My Educational Philosophy

The "Subjective Necessity for Social Settlements" by Jane Addams is an essay that is to capture a lecture she delivered in Plymouth. She is reflecting on an opportunity that she had one summer to discuss the new settlement movements with other settlement leaders. One natural leader of the group was Robert A. Woods (whom after residing in Toynbee Hall, in London, came to the United States to start Andover House in Boston), Miss Vida D. Scudder and Miss Helena Dudley of the College Settlement Association, Miss Julia C. Lathrop and Jane Addams from Hull-House. They were all individuals that were very passionate about social development, and how to make it better.

Addams recognizes a key problem in the United States at this time was that young people were pursuing higher education and when they went out into the real world they were not able to find jobs in the areas that they wanted. Addams said, "In an attempt then to give a girl pleasure and freedom from care we succeed, for the most part, in making her pitifully miserable" (119). Life turns out to be different than she thought it would be after she graduated. She has learned so much and yet she can not find a job to help her branch out on her own. These girls have the advantage of just graduating from college, many of them have traveled in Europe, and have studied economy, but when they go out into the real world they do not stand up. They have no where to go so some student go back to school to get second degrees just so they have something to do that is stable in their life. This was a cause from their upbringing. From a very young age to help others, and therefore when they went on in life to go on and peruse a life of helping others no position could be found. Sometimes students eventually grew out of the desire to help others by their education.

Addams also recognized that there was a problem due to a gap in society. A majority of the nation was in the lower working class, and that majority was doing all the work for the upper class. In our democratic society it is hard to get anything to go anywhere without masses of people who are also pursuing the same goal. Half of the population was struggling but little was being done to help these individuals.

Jane Addams saw what settlement houses, like Toynbee Hall, were doing for the society there and thought it would be a good concept to bring to the United States. Settlement houses were places where the young college graduates would stay and offer help to people in the lower working class in society. This was good for both of the settlement relationship. The college