‘You don’t have to be a woman to have a connection to women’s history’
Students, faculty and staff from Clearview Regional Middle School in Mullica Hill aim to celebrate women, from then and now, all year long
Last year, Clearview Regional Middle School in Mullica Hill presented a Women’s History Museum, an event where students partook in various tasks showcasing women throughout history. Some students learned to quilt and sew, while others dressed as goddesses, sharing their historical tales for a donation that would benefit local charities and needs. Students created a video, recognizing between 30 and 40 local women within and outside of the school, that they looked up to as role models.
“Kids made the connection to women they knew and may see as role models; it allowed us to talk about not just that we’re girls, but all the other roles that we have as women, going all the way back to women’s place in Greek culture with the goddesses, and everything in between,” Vice Principal Kristen Schell said. “It really spanned the whole scope and every layer of women’s history.”
A quote deemed powerful by students stated, “great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, and small minds discuss people.” In class, teacher Trish Walton said, girls debated how oftentimes they find themselves discussing people, what they wear and what they say, especially with texting and social media at their fingertips.
“They talked about how they need to be discussing ideas more, and how they can bring about change through positive role models and standing up for people,” Walton said.
Guidance Counselor Deborah Wilson, a coordinator of the bi-annual event, said she and the school want to spread women’s history past just the one day. The event was held in April with purpose, as Women’s History Month is typically recognized in March.
“How about we celebrate women and girls all year long?” Wilson asked.
Prior to Women’s History Month, the school had the opportunity to partner with children in Guatemala after hearing about Elba Velasquez and Emelin Cabrera, two young girls indigenous to the country who challenged authorities and policies in their small town of Concepción Chiquirichapa. In their community, girls are expected to be married and have children after completion of sixth grade.
“These two girls went to the mayor several times to talk them into changing the dynamic for girls in their town, and he told them, ‘go home and play with your dolls, I don’t have time for you,’ and this happened several times,” Wilson said.
The girls were able to team up with people who brought their issues to the attention of the United Nations, who started a project called Poder, meaning power in Spanish. Students at CRMS were able to Skype with the girls and learn about the difference in culture.
“You take a lot of things for granted, and that was the biggest lesson our kids took away from this. Clearview had difficulty trying to adapt the things they wanted to do to what was really needed there in Guatemala,” Wilson said. “It was an increase in awareness, and you can’t ask for anything better than that.”
The project showed students the difference in women’s rights outside of the United States. Wilson also discussed how students learned there may be fractures in the United States’ equality as well.
“A lot of times, they don’t know, or understand, that you can take a cotton blouse to the drycleaners and you can take a man’s cotton shirt to the drycleaners, but because his is a shirt and hers is a blouse, she has to pay more to have that dry cleaned. When you go to the emergency room, there are some procedures they don’t normally give to females because females are not head of household; therefore that lifesaving procedure is unavailable,” Wilson said. “When you talk to boys this age, they get upset too because to them it’s, ‘that’s what my mom has to go through; that’s what my sister has to go through.’ It’s very eye opening for them to see and understand things like that.”
Personalizing the topic of women’s rights and equality is a goal of the teachers and staff at CRMS. Wilson said most of the male students jumped right in to help with the Women’s History Museum event and were proud to show their female family members what they accomplished.
“You don’t have to be a woman to have a connection to women’s history,” Schell said.
Women in Gloucester County believe education, advocacy and determination is how women can make a difference globally and locally this International Women’s Day — and beyond. Hear more empowered voices from women in Gloucester County here.
