Four of these women, and the academies they founded, were especially important in the movement toward the higher education of girls and women. Using the web sites listed below, plus any additional print or web resources you can find, do one or more of the following activities:
1. Write biographies of one or more of the four women, paying particular attention to their own educations.
2. Stage a debate, using the arguments for and against women’s education that were prevalent in this period of history.
3. Plan a conference on women’s education, inviting these four women to participate in your conference as speakers and panelists (some classmates might be willing to take the parts of these women).
4. Write newspaper articles on each of the four schools.
5. Write a comparative paper, outlining what these four schools had in common and how they were different.
1 This lesson could be extended by asking students, after they have finished their research, to design a school especially for teachers. What would the building look like, inside and outside? How would the school be organized? Who would decide what subjects teachers would study? What would your recommendations be for the best curriculum for teachers?
2. Stage a debate, using the arguments for and against women’s education that were prevalent in this period of history.
3. Plan a conference on women’s education, inviting these four women to participate in your conference as speakers and panelists (some classmates might be willing to take the parts of these women).
4. Write newspaper articles on each of the four schools.
5. Write a comparative paper, outlining what these four schools had in common and how they were different.