Daughters of Liberty: Celebrating the Centennial of Women’s Suffrage & History – 10 Key Resources for K-12 Education

Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

“I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.”

– Abigail Adams to John Adams, March 31, 1776

In Pioneer’s ongoing series of blogs here, here, and here on curricular resources for parents, families, and teachers during COVID-19, this one focuses on: Celebrating the Centennial of Women’s Suffrage & Women’s History.

For at least a decade, we’ve worked to highlight great women in American and world history, including the Founding Mothers, Mary Shelly, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Edith Wharton, Marie Curie, Agatha Christie, Zora Neale Hurston, and Fannie Lou Hamer.

In addition to discussing current K-12 education policy matters, our op-eds, event videos, and resources can provide important context for the general public, educators, parents, and students to understand the central role women have played in shaping America and the world.

“Remember the Ladies” event co-keynote, Founding Mothers author, Cokie Roberts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs_VDNXAlBc

“Remember the Ladies” event co-keynote, Zora Neale Hurston biographer, Valerie Boyd,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwefI98dqIo

“Remember the Ladies” event panel – Pulitzer-winning biographer of Harriet Beecher Stowe & the biographer of Harriet Tubman & Mary Todd Lincoln

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY3igZ-nbO0&list=PUxPr4y_MBrcdji_ockXjuPA&index=194

“Edith Wharton Not a Core Value” By Jamie Gass

https://www.telegram.com/article/20130124/NEWS/101249883/1020

“Students should know the name Fannie Lou Hamer” By Jamie Gass

https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/jamie-gass-students-should-knowthe-name-fannie-lou-hamer,521113

“Common Core’s Disturbing, Fiction-Free English Classes Are Straight Outta ‘Frankenstein’” By Jamie Gass https://dailycaller.com/2018/03/07/common-cores-disturbing-fiction-free-english-classes-are-straight-outta-frankenstein/

“Would Marie Curie Have Changed The World If She’d Learned Common Core Math?” By Jamie Gass

https://thefederalist.com/2018/11/30/marie-curie-changed-world-shed-learned-common-core-math/

“Here’s To Agatha Christie, Queen Of The Whodunit” By Jamie Gass

https://thefederalist.com/2015/09/15/heres-to-agatha-christie-queen-of-the-whodunit/

 

Other resources for parents and their schoolchildren to explore women’s history, include:

  1. The Who Was? series (ages 8 to 12)

“Susan B. Anthony may be an international icon but her campaign for women’s rights had personal roots. Working as a school teacher in New York, Anthony refused to settle for less pay than her male colleagues which ignited her lifelong devotion to women’s equality. Anthony toured the United States and Europe giving speeches and publishing articles as one of the most important advocates of women’s rights. Learn more about the woman behind the movement in Who Was Susan B. Anthony?” https://www.amazon.com/Who-Was-Susan-B-Anthony/dp/044847963X

Other Who Was? series books on prominent women in history:

Who Was Sacagawea?

https://www.amazon.com/Who-Sacagawea-Judith-Bloom-Fradin/dp/0448424851/ref=pd_sbs_14_13?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0448424851&pd_rd_r=26627635-6526-4bc5-b978-84c674a0a5f4&pd_rd_w=syPNI&pd_rd_wg=xX3Mb&pf_rd_p=b65ee94e-1282-43fc-a8b1-8bf931f6dfab&pf_rd_r=1RKK5G7BFQTE6C8XA9GC&psc=1&refRID=1RKK5G7BFQTE6C8XA9GC

 Who Was Sojourner Truth?

https://www.amazon.com/Sojourner-Truth-Yona-Zeldis-McDonough/dp/0448486784#:~:text=Paperback%20%E2%80%93%20December%2029%2C%202015&text=Find%20all%20the%20books%2C%20read%20about%20the%20author%2C%20and%20more.&text=Almost%20100%20years%20before%20Rosa,to%20court%2D%2Dand%20won!

Who Was Harriet Tubman?

https://www.amazon.com/Harriet-Tubman-Yona-Zeldis-McDonough/dp/059309722X/ref=pd_sbs_14_2/146-3815156-6344263?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=059309722X&pd_rd_r=c8ce790f-b85b-4272-bfdd-8384a44fc34b&pd_rd_w=q6NRt&pd_rd_wg=roBXw&pf_rd_p=b65ee94e-1282-43fc-a8b1-8bf931f6dfab&pf_rd_r=PD3STPZ9SKCW8KGJR6HG&psc=1&refRID=PD3STPZ9SKCW8KGJR6HG

Who Was Harriet Beecher Stowe?

https://www.amazon.com/Who-Was-Harriet-Beecher-Stowe/dp/0448483017/ref=sr_1_1?crid=6FRGUGKXTK4G&dchild=1&keywords=who+was+harriet+beecher+stowe&qid=1597948566&s=books&sprefix=Who+Was+Harriet+%2Cstripbooks%2C164&sr=1-1

Who Was Clara Barton?

https://www.amazon.com/Who-Clara-Barton-Stephanie-Spinner/dp/0448479532/ref=pd_bxgy_img_2/146-3815156-6344263?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0448479532&pd_rd_r=31953f06-8439-40a6-9d27-8a2091781408&pd_rd_w=1bzXF&pd_rd_wg=uqLfR&pf_rd_p=ce6c479b-ef53-49a6-845b-bbbf35c28dd3&pf_rd_r=K8T8SXKV57T76DWKJQFF&psc=1&refRID=K8T8SXKV57T76DWKJQFF

Who Was Helen Keller?

https://www.amazon.com/Who-Helen-Keller-Gare-Thompson/dp/0448431440/ref=pd_sbs_14_5/146-3815156-6344263?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0448431440&pd_rd_r=e509c202-b108-4e7f-9a63-18e6f58ba14c&pd_rd_w=QiqAs&pd_rd_wg=L9qXC&pf_rd_p=b65ee94e-1282-43fc-a8b1-8bf931f6dfab&pf_rd_r=M8NM2HA61XXA7FYHK4TA&psc=1&refRID=M8NM2HA61XXA7FYHK4TA

 Who Was Marie Curie?

https://www.amazon.com/Who-Marie-Curie-Megan-Stine/dp/044847896X/ref=pd_sbs_14_2/146-3815156-6344263?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=044847896X&pd_rd_r=566a8206-ee1d-478d-a454-e7e80724b319&pd_rd_w=RwHjI&pd_rd_wg=Heo0n&pf_rd_p=b65ee94e-1282-43fc-a8b1-8bf931f6dfab&pf_rd_r=PNC2KATJG3M4FBZFH39W&psc=1&refRID=PNC2KATJG3M4FBZFH39W

Who Was Amelia Earhart?

https://www.amazon.com/Amelia-Earhart-Kate-Boehm-Jerome/dp/0448428563/ref=pd_sbs_14_3/146-3815156-6344263?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0448428563&pd_rd_r=a369570f-8f98-4d6b-96d4-5705afc75b81&pd_rd_w=hG3LV&pd_rd_wg=yrVvB&pf_rd_p=b65ee94e-1282-43fc-a8b1-8bf931f6dfab&pf_rd_r=Y1QTSW1MZSV2ZVRRF3BG&psc=1&refRID=Y1QTSW1MZSV2ZVRRF3BG

Who Was Anne Frank?

https://www.amazon.com/Who-Was-Anne-Frank-Abramson/dp/0448444828/ref=pd_sbs_14_2/146-3815156-6344263?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0448444828&pd_rd_r=7901fcf6-3d27-4411-97ef-ed5b49602c71&pd_rd_w=XTXVd&pd_rd_wg=gUllD&pf_rd_p=b65ee94e-1282-43fc-a8b1-8bf931f6dfab&pf_rd_r=25C3XETP0GZZEPDJA2QS&psc=1&refRID=25C3XETP0GZZEPDJA2QS

Who Was Rosa Parks?

https://www.amazon.com/Rosa-Parks-Yona-Zeldis-McDonough/dp/0448454424/ref=pd_bxgy_img_3/146-3815156-6344263?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0448454424&pd_rd_r=d1908ae0-439c-46b2-9ac8-9626e19cc838&pd_rd_w=eS0Ek&pd_rd_wg=FV4xq&pf_rd_p=ce6c479b-ef53-49a6-845b-bbbf35c28dd3&pf_rd_r=5A0EXEJRQDWXANGCDGEF&psc=1&refRID=5A0EXEJRQDWXANGCDGEF

Who Was Coretta Scott King?

https://www.amazon.com/Who-Was-Coretta-Scott-King/dp/0451532619/ref=sr_1_1?crid=22JKGWXFYGTE&dchild=1&keywords=who+was+coretta+scott+king&qid=1597949133&s=books&sprefix=who+was+corre%2Cstripbooks%2C150&sr=1-1

Who Was Mother Teresa?

https://www.amazon.com/Who-Was-Mother-Teresa-Gigliotti/dp/0448482991/ref=pd_sbs_14_7?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0448482991&pd_rd_r=3a1ca92f-5d5c-498d-b773-f912453c7d32&pd_rd_w=GH0ys&pd_rd_wg=k4cOk&pf_rd_p=b65ee94e-1282-43fc-a8b1-8bf931f6dfab&pf_rd_r=3YGSWXTNZTSJZ6M8PXKK&psc=1&refRID=3YGSWXTNZTSJZ6M8PXKK

 

2. Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies, By Cokie Roberts (ages 6-8)

“#1New York Timesbestselling author and celebrated journalist Cokie Roberts brings young readers a stunning nonfiction picture book that highlights the female patriots of the American Revolution. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 4 to 6. It’s a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children.”

https://www.amazon.com/Founding-Mothers-Remembering-Cokie-Roberts/dp/0060780029/ref=pd_lpo_14_t_1/146-3815156-6344263?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0060780029&pd_rd_r=136354c4-0c84-46cd-9f1e-a49a8ec02bd4&pd_rd_w=vaMrM&pd_rd_wg=VxzYe&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=4TD2SQHNVVKN7FYPMYBF&psc=1&refRID=4TD2SQHNVVKN7FYPMYBF

 

3. Mary Lyon: Documents and Writings (high school to adults)

“Before the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Seneca Falls Declaration; before Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, Julia Ward Howe, Carrie Chapman and Alice Paul; before John Stuart Mill’s “The Subjection of Women” and Virgina Woolf’s “A Room of One’s Own”; before all these came Mary Lyon. In 1837, by virtue of dogged determination and never removing her sight from her goal, Mary Lyon founded Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, the world’s oldest continuing college for women. Never seeking to draw attention to herself, she steadfastly fought to ensure that the school would outlive her and never become known as “Miss Lyon’s School.” Perhaps as a result, Mary Lyon has not drawn nearly the attention she de- serves in histories of America, the women’s movement or higher education. This volume, for the first time, draws together the major documents and writings of Mary Lyon’s remarkable career.”

https://www.amazon.com/Mary-Lyon-Documents-James-Hartley/dp/0977837262/ref=sr_1_11?dchild=1&keywords=mary+lyon&qid=1597949844&s=books&sr=1-11

4. Seneca Falls and the Origins of the Women’s Rights Movement, By Sally McMillen (high school to adults)

“In the quiet town of Seneca Falls, New York, over the course of two days in July, 1848, a small group of women and men, led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, held a convention that would launch the women’s rights movement and change the course of history. In Seneca Falls and the Origins of the Women’s Rights Movement, Sally McMillen reveals, for the first time, the full significance of that revolutionary convention and the enormous changes it produced.”

https://www.amazon.com/Origins-Movement-Pivotal-Moments-American/dp/0195393333/ref=pd_sbs_14_1/146-3815156-6344263?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0195393333&pd_rd_r=94356b99-b712-4815-8132-e21d2d24b647&pd_rd_w=FHHeB&pd_rd_wg=xqCrZ&pf_rd_p=b65ee94e-1282-43fc-a8b1-8bf931f6dfab&pf_rd_r=2GD87B4XNFPGTWNH7NKK&psc=1&refRID=2GD87B4XNFPGTWNH7NKK

5. Capital Dames, By Cokie Roberts (high school to adults)

“In this engrossing and informative companion to her New York Times bestsellers Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty, Cokie Roberts marks the sesquicentennial of the Civil War by offering a riveting look at Washington, D.C. and the experiences, influence, and contributions of its women during this momentous period of American history.https://www.amazon.com/Capital-Dames-Civil-Washington-1848-1868/dp/0062002775/ref=pd_lpo_14_t_2/146-3815156-6344263?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0062002775&pd_rd_r=136354c4-0c84-46cd-9f1e-a49a8ec02bd4&pd_rd_w=vaMrM&pd_rd_wg=VxzYe&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=4TD2SQHNVVKN7FYPMYBF&psc=1&refRID=4TD2SQHNVVKN7FYPMYBF

6. Ida: A Sword Among Lions: Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching, Paula J Giddings (ages high school to adults)

“From a thinker who Maya Angelou has praised for shining “a brilliant light on the lives of women left in the shadow of history,” comes the definitive biography of Ida B. Wells—crusading journalist and pioneer in the fight for women’s suffrage and against segregation and lynchings. Ida B. Wells was born into slavery and raised in the Victorian age yet emerged—through her fierce political battles and progressive thinking—as the first “modern” black women in the nation’s history.”

https://www.amazon.com/Ida-Sword-Campaign-Against-Lynching/dp/0060797363/ref=sr_1_3?crid=24Y67N1GLU678&dchild=1&keywords=ida+b+wells&qid=1597952635&s=books&sprefix=ida%2Caps%2C170&sr=1-3

7. Edith Wharton, By Hermione Lee (high school to adults)

“The definitive biography of one of America’s greatest writers, from the author of the acclaimed masterpiece Virginia Woolf. Delving into heretofore untapped sources, Hermione Lee does away with the image of the snobbish bluestocking and gives us a new Edith Wharton–tough, startlingly modern, as brilliant and complex as her fiction.” https://www.amazon.com/Edith-Wharton-Hermione-Lee/dp/0375400044/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1597952138&sr=1-1

 

8. Georgia O’Keeffe, By Tonya Benson (ages high school to adults)

“Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986) was one of the foundational figures of American modernism and a pioneering woman in the arts. Widely celebrated and recognized for her flower paintings and Southwest landscapes, O’Keeffe is revealed in full in this new book. With superb plates of more than 200 works, it ranges from well-known masterpieces to the abstractions, nature studies, and New York City scenes…”https://www.amazon.com/dp/1419722743/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2XBV5XHZDGTMQ&dchild=1&keywords=georgia+okeefe+book&qid=1597951281&s=books&sprefix=gerogia+%2Cstripbooks%2C152&sr=1-2

9. Letters of Flannery O’Connor: The Habit of Being: (high school to adults)

“I have come to think that the true likeness of Flannery O’Connor will be painted by herself, a self-portrait in words, to be found in her letters . . . There she stands, a phoenix risen from her own words: calm, slow, funny, courteous, both modest and very sure of herself, intense, sharply penetrating, devout but never pietistic, downright, occasionally fierce, and honest in a way that restores honor to the word.”?Sally Fitzgerald, from the Introduction

https://www.amazon.com/Habit-Being-Letters-Flannery-OConnor/dp/0374521042/ref=sr_1_6?crid=2DHB39615LN07&dchild=1&keywords=flannery+o%27connor&qid=1597950512&s=books&sprefix=fglannery+%2Cstripbooks%2C146&sr=1-6

10. There Is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters, By Claire Berlinski (high school to adults)

“Great Britain in the 1970s appeared to be in terminal decline — ungovernable, an economic train wreck, and rapidly headed for global irrelevance. Three decades later, it is the richest and most influential country in Europe, and Margaret Thatcher is the reason… Ultimately, however, Claire Berlinski agrees with Thatcher: There was no alternative. Berlinski explains what Thatcher did, why it matters, and how she got away with it in this vivid and immensely readable portrait of one of the towering figures of the twentieth century.”

https://www.amazon.com/There-No-Alternative-Margaret-Thatcher-ebook/dp/B001FA0M8O/ref=sr_1_10?crid=3U2B1VL43TO72&dchild=1&keywords=margaret+thatcher&qid=1597950185&s=books&sprefix=margaret+thatcher%2Cstripbooks%2C157&sr=1-10

Get Updates on Our Education Research

Browse related content

Mass. schools must recommit to knowledge-based curriculum

/
The Bay State’s leadership role has continued into the current century. Massachusetts made tremendous strides in the years following passage of a landmark 1993 education reform law. But it has been backsliding since 2010, when it adopted weaker English and math standards known as Common Core. To get back on track, Massachusetts must reform its school- and district-level curriculum to emphasize imparting a shared body of background knowledge and social commitment to students in all ZIP codes.

Experts Find K-12 Online Education Can Be Appropriate for Most Special Needs Students

School closures due to COVID-19 have separated more than seven million K-12 special needs students from support they receive in the classroom, but online learning can be appropriate for most of those students if teachers and parents work as a team to provide each one with what he or she needs, according to a new report published by Pioneer Institute and ASU Prep Digital.

Acclaimed Poet & Former NEA Chairman Dana Gioia on Poetry & Arts Education

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are joined by Dana Gioia, a poet, writer, and the former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, to talk about why the arts are so pivotal to the intellectual and civic development of America’s K-12 schoolchildren.

Once anchored by higher education, Hampshire County, MA finds itself out of work after a cancelled semester

/
The 38,000 college and university students at the Five College…

Study: Officials Must Address Basic Questions to Improve Public School Computer Science Education

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic has further transitioned education towards electronic devices, computer science education in K-12 public schools around the country faces a number of daunting challenges, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute.

Homeschooling Expert Kerry McDonald on Harvard Law Professor Controversy & COVID

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are happy to be joined by Kerry McDonald, a homeschooling expert and Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education, on the major lessons we all should be learning from this educational moment, now that COVID has turned most of America’s 50 million schoolchildren and their families into "homeschoolers."

“Every Action has an Equal and Opposite Reaction”: 8 K-12 Science Resources During COVID-19

/
The fourth in Pioneer’s ongoing series of blogs on curricular resources for parents, families, and teachers during COVID-19 focuses on science education.

Kaya Henderson, Former Chancellor, D.C. Public Schools, on Leading Urban District Reform

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard are happy to be joined by Kaya Henderson, the former chancellor of the District of Columbia Public Schools. They discuss the historic reforms Henderson oversaw, including increasing enrollment and improved test scores in an urban district that had been one of the lowest performing in the country.

California’s Common Core Apologia

/
In a recent blog, Dr. Michael Kirst, past president of the California State Board of Education, attempts to defend his record of Common Core implementation during that period. But policy experts Ze’ev Wurman & Williamson Evers set the Golden State's record during Common Core straight.

As college students and parents demand robust COVID-19 response, university finances suffer

/
COVID-19 is likely going to put severe pressure on college finances in the coming months due to costly added safety measures, cuts to state funding, and foregone revenue from campus housing, services, and events.

During COVID-19 Outbreak, Compounding Challenges for Special Education Students

/
In Massachusetts, there’s a staunch and persistent negative…

Stargazing: Five Astronomy Resources for Parents, Teachers, and Kids During COVID-19

/
Here are some resources for parents, teachers, and students of all ages. Our hope is to cultivate the curiosity within us, in order to better understand the heavens and stars above us.

UVA Law Professor Kimberly Robinson On Legal Debate About Education As Federal Right

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by Kimberly Robinson, Professor at the University of Virginia School of Law and the Curry School of Education, about her new book, "A Federal Right to Education: Fundamental Questions for Our Democracy," and the need for states to establish a “floor of opportunity” to ensure educational equity.

Explosion in ESL enrollment creates new opportunities, challenges

/
  The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that, between 2010…

Pioneer Institute Relaunches “One-Stop Shop” for Education Performance Data

Pioneer Institute is re-launching a new and improved MassReportCards.org, a one-stop shop for information on Massachusetts public schools, including test performance, school finance, and much more. The new version of the site includes additional and updated data, and is more user friendly than the original. MassReportCards adds to Pioneer’s suite of online transparency tools, MassWatch.

New York Times #1 best-selling author John M. Barry on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic & lessons for COVID-19

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by John M. Barry, author of the #1 New York Times best seller, The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History.

To Read or Not to Read Shakespeare? 12 Great Ways to Get to Know The Bard During COVID-19

/
With school closures impacting 50 million children across America, and a challenging transition to remote learning,  many parents are seeking supplementary material to enrich their children's academic experience during COVID-19.  Fortunately, there is a wealth of information available to introduce children of all ages to, arguably, the greatest literary figure in the English-speaking world, William Shakespeare.

Study Finds Historic Drop in National Reading and Math Scores Since Adoption of Common Core Curriculum Standards

New study shows that, breaking with decades of slow improvement, U.S. reading and math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and other assessments have seen historic declines since most states implemented national Common Core English and math curriculum standards six years ago.

Ashley Berner of Johns Hopkins on Academic Quality, Educational Pluralism, & the Providence Public Schools

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by Ashley Berner, Deputy Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy. 

Christensen Institute Co-founder Michael Horn on Digital Learning & COVID-19

/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by Michael Horn, co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation.