School Girls; Young Women, Self-Esteem, and the Confidence Gap -Peggy Orenstein

• Women
• Pride
• Education
• Sexual Education
• Sexual Harassment
• National Organization for Women
• Opposite the Norm
• Confidence
• Knowledge
• Respected

Peggy Orenstein argues that all classrooms need to teach and acknowledge women, their rights, and achievements. Unlike the every day class which are "adorned with masculine role models, with male heroes, with books by and about men- classrooms which the female self is, at best, an afterthought." With this education, both males and females in the class will benefit from this new lesson plan, because it opens the minds of students and allows them to become more educated not only in gender but in hidden lessons such as public speaking, respect and equality.

1. "If I took those lessons out and concentrated only on men's experience for a whole year, that would be the normal."


2. "Phase one as Womanless and All-White History, which most of us learned as children. In phase two, teachers notice that there are no white women or people of color in the curriculum, and they cast about for a few exceptional achievers to sprinkle in..."


3. "I reassure them that women's studies is not about "ruling over," it is about "existing with."


4. "I usually find that boys only resist studying women when they're presented as "lesser."

I really loved this piece. Throughout the whole semester I believe this was a top favorite. Orenstein introduces this type of lesson with a confident yet not cocky voice. She could have come off very strong saying nothing but women are the better sex and being narrow minded. But she didn't and because of that I feel as if I accepted this article with pleasure. I believe her when she explains how men have a hard time with accepting this material. She quotes that she usually finds that boys resist studying women because they feel as if they are being presented lower then women. It would be had for men and manybe even some wome to accept this lesson because students are not use to learning about women.