- Feb 5, 2002
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Editor’s Note: This is part three of three in a series from Rob Marco’s interview with Leila Lawler. Read parts one and two here.
In the final installment of the interview series, Leila comments on the hidden cycles of repression and financial burden so often overlooked in our social belief systems: that everyone ought to go to college, that the ability to divorce is true freedom, and that the dual-income home is necessary for happy living.
There seems to be a reactionary trend in recent years against higher education in favor of the trades among conservatives. This is understandable given the exponential cost of college combined with the left-leaning politics of universities today, not to mention that one can earn a good living in the trades.
Leila Marie Lawler: The relative expense of college tuition is an interesting phenomenon. Its trajectory tracks elite and upper-middle-class women working outside the home. The market responds to the available income. A man once said to me, “I couldn’t afford the tuitions if my wife didn’t work!” So it’s a self-fulfilling cycle, isn’t it? Women go to college to get degrees so they can get good jobs so that in 20 years their salaries can go to tuitions for their children—they have to work to afford future tuition. We were the last to enter a situation that was free of this influence. Yes, college is expensive, and I’m not sure what most who go there are getting out of it—for many reasons, but that’s probably beyond the scope of this interview!
Continued below.
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In the final installment of the interview series, Leila comments on the hidden cycles of repression and financial burden so often overlooked in our social belief systems: that everyone ought to go to college, that the ability to divorce is true freedom, and that the dual-income home is necessary for happy living.
There seems to be a reactionary trend in recent years against higher education in favor of the trades among conservatives. This is understandable given the exponential cost of college combined with the left-leaning politics of universities today, not to mention that one can earn a good living in the trades.
How did you approach the issue of college with your children? Did you have conversations about their chosen field of study, return on investment, and maintaining their Catholicity during the college years, and whether or not to attend a public, private, or Catholic college? For those that did attend college, how did you approach the financial aspect?
Leila Marie Lawler: The relative expense of college tuition is an interesting phenomenon. Its trajectory tracks elite and upper-middle-class women working outside the home. The market responds to the available income. A man once said to me, “I couldn’t afford the tuitions if my wife didn’t work!” So it’s a self-fulfilling cycle, isn’t it? Women go to college to get degrees so they can get good jobs so that in 20 years their salaries can go to tuitions for their children—they have to work to afford future tuition. We were the last to enter a situation that was free of this influence. Yes, college is expensive, and I’m not sure what most who go there are getting out of it—for many reasons, but that’s probably beyond the scope of this interview!
Continued below.
Divorce, College, and the Dual-Income Home: An Interview with Leila Lawler Part 3
Editor’s Note: This is part three of three in a series from Rob Marco’s interview with Leila Lawler. Read parts one and two here. In the final installment of the interview series, Leila comments on the hidden cycles of repression and financial burden so often overlooked in our social belief...
