Monday, March 23, 2009

Urban girls and Title IX

Very good article from Women's eNews that focuses on the establishment of competitive girls double dutch in New York City.
But importantly, the writer also points out numerous facts that often get lost when we talk about opportunities for girls and the enactment of Title IX.
Tina Sloan Greene, co-founder of Black Women in Sport Foundation in Philadelphia, reminds us that:
Title IX is great but in order to bring about change it takes activism on the parts of parents and people who understand legislation.
Also, she and others point out the often greater disadvantage experienced by urban girls including fighting for fewer resources. Unfortunately awareness of inequity by girls and parents in high schools generally, but especially in urban schools, is not as heightened as at the college level. (Though we believe it is increasing and will likely jump if the legislation that mandates reporting in high schools--proposed by Senator Snowe--passes.) This has been evident in the far fewer complaints regarding inequities in high schools.