Schoolgirls [non-fiction]

Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self-Esteem, and the Confidence Gap is a look into the social problems facing young teens (eighth-graders). The author, Peggy Orenstein, spent a year at two middle schools in Northern California and talks extensively with the girls.

The interviews were done in 1992-1993 (book was published in '94), which just happened to be around the same time that I was in the 8th grade. Sometimes when I read books about adolescents and their problems, I tend to think that the problems discussed are only unique to the present, that back then in the early 90s, we didn't have to face similar junk. Reading this book, though, made a certain connection with me, since the girls interviewed and I were both in the 8th grade at the same time (except I was in Southern CA and they were up north).

It disturbed me to read about the classroom problems involving boys and girls- boys tend to control the flow of class, talking out of turn, demanding teachers' attention. Reminds me of my 9th gov't/econ class- there were 16 boys and only 8 girls. The boys would be the ones contributing in class, while us girls preferred to learn quietly. Mrs. B, the teacher, acknowledged that the class would be different if the # of girls to boys was evened out.

Something I read that I didn't know about at the time- around that time, there was a no-tolerance sexual harrasment law put into place for CA. The fact that us students weren't made aware of it (or maybe we were, I just don't remember), speaks volumes about the "boys will be boys" mentality. Although, as far as I know, our school didn't have a problem with this... especially since I was in a gifted program (our academic classes were separated from the other students).

Recommended.