Raising Awarenessin a Unique Way--Vagina Monologues

I atteneded the Vagina Monologues for the second time this year and I love it. I think these monologues are a greaty way for women to come together, along with men, and discuss issues that are, for the most part, not discussed. The Vagina Monolgoues does a great job of incorporating humor, as well as the sad but true facts about violence against women--rape, battery, incest, sexual slavery and female mutilation. These monolgoues empower women, telling them they are beautiful, normal, in power, and have control over their bodies. I wish more people were aware of the distrurbing statistics and attended the Vagina Monologues to become aware.

The Vagina Monologues is a great way to educate people in a unique way, yet I do not believe it is age appropriate for the majority of students, even in high schools. At best, seniors may be mature enough to watch a show like this. With that being said, it is a great way to educate college students and raise awareness. Although the Vagina Monologues may not be appropriate for education, I once again thought about the issue of Americans not knowing what is going on in other countries. It is true that rape, battery, and violence against women does take place in America, but the female mutilation, sexual slavery and mass cases of abuse generally take place in other countries. I find it amazing that I live my life here in America and until a few years ago was unaware of the conditions many people live in. Once again, I do not think it is appropriate to teach students the in-depth statistics about violence aginst women, but I do think education about the world needs to become a part of the curriculum in public schools. This is the only way we can educate our students enough that they become passionate about making a difference. Americans supposedly hold the most power in the world, so shouldn't we also be creating citizens that take that power and make a positive difference in situations such as violence against women, poverty, global warming and other issues our world faces today. I think it is the schools' role to teach students that everyone in this world is important and we cannot have an elitist view of ourselves. Many in America are simply not aware of issues in other parts of the world, or even worse, do not care because it does not affect them. We as educators need to change this view and make our students conscious of the world around them.