Recently, Maryland Delegate Ariana Kelly posted an exchange on her Facebook page between her daughter and one of her daughter’s teachers. Ariana has kindly allowed us to post that letter here ate The Broad Side. We love this as an example of a young student feeling confident in her own research abilities, as well as approaching a teacher about why he or she might have been wrong. Here is the letter, in full:
Remember when I asked why there are no girls on the explorer project and the answer was that not many women explored. I found a list of women who explored and when.
Harriet Chalmers Adams 1875-1937
Dominick Arduin 1960-2004
Ann Bancroft 1955-
Jeanne Bare 1740-1807
Jean Batten 1909-1982
Gertrude Bell 1868-1926
Isabella Bird 1831-1904
Nancy Bird-Walton 1915-2009
Nellie Bly 1864-1922
Louise Boyd 1887-1972
Susan Butcher 1954-2006
Laura Dekker 1995-
Amelia Earhart 1897-1937
Isabelle Eberhardt 1877-1904
Osa Johnson 1894-1953
Ida Pfeiffer 1797-1858
Hester Stanhope 1776-1839
Alexadrine Tinne 1835-1869
and many more
I want you to know I did not do this to prove you wrong. I wanted to do this because many women have done many things that would get more recognition if a man did it and that is wrong. You know that I know that but the world does not know that and they need to know that women can do anything men can do.
Your student,
Maeve
