High school librarians in Hillsboro, Missouri, are doing their part to ensure that another generation of athletes does not grow up to emulate Jennifer Capriati -- who famously said, "I have no idea what Title IX is, sorry" in response to a reporter's question about President Bush's attempt to weaken the law.
This fall, they teamed up with the girls' volleyball coaches and assigned the team to read Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX by Karen Blumenthal. They then lead the girls in a four-part discussion of the book, which lead to many athletes discovering for the first time that their opportunities to play sports did not exist not so long ago. As Professor Linda Carpenter said in the story, it is important for girls today understand the struggle for equality so that they protect the law for the next generation.
It seems to have worked at least in Hillsboro. Inspired by the book club, the volleyball team made T-shirts that said "Ask me about Title IX" and wore them in the homecoming parade. They even challenged negative comments they received from coaches of the boys teams.
Aren't librarians great?
Funny. Any man who decides that don't like Title IX is "sexist". Read the article and decide for yourself.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a GREAT idea!! Girls do need to know where there opportunities came from! Now I need to figure out how I can get this to happen on our local high school! And yes librarians are great. I might be bias--I am a law librarian!
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