One of those moments that works out exactly as planned, though it wasn't even.
We began a focus on leadership today and as a simple exercise, I divided the board in half and labeled one, Qualities and the other, Examples. I handed out red and black markers, asking the students to contribute to each. Of course the examples came easy, filling up quickly with greats like Obama and JFK. Some enthusiastic students nominated their friends as examples of leaders, and others made the connection to a recent social studies unit by contributing the name of a 17th century explorer.
After it was all over, I asked them what was wrong with our list. They tried valiantly to correct it by throwing out great names- Mandela, Gandhi, even Jesus, all the prophets and God made the new, improved list. But I still wasn't happy and they didn't know why.
It was with some foresight that I had planned this unit of study back in December. It seems wherever you go, history looks the same. I finally pointed out that, aside from the two classmates added to the list by their friends, there were no women on our list.
To their credit, they took the bait and came up with some interesting nominations- Mother Theresa, Rosa Parks AND Betsy Ross.
Sometimes, we have too much fun in my class. From somewhere I heard the name Condoleeza Rice and that set off a buzz of puzzlement and giggling. They didn't think it was a real name! Of course I could not let this atrocity continue. I sidled over to the homework board where I wrote, "Who is Condoleeza Rice?" They laughed and groaned at me because they couldn't believe I was serious. How could I be anything but?
I spent most of December and half of January researching African women rulers. It is a fascinating history. These are not women that ruled by their husbands or over their sons, but warrior queens that accomplished things their male counterparts could not. They led battles, resisted colonial rule and enlarged their territories. There were assassinations (Queen Nzinga, most notably, had her son- a potential heir to the throne- killed by her brother. Later, sweet uncle was killed by the queen herself as she tired of his rule and set out to create a dynasty.)
I am delighted that I will be able to intrigue the boys with tales of conquest and strategy. More importantly, I will have the chance to introduce the girls to strong, intelligent women who were brave and courageous leaders.
And while this takes off in one fifth grade classroom in Congo, a contrasting tale makes its debut off-broadway...
from Queen Nzinga, Queen Amina, Yaa Asantewaa......to "ruined" in just a few short centuries
npr story here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99725901
