A project of the Massachusetts Department of Education and Sponsoring Organizations.

Purpose

To stimulate students and teachers in Berkshire County classes to explore the richness and diversity of the lives of “ordinary” women, past and present, particularly Berkshire County women. Through oral history and research related to their classroom curriculum, students will create essays, as well as artwork, about “real” women for a Berkshire Celebration of National Women's History Month, March, 2008.

Judging Criteria

Timeline

December/January/February 2008

February 19, 2008

March 2008

Background

Everyone has a story, “ordinary” people as well as famous ones.  Students must know that.  Oral history gives students a new perspective on what constitutes our shared history as a nation.  The gathering of oral history is a way of enriching the study of history by providing information about persons whose lives are important and unique, but unrecorded.

The "REAL WOMEN" ESSAY CONTEST is designed to foster interest in the areas of women’s lives which often get lost–lost in stereotyped notions that women’s roles are limited to nurturing and that nurturing is a passive activity. Anything about the lives of “ordinary” women, particularly women in Berkshire County, and how women’s roles have changed may make an interesting subject.

Students may interview women they respect as family members, role models, or personal mentors. By hearing what these women view as important and what their day- to-day challenges have been, students may come to place realistic values on the roles women play in our culture. For example, students may choose to interview older women, asking about their lives in earlier decades, and what is important in their lives now.  Questions of “why” and “how” may elicit surprising answers.

Some students may choose instead to learn more about historical women, particularly Berkshire women, through research. The important thing is that they should care about their subjects and try to find out about their personal, daily lives.

All essays should be the students' own work. In 2007, we will accept poetry monologues or journals, and scripted conversation on women's contributions to society past and present.

These projects may relate to units in history, language arts, values clarification, visual arts, and career development.

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