International Women’s Day in Education
Great teachers educate and inspire their pupils, and with International Women’s Day around the corner, we’ll be taking a look at some of the ways that you can celebrate this important occasion in schools.
We’re also going to explore the history of International Women’s Day, and point you in the direction of five famous female teachers. Plus, if you’re a student, we’ll be looking at some of the ways you can say thank you to your own inspiring teacher. Let’s get started!
What is International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day celebrates the accomplishments of women from around the globe and throughout history, whilst also encouraging us to reflect on and raise awareness of the many issues that women face today.
The History of International Women’s Day
The idea of a Women’s Day has its origins in the early 20th century, during a period of intense social change as new, radical ideas were introduced into society.
Worker’s organisations and women’s groups engaged in protests around the world, pushing for better working conditions, universal suffrage and equality in pay. The Socialist Party of America declared a National Women’s Day as early as 1909.
In 1911, the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen led to the declaration of a ‘Women’s Day’ on the 19th of March, in which issues pertinent to women could be placed at the forefront of protests and demonstrations.
Later, in 1913, Russian women began observing an International Women’s Day on February 26th, a date that corresponds to March 8th on the Gregorian calendar.
After international discussion, a consensus emerged and March 8th became the official date of International Women’s Day – and it has remained so ever since.
In 1975, the United Nations adopted the concept as part of a larger initiative to promote Women’s rights across the globe. Two years later in 1977, they were inviting member states to observe the occasion, leading to International Women’s Day moving outside of the communist sphere and becoming a truly global event.
Five Female Teachers that Made History
Maria Montessori
The life of Maria Montessori saw an incredibly accomplished journey from doctor to education reformer - a fact that’s even more astonishing given that she was born in 1870.
Going against the gender norms of the time, she pursued engineering at an all-boys technical college, and later medicine at the Sapienza University of Rome, one of the first women in Italy to do so.
Her position as a doctor saw her visit mentally ill children in Rome’s asylums, where she found their treatment and education to be totally inadequate and unresponsive to their stimulation deprived environments.
Educating herself on their conditions as much as she could, she later became co-director of a new school that took in pupils with various disorders.
By introducing new ways of learning and studying their behaviour, she developed a new method for education that focused on allowing children to pursue their own interests, with a high degree of freedom.
‘Montessori Schools’ that embrace her ideas can now be found across the globe.
Mary McLeod Bethune
Mary McLeod Bethune was born in America in 1875, the daughter of former slaves. Initially wishing to become a missionary, she instead looked towards teaching, and after several years selling insurance, she opened up a school for black girls. It would later merge with an all-male school to create the Bethune-Cookman Collage in 1929.
Bethune was a staunch advocate of racial and gender equality throughout her life, she led voter drives to mobilise newly enfranchised women to push for their rights, and later became vice president of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured Persons). She would befriend Eleanor Roosevelt and advise her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt on issues to do with African American youth.
Appointed by Roosevelt’s successor, Harry S. Truman, she would attend the founding conference of the United Nations, the only American woman of colour to do so.
Savitribai Phule
Savitribai Phule was born in India in 1831, and is considered to be the inspiration for feminist movements in that country. With her husband Jyotirao, she set up the first school for girls in India, became the first female teacher in India, and advocated for social reform in issues of gender and class equality. She died in 1897, after contracting plague whilst rushing her adopted son to the hospital on her own back.
Anne Sullivan
Anne Sullivan is best known for her role in providing assistance and education to a young Heller Keller, a deaf-blind girl who would go on to become a prolific writer, lecturer and advocate for people with disabilities and the poor.
Meeting Keller on March 5th, 1887, she began a method of communication by tapping out letters onto the young girl’s hand while introducing corresponding objects. It wasn’t until a month later when Keller reacted to her teacher pouring water onto her hand whilst spelling out the word that she saw a major breakthrough.
Sullivan herself was blind, becoming completely so in 1935. She died in 1936 at the age of 70, and when Keller died in 1965, her ashes were interred beside her teacher.
Gabriela Mistral
Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, who wrote under the pseudonym Gabriela Mistral, was the first Latin American author to win the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Born in Chile in 1957, she built an acclaimed literary career and won people over with her emotive poetry, whilst also travelling around her country, and beyond, to work as a teacher, encouraging a liberalising approach to education that saw her invited to a post as part of Mexico’s Ministry of Education.
She is now commemorated on the 5000 Chilean peso banknote.
Resources for your classroom
There are plenty of International Women’s Day activities inspired by a range of awesome school resources ready for you to pick up online right away. Here are two of our favourites.
- IDW Activity Cards from internationalwomensday.com – this fun selection of cards provide a range of fantastic elementary school activities, encouraging students to get creative with a particular focus on this important occasion.
- Oxfam International Women's Day for Students, Slideshow, Quiz and Activity Guide – Oxfam is a brilliant charity and an excellent place to find resources for schools on a range of issues. Their International Women’s Day for kids resources are tailored towards the ages of 9-14, and feature an informative slideshow and activity guide focusing on reading comprehension, roleplay and lively conversation.
How to celebrate International Women’s Day in education and schools
We’d absolutely recommend an International Women's Day worksheet from our resources above, but for some engaging icebreakers that take a more casual approach, a talking circle to celebrate International Women's Day where pupils can ask any questions that they have about the occasion is a great start.
A collective, themed craft for preschool ages and above would also be an excellent way to throw your school’s support behind a national women's day for kids, and can involve simple, creative activities for kindergarten/preschool activities and more informative, though still creative, projects for those in the higher grades/key stage 2.
Ideas for International Women’s Day wishes and messages for teachers
Whether celebrating International Women's Day in kindergarten or beyond, it’s always nice to wish the best to an inspiring teacher. Here are some messages we’ve put together to help you do so!
- On International Women’s Day, I want to say thank you for all your help and inspiration!
- This International Women’s Day, we want to say thanks so much to such an amazing teacher!
- Happy International Women’s Day – thank you for everything!
- Happy International Women’s Day to the best teacher ever!
Once you’ve got your perfect message of good wishes, you’ll want a fantastic card that it can be written in. At Boomf, we have a range of amazing designs celebrating International Women’s Day, and our wonderful exploding cards are a gift on their own, ready to delight and surprise an inspiring teacher on this important occasion.