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How Girls Achieve
Winner of the Jackie Kirk Award
Winner of the AESA Critics' Choice Award
"Blazes new trails in the study of the lives of girls, challenging all of us who care about justice and gender equity not only to create just and inclusive educational institutions but to be unapologetically feminist in doing so. Seamlessly merging research with the stories and voices of girls and those who educate them, this book reminds us that we should do better and inspires the belief that we can. It is the blueprint we've been waiting for."
--Brittney C. Cooper, author of Eloquent Rage
"Nuamah makes a compelling and convincing case for the development of the type of school that can not only teach girls but also transform them...An essential read for all educators, policymakers, and parents invested in a better future."
--Joyce Banda, former President of the Republic of Malawi
This bold and necessary book points out a simple and overlooked truth: most schools never had girls in mind to begin with. That is why the world needs what Sally Nuamah calls "feminist schools," deliberately designed to provide girls with achievement-oriented identities. And she shows how these schools would help all students, regardless of their gender.
Educated women raise healthier families, build stronger communities, and generate economic opportunities for themselves and their children. Yet millions of disadvantaged girls never make it to school--and too many others drop out or fail. Upending decades of advice and billions of dollars in aid, Nuamah argues that this happens because so many challenges girls confront--from sexual abuse to unequal access to materials and opportunities--go unaddressed. But it isn't enough just to go to school. What you learn there has to prepare you for the world where you'll put that knowledge to work.
A compelling and inspiring scholar who has founded a nonprofit to test her ideas, Nuamah reveals that developing resilience is not a gender-neutral undertaking. Preaching grit doesn't help girls; it actively harms them. Drawing on her deep immersion in classrooms in the United States, Ghana, and South Africa, Nuamah calls for a new approach: creating feminist schools that will actively teach girls how and when to challenge society's norms, and allow them to carve out their own paths to success.
Winner of the AESA Critics' Choice Award
"Blazes new trails in the study of the lives of girls, challenging all of us who care about justice and gender equity not only to create just and inclusive educational institutions but to be unapologetically feminist in doing so. Seamlessly merging research with the stories and voices of girls and those who educate them, this book reminds us that we should do better and inspires the belief that we can. It is the blueprint we've been waiting for."
--Brittney C. Cooper, author of Eloquent Rage
"Nuamah makes a compelling and convincing case for the development of the type of school that can not only teach girls but also transform them...An essential read for all educators, policymakers, and parents invested in a better future."
--Joyce Banda, former President of the Republic of Malawi
This bold and necessary book points out a simple and overlooked truth: most schools never had girls in mind to begin with. That is why the world needs what Sally Nuamah calls "feminist schools," deliberately designed to provide girls with achievement-oriented identities. And she shows how these schools would help all students, regardless of their gender.
Educated women raise healthier families, build stronger communities, and generate economic opportunities for themselves and their children. Yet millions of disadvantaged girls never make it to school--and too many others drop out or fail. Upending decades of advice and billions of dollars in aid, Nuamah argues that this happens because so many challenges girls confront--from sexual abuse to unequal access to materials and opportunities--go unaddressed. But it isn't enough just to go to school. What you learn there has to prepare you for the world where you'll put that knowledge to work.
A compelling and inspiring scholar who has founded a nonprofit to test her ideas, Nuamah reveals that developing resilience is not a gender-neutral undertaking. Preaching grit doesn't help girls; it actively harms them. Drawing on her deep immersion in classrooms in the United States, Ghana, and South Africa, Nuamah calls for a new approach: creating feminist schools that will actively teach girls how and when to challenge society's norms, and allow them to carve out their own paths to success.
- GenresNonfictionTeaching
216 pages, Hardcover
First published April 22, 2019
8 people are currently reading
215 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 23, 2020
Took this book of the library shelf after reading the title and decided to read it as it may help me when developing library programs. It is a book that makes you think and should be read by educators of all kinds all over the world.
May 9, 2019
"To let girls learn, schools must first protect them. Then, they must teach them three skills: confidence, strategy, and transgression. Finally, they must reimagine what it meant to achieve. All three require schools to become equitable institutions. Taken together, schools must be feminist. That is: how girls achieve."
This book is a very important book for all educators around the world, I suggest it to all of my friends and colleagues.
As a male educator who will be teaching male and female students, I found this book very informative and helpful specifically that education at the University I work for, is gender sperated one, and I will be interacting with both genders.
The burden on schools to change the way of interacting with students, also on policy makers to make public schools more involved in the process, also families should be aware of the the dangers and difficulties there girls have in schools, so if the schools were feminists, the new generation will be feminist also and then when kids get older they will be feminists too. It's a cycle. More educated women, means better family and better society. I am not suggesting this book to educators only, but for the whole society, for parents, policy makers and anyone who can benefit it, literally, everyone.
I should also note that, the examples presented in this book, from three different countries Ghana, USA and South Africa, could be found in other countries too.
I liked this book and enjoyed reading it.
This book is a very important book for all educators around the world, I suggest it to all of my friends and colleagues.
As a male educator who will be teaching male and female students, I found this book very informative and helpful specifically that education at the University I work for, is gender sperated one, and I will be interacting with both genders.
The burden on schools to change the way of interacting with students, also on policy makers to make public schools more involved in the process, also families should be aware of the the dangers and difficulties there girls have in schools, so if the schools were feminists, the new generation will be feminist also and then when kids get older they will be feminists too. It's a cycle. More educated women, means better family and better society. I am not suggesting this book to educators only, but for the whole society, for parents, policy makers and anyone who can benefit it, literally, everyone.
I should also note that, the examples presented in this book, from three different countries Ghana, USA and South Africa, could be found in other countries too.
I liked this book and enjoyed reading it.
August 11, 2019
I want to be an active part of a feminist school the likes that Sally A. Nuamah describes, I want my daughter to attend a school the likes of which ALL are treated as equal yet taught how to overcome the inequalities of the real world in addition to feeling safe there and being taught confidence. This shouldn’t be too much to ask. This book is everything I wanted and more, it describes something I am dying to find in reality and a perfect model to follow for my dance school. Even though it’s not exactly the type of school she is describing in curriculum, it still gives so many positive and eye opening tidbits to take and apply! I have so many notes in the margins that I will be referring back to for a long time to come. Such a beautiful piece of work. ❤️
September 13, 2019
It's been said by other readers, and I'll say it again. This book is a must read! Sally Nuamah goes beyond the facts and presents readers with an education narrative that's not often told-the real experiences of young women of color in school. She showcases the voices of these young women as exemplar reasons why feminism belongs beside conversations of school achievement, and she makes us realize the importance of redefining what achievement means. It's the perfect present for any parent, activist, educator, non-profit leader, or student!
September 5, 2019
I sat down with the intention of only reading the first chapter or two of this powerful read, but read cover-to-cover instead. Sally Nuamah's “How Girls Achieve” is a blueprint of how to construct a feminist school that champions Black girls and encourages the success of all students. It is not just an invitation, but a call to action in support of some of our most vulnerable. #howgirlsachieve #feministschools
September 7, 2019
Amazing work! Absolutely amazing!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews