Entry #35 - May 24, 1999
"Building the cars was the single most powerful ('Ask the Girls') recruitment
activity this year. Giving girls the opportunity to work with real tools
in an all-female context was an eye opener. Not only did girls build their
own cars, they helped each other at every turn."
Over the next few weeks I'm going to try and take stock of the
major projects I've been involved in this year. I'm going to start with
"Ask the Girls" because we had a great session Friday afternoon.
We spent a good deal of time laughing as we planned our end-of-the-year
slumber party and the video we are making to document the club's time together.
It was energizing to listen as the girls talked about everything they want
to share on the video.
They decided to talk first about the club, the conversation, and why they
like it. They want to show off their cars and the tools they used to build
them too.
Building the cars was the single most powerful recruitment activity this
year. Giving girls the opportunity to work with real tools in an all-female
context was an eye opener. Not only did girls build their own cars, they
helped each other at every turn.
The atmosphere was very low key, trial and error were the rule, not the
exception. Since I'm no expert at building things, we all learned together.
No one put down anyone else's effort and our only casualty was one of my
tables...one of the girls was drilling without a mat and made a hole in
it!
Building the cars also gave me an opportunity to learn first hand about
the positive power of inclusion. Jen is a Special Ed. student. I taught
her class science enrichment a couple of years ago and she was a handful.
When she signed up for "Ask the Girls" I have to admit I wasn't
exactly thrilled. I always try and start fresh with students, so I tried
to suspend judgment, and boy am I glad I did! From the start, Jen was very
vocal in our conversations, but never unruly or negative. As we began the
car project, she stood out as a leader. She completed her car first and
was a great help to everyone else.
During the planning for our annual SHERO celebration she made suggestions,
made food and made a speech to honor her mother, even though her mom could
not attend.
Jen's honesty and hardwork have made her a full member of our club. I think
the other girls know she's in Special Ed because she explained that she
wasn't graduating because her mom wants her to spend another year at our
school. It hasn't made any difference in the group. She's been accepted,;
she's blossomed.
Writing about this has gotten me thinking about whether or not holding Jen
back is the best move for her... I understand her mom's fears about our
area high school, but I'll have to explore this further with our counselor
on Monday. There's a small high school in our Cluster where I have a friend
who teaches Special Ed. I think I'll call Sharon and see what ideas she
has to offer about both inclusion and special programs from which Jen might
benefit.
Back to the club and our planned video, the girls also decided to talk on
tape about a film we watched together. "Girls Like Us" was featured
on PBS as part of the Point of View series a couple of years ago. The film
follows five girls from South Philadelphia throughout their high school
years.
The multicultural group of girls represent a real slice of life for girls
in Philadelphia and beyond. They go to different schools, public and parochial,
and come from both single parent and nuclear family households.
We watched the film over a three-week period. It's a troubling story to
watch as the girls express their attitudes about love, double standards,
committment, sex, pregnancy and their futures.
It's particularly painful to watch two of the young women. The first moves
from one intimate relationship to the next, having two children along the
way, and is unfocused from the start. She never seems to take the time to
be young, to first be herself, to learn anything except how to be a mom
and part of a couple. At the end of the film, she's 19 and marrying a guy
with two more kids!
The second, a young African American woman is really strong at the film's
start, but sadly, lets her grades slip and becomes pregnant after a close
relative is killed as a result of random violence. Her whole world then
becomes her child and the hope that someday, maybe he, will fulfill her
dreams of a musical career.
Without describing the entire film, I'd just have to say that each time
I watch it, I'm filled with a sense of loss because the girls are so much
like my students. It's not a film about someone else, but rather as the
title says, it's about "Girls
Like Us".
On the other hand, watching it brings the issues right into focus and always
leads to good conversations. I am continually left wondering though, will
these conversations and activities help make "the" difference?
Some of my girls stay in touch after they graduate. Some have even asked
for a similar club in their high schools. One of last year's alums ran for
office in her high school this year and was undaunted when she lost, vowing
to try again next year!
I know the club's important, but it's just not enough. We -- my partner
at the Disrict and I -- started out this year with a plan to replicate our
efforts in the two other middle schools in our Cluster. Bureaucracy got
in the way. Setting up meetings with all three administrators took a long
time and only one of the schools got involved.
Communication between our two clubs is basically non-existent. We're pretty
much back at square one. I'm not giving up though. We are making the video
and hopefully it will be useful as a tool with other students, with parents
and with my colleagues.
I'm still met with comments about how our girls "don't know how to
act" or how "it's our boys who really need extra help." I
know I sound like a broken record as I reply that we're asking for "not
less for boys, but more for girls." It's my hope that when they watch
and listen to our girls, it will have a stronger impact.
I also think our new vice-principal would be willing to sponsor a similar
group for boys in the Fall. I'll have to ask him on Monday. I do agree that
our boys need more support. I just don't think I'm the person for that job.
On another note, my Critical Friends Group has decided to read "Waging
Peace in Our Classrooms" over the summer break. On Tuesday, I'll
share it with our School Council as an option. Who knows, maybe we can start
the year in September with a discussion of the book and its lessons for
Central East. I hope so.
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