My High School Feminism Class Marks International Day of the Girl 2012

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The students in my high school feminism class marked this year’s first International Day of the Girl by leading a phenomenal school-wide assembly for their peers. We partnered with 10×10 Educate Girls to learn about the state of girls’ education globally as well as with our partner school in India, the all-girls Shri Shikshayatan School in Kolkata.

In addition to sharing information about girls education globally, my students showed videos from a range of organizations including those from 10×10 and the Girl Effect. The young women and men in the class highlighted statistics on girls education and several girls shared personal stories about growing up at the intersection of race, class, gender, and sexuality in the U.S.

Across the globe, high school girls at Shri Shikshayatan sponsored a day of panels related to infanticide or sex selective abortion, trafficking, and the education of girls in India.

My students documented reflections on leading their International Day of the Girl assembly on their blog F to the Third Power, citing learning about intersectionality–or the theory that categories of oppression such as racism, classism, and sexism are interlocking–as the most important concept that helped provide them a lens for understanding both social justice feminism as well as themselves.

We’re looking forward to continuing our partnership with the girls and teachers at Shri Shikshayatan, and are hoping to visit their school in the future. Until then, our classes will continue the dialogue about gender and equity in both countries, as we foster a critical and action-based understanding about the need for global education for girls and their communities to create social and economic justice.

2 thoughts on “My High School Feminism Class Marks International Day of the Girl 2012

  1. Pingback: Top Five Moments on Teaching High School Feminism in 2012 « Feminist Teacher

  2. I, being a student of SSY, am fortunate enough to be a part of the initiative taken by the two schools as for feminism. Being a member of SSY, an all-girls’ school, I feel really privileged as for those who are devoid of education. It’s our duty to make everybody around us to be aware of the trafficking that takes place everyday somewhere or the other. While bringing it in our daily conversations I found that many of my fellow friends got to know about this demeaning practice of trafficking for the 1st time. In fact Feminism classes should be conducted in most of the schools.

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