Safeguarding our gifted and talented girls' development.
At one of the most significant assemblies ever held to expand international women’s rights, the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in September of 1995 determined that among other issues it was vital to: "Ensure the full implementation of the human rights of women and of the girl child as an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. In some countries women are legally equals, in others they have almost no rights."
Despite this good work, discrimination and violence against women exists in many corners around the world even today. Given this somewhat harsh snapshot of women’s rights around the world, it is critical that our girls are given as many constructive opportunities as possible to become all that they can be. This is especially true for bright or gifted and talented girls who might have a whole extra set of challenges before them, as would most gifted children. Helping them to sort through all of these issues while they develop a healthy dose of self-esteem is big job for any parent or teacher. As educators and parents know, there is almost no other topic more important than giving today’s girls all the tools they need to become successful, strong and happy.
Safeguarding our gifted and talented girls’ development begins with helping them focus on their talents and strengths, and a good first step for parents and teachers down this road is to read child psychologist Sylvia Rimm’s See Jane Win for Girls: A Smart Girl's Guide to Success. In the book, Rimm offers a sensible guide for modern young ladies in becoming what she calls "I CAN” girls who are inspired, bright, determined, and imaginative among other positive traits.
Rimm’s methodology for gathering the research for the book followed a comparatively classic model. During the years of the 1990s, Rimm and her daughters surveyed more than 1,000 fulfilled, successful women. Their research objective was to "identify the essential childhood elements that encouraged these women to achieve fulfilling careers." While some could argue that finding material success in the marketplace is not always a crystal-clear indication of being inspired, bright, determined, or imaginative, the women who are highlighted and quoted in this book all seem to have come across that perfect balance among success, happiness, strength of character and health.
Based on the experiences and inspiring words from teachers, lawyers, musicians, publishers, and even astronauts, Rimm has developed an easy and fun-to-read didactic cookbook of levelheaded suggestions about topics such as self-esteem, motivation, and exploring the world for our “amazing daughters.” Many of the suggestions she offers have sprung from her NPR show Family Talk with Sylvia Rimm and her numerous other books and programs.
The essential childhood elements highlighted are issues that parents and teachers talk about all of the time: having girls effectively use their creativity and brainpower, knowing strengths and weaknesses, developing methods for getting along in the world, identifying talents, how to deal with change, and other esteem-building topics.
While it might be true that we cannot watch over all of the children in the world, as the founder of the Friends of the Earth network, environmentalist David Ross Brower counsels us, “Think Globally, and Act Locally,” we can certainly strive to take care of those girls who look up to us for love and support by finding as many heartening resources as possible.
