Can you identify a moment when you had an epiphany that changed the way you thought or did something forever?
It happened to me, Fiona Brennan-Scott, when I was running the precursor to Bespoken and teaching English at a co-ed secondary school.
On break-time duty one morning, five of my Year 10 students, girls, approached me to ask if they could do their prepared speeches at lunchtime instead of in class. They told me they didn’t want to do it in front of the boys.
This was when I had my epiphany.
Around the time, I was reading Lean In (Sandberg, 2013). I’d also read Jennifer Lawrence’s open letter in response to the revelation that her two male co-stars were paid more than her for The Hunger Games (2012). In her letter, she took responsibility for her part in the situation.
I squared up. My response to these girls would be important. I understood their situation: in a mixed-ability class of 27, there were nine girls dotted amongst 18 boys.
Over the course of the academic year, I’d observed a change among these 14-15-year-olds.
The boys largely didn’t see the point of English but were sharing ideas and feedback while the girls were saying less and less. From their written work, I knew that the girls had a good grasp of the subject, often better, but were becoming less and less willing to speak out. This echoed the experiences of Sandberg and Lawrence.
“Do you believe you are equal to the boys in the classroom?”
They nodded. “Yes, Miss.” They were good at theory.
“And do you believe that in 5 years’ time, you should earn the same as the boys around you in the classroom?”
They nodded more assuredly and said again, “Yes, Miss.” It was a ‘no-brainer’.
“Well, girls, I can let you do your speeches in a lunch break. But if you sit back now and don’t speak up and out now, when will it stop? You need to decide whether you have an equal voice or not. Do you want to do your speeches in class?”
if you sit back now and don’t speak up and out now, when will it stop? You need to decide whether you have an equal voice or not.
I had five pairs of eyes looking at me. They were thinking. They knew what I was asking.
Then, “We’ll do it” and “Yes!” bubbled out of them. They were smiling and looked determined. I think they also knew that this was an important decision.
They gave their speeches and did their best. One girl, who was particularly nervous, looked at the ceiling the entire time to manage her nerves, but she was a champion.
Raising Boys Achievement?
For the previous few years, a special slot on Inset Day (the two days back for staff communication and training before pupils return) was devoted to Raising Boys Achievement (RBA).
Historically, boys haven’t achieved as much as girls. Despite a recession in ’08 and cutbacks in the educational sector, money has been allocated—or was allocated, at least in this co-ed school—to narrow the gap. At the GCSE level, it’s still in the region of 6.5%, although the gap has narrowed for the first time in 2018.
As of April, nine out of ten women work for a company that pays them less. The pay gap percentage can be divisive and argued, but the median of companies who reported at the same time was 9.9%, with the greatest gap at a shocking 88%! If this is the case, why is there a perceived need to raise boys’ academic achievement at the school level?
Is it too absurd to try and retrospectively match the greater earning potential of males?
Raising Girls Voices
I was in conversation with the Head Teacher after the next RBA updates.
“What are you doing to raise girls’ voices?” I asked politely.
He looked at me blankly. I explained, and he obfuscated. I can tell you now—nothing will be done because League Tables does not measure young people speaking up.
And it never will be, especially since Michael Gove, in his brief period of running rife as Minister of Education, took Speaking and Listening, which carried 20% of the GCSE mark, to 0% in government schools.
And believe me, if it’s worth nothing, students don’t value it. Let’s keep good public speaking skills as the exclusive turf of Public Schools, shall we? That way, the government will have even less of a chance of being representative of its population.
But I suspect the statistics which really reflect ‘Raising Girls Voices’ can be found amongst the mental health issues and anxiety levels that young people, particularly girls, experience in school for the first time and may take into their workplace as young women. You may also be interested in this article from the University of Reading, “Jokers in the Pack: Why Boys are More Aept than Girls at Speaking in Public Settings“, which I was directed to after first publishing.
So, here’s my request: I want to start something, using my skills and passion to address this and make a difference at the grassroots level. Does this resonate with you? Will you help with what you’ve got?
I can’t do it alone. Since reconnecting with a dream to do something about it, I shared a one-minute version at the SOBN networking breakfast last Wednesday, and five people have come forward. I shared it at GWP Café Church on Sunday, and I have one more.
Please get in touch if you want to join an action group to #RaiseGirlsVoices.
