The first year I taught Third Grade, back in 1998, the class and I were settling down to read their first edition of, I believe, Scholastic News. The cover story concerned young girls in Afghanistan and the fact that they were not allowed to go to school.
No sooner had I read the headline aloud, when a roar erupted in the classroom. The girls began cheering while the boys tried to outdo them with their moans of protest. Once they quieted, I asked them to take a moment and actually think through what it meant.
What if they couldn't go to school? What are some of the things they learn in school?
Hands shot up - "We learn to read!" "We learn how to count" "We learn how to write."
Continuing the discussion, I asked them to think about the things they wouldn't be able to do if they couldn't read, write or count, for instance, money. Ah.... the light started to dawn.
Then I suggested how different life would be if their mothers had not been able to go to school. Wow - that seemed to unsettle several of them.
No more bedtime stories. Mom wouldn't be allowed to drive and take them places. Who would read recipes or directions?
By the time we finished our discussion, the students had a much different view of the headline. In addition to the information they gathered on the subject, I hope they also learned the importance of thinking things through when reading something that stirs their emotions.
Sadly, positive changes for women living in Afghanistan are still painfully slow in coming. The statistics say that today only 15% of the female population can read and write.
Makes me so very grateful that I, my daughters, and granddaughters, were born in the USA.
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