Need help with my writing homework on Psychology: Mary Calkins. Write a 2250 word paper answering; Mary Calkins was born at Connecticut in Hartford on the 30 March 1863. Her father was a Presbyterian church minister in Buffalo, but he joined Congregational church in Newton in 1880 where the family settled permanently. Mary was the first born in her family, and she had four siblings whom she had a strong relationship with (Difebo, 2003).
Mary completed her high school in Massachusetts and enrolled for undergraduate work at Smith College. She took off a year break from Smith College following the death of her sister, Maud. She tutored her two brothers and learned Greek. She went back to Smith College, and she graduated one year later with a major in philosophy (Difebo, 2003).
She taught Greek at Wellesley College, a women’s college for liberal arts until a professor in the department of Philosophy approached her and advised her to consider teaching Psychology in the field of Philosophy. Mary took up the challenge, and she agreed to meet the requirement of studying for one year in a psychology program. During this time, society was male-dominated, and women suffered unequal treatment. Despite the numerous supports she received from her family, male professors and her friend, she still had a hard time getting the education she yearned (Difebo, 2003).
She considered studying abroad, but she changed her decision following a discouragement from a letter from a friend who was studying abroad. She was dissatisfied with the German system, which discriminated against women, and she saw no hope for changes in the system. She began looking for institutions in the United States and found Harvard since it was the only university that had a psychology laboratory. Some professors allowed her to attend their lectures but on an informal basis. She felt that Harvard had the capacity to enable her get the information she needed about psychology. She, therefore, wrote to the president of the university to ask to be sitting on lectures on a formal basis (Difebo, 2003).
The principal turned her offer down but with the aid of her father’s petition letter & Wellesley College president emphasizes on the importance her gaining more knowledge in the field of psychology. she was allowed to sit on lectures but still on an informal basis. At Harvard, she had the opportunity to gain knowledge in an individualized setting since the students at Harvard boycotted some classes because a female was present and most of the times she found that she was the only students attending psychology lectures (Difebo, 2003).
