Back to School: Women’s History Month

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I’m done with school, but I’m not done with learning.

As many of you know, in addition to this blogging/writing gig, I am also a high school social studies teacher. I am one of the lucky history majors who actually gets to make direct use of their history major every day at work!

My primary area of study in college was women’s history. In honor of Women’s History Month, I’m taking a break from the regular programing here, and entering teacher mode to share with you my latest vlog…

5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Women’s History!

Do you know the first time women voted in the United States? {Hint: it was well before the 20th century!} Do you know the truth about how Catherine the Great died? Or how the bikini got its name?

You’ll learn all that, and more, in this 3-minute video!

{FYI: Though this video isn’t necessarily NSFW, there are some mature references in it – I’d recommend watching when little kids aren’t in the room!}

One more story…

Just 140 years ago, in the 1873 publication Sex in Education, Dr. Edward Clarke wrote that education was overly taxing on women’s delicate bodily systems. Monthly menstruation diverted too much of a woman’s vital energy to her reproductive system, and thus interfered with learning by depriving the brain of necessary blood flow. By educating women, society was asking too much of them, for it would require women to “do two things equally well at the same time,” i.e., read and menstruate. This, he believed, would eventually lead to infertility and insanity.

Knowledge is power. Even if you’re done with school, keep learning. A lot of people fought very hard for all of us to have this basic right.

Happy Women’s History Month!

This post is part of the Finish the Sentence Friday linkup. This week’s prompt is “I’m done with school, but…” Click the image below to read more!

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