetable garden, milk the family cow for drinks, or sew clothes all night, because if they did, the rent would not be paid. Working mother's face a particular challenge, balancing a stressful job and caring for the children after picking them up from the person they pay to raise them. To some mothers, it is hard to work just enough hours, (get paid so little) just to pay someone else to do the job they would love to do, but they are able to make this sacrifice knowing that when it comes time for retirement, what little money they contributed, would be matched by their employer over the years, having saved a nice retirement. To the contrary, there are also very many women who would rather work, and be financially independent and still feel like an individual rather than be just characterized as a mother and are happy to pay a trained professional, confident that their children will still grow to be smart and independent. A study was done by the American Psychological Association, comparing the happiness if working moms versus the stay at home mom, and it was shown that mothers who work are far less likely to become depressed and unhealthy (Gardner). Not every woman has it in them to be patient at all time for their children, and may have worked very hard in school to become successful in their field of study. To have a child does not mean a person should sacrifice their happiness and freedom, that is why woman have fought to make their own choice. There are many women who were raised by working mothers, that were pioneers in their time, and strive to be like them. It is the view of the mother and the experience they may have had, that would have an effect of what kind of mother they would like to become. The author brings attention to the readers that possibly, a change in the system needs to be made for the contributions a stay at home mother makes to a functioning society. Although

Jimenez | 5 her sympathy was very heartfelt for her mothers situation, she may not be able to see that her mothers' sacrifices, though very great, benefitted only their family, and not the rest of society. That in no way makes her a worthless individual, but it is not reason enough to pay her children taxpayers dollars as restitution if she herself never gave any money to that fund. Knowing the policy of Social Security, women now know their rights if they choose to stay at home and not work. To be a stay at home mother or career mom, there are no wrong choices. The feminists of the past, fought for women's rights to choose. They did not fight for all women to be the same. It is the choice of the individual to be the person they want to become and the mother they want to be. That is up to society to stop judging a persons choice of lifestyle and what they perceive it means to be good mother. All women and men have value in our society. Women have enough resources today, that they can learn to invest (without their spouses social security) to save for their children's future if they choose to do so, perhaps that is something Martha Smith could have done for her 8 children.

Jimenez | 6 Works Cited Smith-Yackell, Bonnie. "My Mother Never Worked" Patterns for Writing: A Rhetorical Reader and Guide. New York.13th Edition. Bedford/St.Martins.2015. Print. Bindley, Katherine. "Working Moms Happier Than Stay-At-Home Moms, Study Finds" American Psychological Association. Huffington Post. 2/15/2011. 9/17/2015 < http:www.huffingtonpost.com > Gardner, Ralph Jr. "Mom vs. Mom". New York Magazine. http://nymag.com/nymag/ >2002. Web. 9/17/2015 The Purdue OWL. Purdue U Writing Lab, 2010. Web. 9/17/2015.

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