Source: World of 7 Billion, http://www.worldof7billion.org/teacher_resources
I. Activating Prior Knowledge
Imagine what it would be life if you were not allowed to go to school because of your gender. This is a reality for girls in many parts of the world, where, because of social, cultural, and economic factors, women do not have the same choices and opportunities that men have. Of the world’s one billion poorest people, over 60% are women and girls. Of the nearly one billion adults who cannot read, almost 70% are female.
The cycle of discrimination against women in developing countries begins with the treatment of girls. Many societies do not allow girls to go to school, and therefore girls have few opportunities for employment and economic freedom. In these cultures the main function of women is to have children and tend to household duties, so it is common for girls to marry and have children at an early age. In many of these cultures boys are preferred because they are the ones who will someday work and support their parents in old age. Daughters, on the other hand, are often viewed as economic burdens. When they marry, they move away to wait on husbands and husbands’ families. Since female children are not as valued by the society, they often receive less food, medicine, and education. In this way the cycle of discrimination continues.
Breaking this complex cycle and raising the status of women begins with making education equally available for girls and boys around the world. Studies show that women who can read have healthier children. They also tend to delay marriage and childbearing because they have other options like college and employment. There is a strong link between education and fertility; the more education women have, the more likely they are to have small families.
Women in different parts of the world face different struggles. In less developed countries women and girls are struggling for access to education, health care, and employment outside the home. In the United States and other developed countries, women have attained a much higher status and more opportunities in recent decades. Even so, women still struggle to earn an equal wage as men for equal work and to be well represented by lawmakers. These struggles are similar because they are about increasing the options available to women. In recent years, people have begun to realize that discrimination against women has a negative impact on individuals, communities, societies, and the environment.
It would seem that because girls and women make up 50% of the world’s population that they would be in a position to influence and improve human well-being. However, the needs, the work, and the voices of women around the world are often ignored. The key to a healthy planet includes social equality. Promoting the health, economic, and educational status of the world’s women will guarantee a better quality of life for all.
II. Setting A Purpose for Reading
As you read the following article and visit the assigned web links, compare the role of women in America to those of women in different cultures around the world. How are their lives similar and different? Why are there differences? How would you define or describe the “role(s)” that women should/could play in society? Be able to give evidence to support your response.
III. Reading the Text (Read, Re-Read, and Read Again)
As Nyambura lowered her pail into the sun-dapple stream from which she fetche her family’s water each morning, she heard a pure, high voice singing the old song about the maize flowers blooming all over Kenya. It was Wanjiku; the voice was unmistakable – and much missed in class now that her parents had pulled her out of school to help her mother at home after the birth of her latest brother. Nyambura didn’t quite understand why they had done that; her own mother had just as much work as Wanjiku’s. And it made her uncomfortable that she was still in school when Wanjiku wasn’t. She set her pail down and ran up the path to greet her former classmate; she didn’t want Wanjiku to feel that they weren’t close friends just because they no longer saw each other daily.
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. Compare Nyambura’s life to Wanjiku’s live. Predict the reasons why Wanjiku was removed from school.
“We got a new goat to go with my new brother,” said Wanjiku as Nuambura took her hand.
“Which one is more troubling?” asked Nyambura, smiling.
“It’s hard to tell. The goat, I guess. Yesterday it ate the sleeve of my red blouse.”
They laughed together and, at the stream’s edge, kicked off their sandals to cool their feet in the water.
“It’s my little sister who’s exciting,” said Wanjiku. “She’s beginning to talk. She still stumbles when she walks, but she chatters away. Just like me at her age, Mamma says.”
Nyambura wondered if Wanjiku’s baby sister would ever go to school. She tried to remember the proverb her mother had learned at the dressmaking centre where she had also learned to read a few years before. All the eight-year-old girl could recall, though, was that when she had asked if she should stay at home like Wanjiku, to help with the younger children and the other household chores, her mother had pulled her ears gently and said, “Not you, honeypot. With that head of yours, you’re going to write the kind of books that taught me how to read.”
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. Why would Nyambura’s mother refuse to let her stay home and help with the household chores? How does Nyambura’s mother differ from Wanjiku’s mother? In your opinion, which mother is “right?” Why?
“And your father thinks the same,” his voice had boomed suddenly in the doorway, “so don’t go asking him such foolish things.” He had entered the house, smiling, and threatened to tickle her to death if she raised the question again. That had closed the matter – for her at least. The problem thought Nyambura, as she looked at her friend’s rippled reflection in the water, was that Wanjiku’s head was just as good as hers, different, but just as good. One of the reasons she missed Wanjiku so much in class was that her friend’s answers to their teacher’s questions often set off new thoughts in her own head. Had each made the other’s head better?
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. How does the father’s attitude about school reflect possible changes in African culture?
And now Wanjiku was asking just the question Nyambura had been dreading: “What’s going on at school?”
“We’re learning division.” she replied. “It’s easy,” she added, remembering how good Wanjiku had been at math. “I could teach it to you if you like.” Suddenly she realized that she’d said something wrong. “Of course it’s easy,” Wanjiku retorted. “Just the opposite of the times tables we were doing when I left. If five times two is ten, then two goes into ten five times.” She stood up and filled her pail. “You know,” she said, “I bet I can get my older brother to teach me everything he’s learned in school. I don’t really need to go myself.”
Nyambura wondered, but she said nothing. That brother wasn’t very interested in school – and he never seemed to have time for anyone but his friends. Then her mother’s proverb came back to her: “Educate a boy and you educate one person; educate a girl and you educate a nation.”
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. Explain the proverb “Educate a boy and you educate one person; educate a girl and you educate a nation.”
Go to the following links and watch the photo stories.
Haitza - 15 years old – Country: Nicaragua
http://www.unicef.org/dil/haitza/haitza5_content.html
Josiane – 14 years old – Country: Central African Republic
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/dil_josiane_content.html
IV. Personal Reflection
1. What is meant by the proverb “Educate a boy and you educate one person; educate a girl and you educate a nation.” Do you agree with the proverb? Why or why not?
2. Describe Nyambura’s future life. Describe Wanjiku’s future life.
3. Select two of the items below and analyze Haitza’s and Josiane’s lives?
a. How are the family structures different for Haitza and Josiane?
b. Do they have similar standards of living? Why or why not? Give evidence to support your response.
c. What are the similarities and differences in their daily schedules?
d. What are the similarities and differences in their school experiences?
e. What do you think will determine these girls’ futures?
f. Do you have similar responsibilities around your home to those of Haitza and Josiane? If so, do you spend the same amount of time on these responsibilities? If you did, would it be more challenging for you to
4. Identify three reasons why societies would deny girls an education. Select one and evaluate that reason as well as give your opinion on that reason. (Is it a valid reason? Why or why not?)
V. Peer Reflection
1. Read one classmate’s response to question 3 and comment on their responses. (Do you agree or disagree? Why? Are there any problems with their analysis and logic? If so, what is the problem?)
I. Activating Prior Knowledge
Imagine what it would be life if you were not allowed to go to school because of your gender. This is a reality for girls in many parts of the world, where, because of social, cultural, and economic factors, women do not have the same choices and opportunities that men have. Of the world’s one billion poorest people, over 60% are women and girls. Of the nearly one billion adults who cannot read, almost 70% are female.
The cycle of discrimination against women in developing countries begins with the treatment of girls. Many societies do not allow girls to go to school, and therefore girls have few opportunities for employment and economic freedom. In these cultures the main function of women is to have children and tend to household duties, so it is common for girls to marry and have children at an early age. In many of these cultures boys are preferred because they are the ones who will someday work and support their parents in old age. Daughters, on the other hand, are often viewed as economic burdens. When they marry, they move away to wait on husbands and husbands’ families. Since female children are not as valued by the society, they often receive less food, medicine, and education. In this way the cycle of discrimination continues.
Breaking this complex cycle and raising the status of women begins with making education equally available for girls and boys around the world. Studies show that women who can read have healthier children. They also tend to delay marriage and childbearing because they have other options like college and employment. There is a strong link between education and fertility; the more education women have, the more likely they are to have small families.
Women in different parts of the world face different struggles. In less developed countries women and girls are struggling for access to education, health care, and employment outside the home. In the United States and other developed countries, women have attained a much higher status and more opportunities in recent decades. Even so, women still struggle to earn an equal wage as men for equal work and to be well represented by lawmakers. These struggles are similar because they are about increasing the options available to women. In recent years, people have begun to realize that discrimination against women has a negative impact on individuals, communities, societies, and the environment.
It would seem that because girls and women make up 50% of the world’s population that they would be in a position to influence and improve human well-being. However, the needs, the work, and the voices of women around the world are often ignored. The key to a healthy planet includes social equality. Promoting the health, economic, and educational status of the world’s women will guarantee a better quality of life for all.
II. Setting A Purpose for Reading
As you read the following article and visit the assigned web links, compare the role of women in America to those of women in different cultures around the world. How are their lives similar and different? Why are there differences? How would you define or describe the “role(s)” that women should/could play in society? Be able to give evidence to support your response.
III. Reading the Text (Read, Re-Read, and Read Again)
As Nyambura lowered her pail into the sun-dapple stream from which she fetche her family’s water each morning, she heard a pure, high voice singing the old song about the maize flowers blooming all over Kenya. It was Wanjiku; the voice was unmistakable – and much missed in class now that her parents had pulled her out of school to help her mother at home after the birth of her latest brother. Nyambura didn’t quite understand why they had done that; her own mother had just as much work as Wanjiku’s. And it made her uncomfortable that she was still in school when Wanjiku wasn’t. She set her pail down and ran up the path to greet her former classmate; she didn’t want Wanjiku to feel that they weren’t close friends just because they no longer saw each other daily.
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. Compare Nyambura’s life to Wanjiku’s live. Predict the reasons why Wanjiku was removed from school.
“We got a new goat to go with my new brother,” said Wanjiku as Nuambura took her hand.
“Which one is more troubling?” asked Nyambura, smiling.
“It’s hard to tell. The goat, I guess. Yesterday it ate the sleeve of my red blouse.”
They laughed together and, at the stream’s edge, kicked off their sandals to cool their feet in the water.
“It’s my little sister who’s exciting,” said Wanjiku. “She’s beginning to talk. She still stumbles when she walks, but she chatters away. Just like me at her age, Mamma says.”
Nyambura wondered if Wanjiku’s baby sister would ever go to school. She tried to remember the proverb her mother had learned at the dressmaking centre where she had also learned to read a few years before. All the eight-year-old girl could recall, though, was that when she had asked if she should stay at home like Wanjiku, to help with the younger children and the other household chores, her mother had pulled her ears gently and said, “Not you, honeypot. With that head of yours, you’re going to write the kind of books that taught me how to read.”
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. Why would Nyambura’s mother refuse to let her stay home and help with the household chores? How does Nyambura’s mother differ from Wanjiku’s mother? In your opinion, which mother is “right?” Why?
“And your father thinks the same,” his voice had boomed suddenly in the doorway, “so don’t go asking him such foolish things.” He had entered the house, smiling, and threatened to tickle her to death if she raised the question again. That had closed the matter – for her at least. The problem thought Nyambura, as she looked at her friend’s rippled reflection in the water, was that Wanjiku’s head was just as good as hers, different, but just as good. One of the reasons she missed Wanjiku so much in class was that her friend’s answers to their teacher’s questions often set off new thoughts in her own head. Had each made the other’s head better?
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. How does the father’s attitude about school reflect possible changes in African culture?
And now Wanjiku was asking just the question Nyambura had been dreading: “What’s going on at school?”
“We’re learning division.” she replied. “It’s easy,” she added, remembering how good Wanjiku had been at math. “I could teach it to you if you like.” Suddenly she realized that she’d said something wrong. “Of course it’s easy,” Wanjiku retorted. “Just the opposite of the times tables we were doing when I left. If five times two is ten, then two goes into ten five times.” She stood up and filled her pail. “You know,” she said, “I bet I can get my older brother to teach me everything he’s learned in school. I don’t really need to go myself.”
Nyambura wondered, but she said nothing. That brother wasn’t very interested in school – and he never seemed to have time for anyone but his friends. Then her mother’s proverb came back to her: “Educate a boy and you educate one person; educate a girl and you educate a nation.”
Stop! Can you answer the following questions based on what you read? If not, then go back and re-read. Explain the proverb “Educate a boy and you educate one person; educate a girl and you educate a nation.”
Go to the following links and watch the photo stories.
Haitza - 15 years old – Country: Nicaragua
http://www.unicef.org/dil/haitza/haitza5_content.html
Josiane – 14 years old – Country: Central African Republic
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/dil_josiane_content.html
IV. Personal Reflection
1. What is meant by the proverb “Educate a boy and you educate one person; educate a girl and you educate a nation.” Do you agree with the proverb? Why or why not?
2. Describe Nyambura’s future life. Describe Wanjiku’s future life.
3. Select two of the items below and analyze Haitza’s and Josiane’s lives?
a. How are the family structures different for Haitza and Josiane?
b. Do they have similar standards of living? Why or why not? Give evidence to support your response.
c. What are the similarities and differences in their daily schedules?
d. What are the similarities and differences in their school experiences?
e. What do you think will determine these girls’ futures?
f. Do you have similar responsibilities around your home to those of Haitza and Josiane? If so, do you spend the same amount of time on these responsibilities? If you did, would it be more challenging for you to
4. Identify three reasons why societies would deny girls an education. Select one and evaluate that reason as well as give your opinion on that reason. (Is it a valid reason? Why or why not?)
V. Peer Reflection
1. Read one classmate’s response to question 3 and comment on their responses. (Do you agree or disagree? Why? Are there any problems with their analysis and logic? If so, what is the problem?)
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