Miss T's Book Room: Women who make History

Monday, August 1, 2016

The Importance of Seeing Myself

Photo Credit: Key Williams

"When our identity comes from the self, then we keep our energy to ourselves. We feel energetic, we feel powerful, and we experience youthful vigor"~Deepak Chopra

As the summer comes to an end, I took a little break from my blog life. My mind, my spirit, and my sanity were in need of rest. I had a whole blog typed up and ready to publish, but I erased it because so much chaos was happening in the same week. I could not bring myself to write, until now. When I started this blog, I truly did not have an aim or a goal. I just wanted to educate others in some type of way. Then, I realized that diversity in the school systems, in homes, and in a lot of areas in the world were lacking. I wanted to help with that so I created Miss T's Book Room.

Growing up I had books, I was surrounded by them daily. The Baby-Sitters Club, The Golden Books, Dr. Seuss, and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle......just to name a few. However, only a couple of books unintentionally taught me about self-identity. I did not realize the impact these books had on my young life until I was older. Her Stories was the name of one and it was written by Virginia Hamilton. I read this book everyday and everyday I felt like I was reading it for the first time. It was a book given to me by my Grandmother. I would look at the colorful illustrations and the expressive words. My attention would be so into those characters that I would construct a new story about them.

While it may seem strange to others, Her Stories helped me to gain self-identity, I saw myself as a black woman. While reading this book, I discovered that I was beautiful, I can make mistakes, words could hurt me, and that I could be knowledgeable as well as wise. The other book was something I read when I was older, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. I read that story multiple times too, until the book was torn (as you can see I like to read things multiple times). Even though Maya lived in a different time, she wrote with so much feeling and imagery. Dr. Seuss nor The Golden Books could help me manifest this revelation. I never realized that a child reading these books and engaging in certain illustrations could produced self love.

Creating a healthy sense of self image/self love starts now. Children of color are faced with so many negative comparisons of themselves, let us change that perception. We need to discuss the importance of children knowing who they are, what they are, and who they're becoming. It takes discussion, not just in the classroom, but in the home. Let us teach all children that greatness comes from within and loving yourself is the most important thing. I guess you didn't know you could learn so much from a book. ; )

Friday, April 29, 2016

When a Woman Dares To Dream....

Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe that you must become its soul. ~Coretta Scott King

Did you know that the month of March is Women History Month and March 8th is considered International Women's Day. International Women's Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievement of women. Even though the progress of women achievements has slowed down in some parts of the world, strides are being made to exalt awareness.

Women's History started off as a week in 1987. Congress expanded the celebration to a month. The month of March honors women of different cultures, abilities, and contributions. As a woman, we are not always shown in the greatest light, especially when it comes to entertainment or social media. A positive light is something that we owe our young women. They should understand that they can be more than a pretty face.

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.~Eleanor Roosevelt

The learning does not stop with young women, we should teach young men the same. Young men should learn early that women have created pathways for society. Some male students believe that girls can only have certain professions. My goal is teach them that professions are not attached to specific genders. In society, women are described as bossy, loud, and emotional. Let us not call a young girl bossy, but say she has leadership qualities. Leadership qualities that can help her make a difference or just make history.

I have compiled a list of great books that can help teach children about great accomplishments that women have made in history. Truly, the list could be longer, but I tried to pick my favorites. These books are good for grades Prek to 8th grade.