Wow! Things Have Changed.
Remember when the biggest insult you might hear on the playground was, “You play like a girl”? Not anymore. We took our 5-year old granddaughter to a park that had a workout circuit. While she was running from apparatus to apparatus, I made the mistake of telling her how each piece of equipment was meant to be used. She quickly said to me, “I’m a girl, and I play my own way (insert just a touch of attitude).” No truer words have ever been spoken. After regaining my composure, I started reflecting on her life and that of our 7-year old granddaughter. Both girls feel free to wear a princess tiara and superhero cape at the same time. Both girls play hard, run hard, and then go to ballet. One can find either doing an experiment in the dirt and then playing with dolls. Both girls are strong, independent women in the making.
Girls growing up today have an easier time finding their voice and their identity. It’s very different from the time I was growing up, many, many, many, years ago. Each generation of girls has had a little easier time because of the strong, independent women who have come before them. Their way was also made a little easier by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which led the way for equal opportunities for girls in education. While March is officially Women’s History Month, it is important that we continually share the great stories of women and girls who have found their voice, their identity to shape history and to make a difference. Equally important is sharing books with strong female characters that will empower and shape these young lives.
Teachers, you too are making a difference! By choosing to teach, you chose to make a difference in the lives of children. Share your story with your students and read The House That Jane Built: A Story About Jane Addams by Tonya Lee Stone. (Gr. K-2)
Check out these great books to share with your class.
For our younger readers:
Rosa’s Bus: The Ride to Civil Rights
By: Jo Kittinger
Illustrated by: Steven Walker
She Loved Baseball: The Effa Manley Story
By: Audrey Vernick
Illustrated by: Don Tate.
Stand Straight, Ella Kate
By: Kate Klise
Illustrated by: M. Sarah Klise
Summer Birds: The Butterflies of Maria Merian
By: Margarita Engle
Illustrated by: Julie Paschkis
For older readers:
For the Love of Music: The Remarkable Story of Maria Anna Mozart
By: Elizabeth Rusch Illustrated by: Steve Johnson
In Her Hands: The Story of Sculptor Augusta Savage
By: Alan Schroeder Illustrated by: JaeMe Bereal
Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto
By: Susan Goldman Rubin
Illustrated by: Bill Farnsworth
Odetta: The Queen of Folk
By: Stephen Alcorn
Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald
By: Eileen L. Ordover
Illustrated by: Sean Qualls
Tillie the Terrible Swede
By: Sue Stauffacher
Illustrated by: Sarah McMenemy
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family’s Fight for Desegregation
By: Duncan Tonatiuh
Mighty Jackie the Strike-Out Queen
By: Marissa Moss
Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History
By: Vashti Harrison