Heros

The highlight of my son’s second-grade school year was when the kids chose their heroes and gave speeches dressed as them before classmates, parents, and grandparents. I was thrilled to see my son so engaged with his research. When he finally took the stage, he was Ben Franklin.

Though it was heartwarming to see all the kids dressed in their costumes, I couldn’t help but notice the number of girls dressed as male role models. There was not a single boy, of course, dressed as his female hero. The teacher had explained to me that they were required to do the research using books at their reading level and couldn’t use the Internet. Apparently there just aren’t enough children’s books about women in history.

My heart ached for all the young girls. In fact, I felt sad for every woman in that room. Why is this still happening? 

~Trista Hendren, The Sun, Readers Write: Heros