Girl Power Reads
GRL PWR
I love how taking the vowels out of the words “girl” and “power” have made a strong comeback. All original credit to the Spice Girls for that one. This post might feel a little all over the place at first, just like the Spice Girls, but I promise it will all make sense… just like the Spice Girls.
I never really knew the true meaning of being a feminist until the past few years, when I started seeing the idea of “feminism” all over Instagram. So many social concepts have come to the forefront of my life through those little squares on my phone. I now find myself choosing to involve myself in political conversations and I cry my eyes out on a 12 hour flight watching documentaries about Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez on Netflix. I have never felt more passionate about the strength in diversity and empowerment of women. Recently I started reading “The Moment of Lift” by Melinda Gates, and she puts her realization of her feminist stance in a much more eloquent way than I ever could. These words of Melinda resonated with me in all the right ways;
“In fact, the first time I was asked if I was a feminist, I didn’t know what to say because I didn’t think of myself as a feminist. I’m not sure I knew then what a feminist was. That was when our daughter Jenn was a little less than a year old. Twenty-two years later, I am an ardent feminist. To me it is very simple. Being a feminist means believing that every woman should be able to use her voice and pursue her potential, and that women and men should all work together to take down the barriers and end the biases that still hold women back.”
I was actually cheering out loud on the stair master at the gym as I read this paragraph from her book. When something lights a fire in you or fans a flame that was already burning, you need to act on it. Don’t just let it sit there and simmer.
I often reflect on how I can take part in social movements. I proudly wear my “I voted” sticker during each election, and melt into my couch as I watch debates. I go back and forth when it comes to watching the nightly news because I want to stay informed, but it also breaks my heart. In a world where so much can feel like is out of our control, it is important to identify the things we can. For me, one of those things is what and how I teach.
I go to work and teach every single day. I teach all students who walk through my doors. I look at the girls in my classroom and I think about myself in 5th grade. I was anxious. I was a perfectionist. I had no radar of self-worth or capacity to know where that could come from. There were some things I did know: I knew I was bad at math and I knew I never had enough Accelerated Reader points at the end of the month. A practice I have recently learned to help cope with anxiety and issues of the past is that '“current me” can go back and rescue “younger me” from different situations to help heal those wounds. Oh meditation and mindfulness, you are a hoot. I think about this often, and how I can play a positive and preventative role for some of the anxious little 10 year old girls that live in our current social climate.
Books are the best teachers of empathy. They give you a chance to connect with all sorts of characters. These characters may look or live differently than you do - or they may remind you of yourself in more ways than one. It is important that kids have both types of these books in their hands. They need to read about lives different from theirs so they can build empathy for others, as well as share struggles with characters to let them know they are not alone in them. Each of the book titles and main characters I am going to mention have not only shown me a peek into the lives of others, but they have made me a better person, just by flipping through their pages and experiencing their stories. They all feature super strong, vulnerable, gracious girls. 5th grade Jessica could have most definitely used some of these books in her life.
Meet Melody, Coyote, Patina, Mia, Thyme, Isabella, Aven, and another Mia. All of these amazing young ladies are a crew who face adversity in their own ways as they rock the pages of their books. Each character will teach you different lessons about life, perseverance, human connection, and TRUE girl power.
Instead of explaining each book summary to you, I am going to link one of my favorite tools with each title below. Common Sense Media gives a great summary, appropriate age range, and potential tough topics in books in a digestible manner so you can figure out what might be the best fit for you and your students.
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
There are so many more titles I could hit you with right now, but these are some of my all-time faves. I look at these book covers and feel so grateful that I have these characters to help empower the next generation of strong and independent feminists. I am going to leave you with one more quote from Melinda Gates and “The Moment of Lift.”
“What do you know now in a deeper way than you knew it before? I love this question because it honors how we learn and grow. Wisdom isn’t about accumulating more facts; it’s about understanding big truths in a deeper way.”
I encourage you to read some of these GRL PWR titles yourself, or get them into the hands of your students. These books will help you “know something in a deeper way than you knew it before,” all from some super amazing female leads.