Whats teaching got to do with it?

Me and D  devising plans on 'how-to-get-rejected' by the suitable suitors i meet. 

D- Its going to be tough A. Tu teacher hai *sigh*

A-  Eh!?..so all those guys my mom fishes out from matrimony sites will  NEVER reject me, because i am a TEACHER??

D- Of course. Which sensible  guy will say no to a teacher. Two years from now, when you have his kids, you can go to work the same time as your children and come back with them.  You can balance work and home perfectly. And since people at your workplace are  women, chances of an extramarital affair is zilch. zero. This is the perfect package. 

A-  *appalled, amused and slightly taken aback by the reply*

So you are trying to tell me the world is filled with men who wont take into account my ability, attitude, or love to teach? For the patriarchal society its JUST a job, that lets a woman work, without compromising on her role at the home front. What is he looking for in a wife anyway?

D- Well...they aren't completely wrong in their assumptions either. Are they?  How many young teachers do you get to see.  Does love for teaching magically spring up ONLY in your mid 30's, when you need time for YOUR family? Isn't that selfishness? How many students in your own class want to grow up to be a teacher? Do YOU want them to grow up to be one?

A-  I don't know. Its just so unsettling to know that a profession as noble as it, is deemed as an arrangement of convenience for women. You might be partly true. And yes, i have witnessed the same at my own work place too. There are definitely women who end up teaching, in their half hearted efforts to have a career. A cultures dominant ideology, does shape a persons choice when it comes to their career. I am not denying the fact that many women teach, ONLY because it is a 'suitable' option..But then again...there are teachers who teach, JUST FOR THE LOVE OF IT TOO!

I wouldn't have developed a flair for reading novels, or poetry, or stringing words together, had it not been for the English teacher who inspired me as a teen. You can read your way to knowledge through books. But you cannot buy the experience. ...Someday i will perhaps go back to teaching. And hopefully by then, I'll be rich enough to save myself from the compulsion of teaching the rich. Its far more delightful to teach those in need.

And now that you mention, I wonder...what is it about women, that men want to feel so protective about. How comfortably they reduce us to someone, who can JUST take care of their family. If he can travel, go places and LIVE the world. So can I. What is it that makes them think we are vulnerable? Is it our soft skin, delicate walk or our dainty bodies. I am NOT looking for a confession box or a safety blanket to swathe myself with. I am not looking for someone to complete me at all. I am no damsel in distress or a delicate daisy to be saved by the typical 'bad boy' types.

I have always liked the nice ones. The gentle mannered, polite spoken, intelligent types.  Someone who compels my strength. Believes in my dreams, and the toughness i can endure. Someone who is man enough, to respect the woman in me.