A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Girls Think, Boys Think

Here is a school.
Girls sit here. Boys sit here.
They sit side by side.

Everybody has a head.
Inside is a thinker.
It asks why. It counts. It wonders.

Girls think. Boys think.
Say it with me: Girls think. Boys think.

Long ago, lots of girls stayed home.
They learned to sew and to smile.
Nobody taught them the hard stuff.
Then people said, girls can’t think hard.
But nobody had let them try!

Girls think. Boys think.

Now look at our school.
She reads. He reads.
She adds. He adds.
Some days it is hard for her.
Some days it is hard for him.

Hard is for everybody.
Being a girl is not the reason.
Being a boy is not the reason.
You just have not learned it yet.

Girls think. Boys think.

So sit by a friend today.
Ask why. Then ask why again.
Try the hard part together.

Girls think. Boys think. You think too.

A note for the grown-up

For the grown-up reading aloud: This comes from Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), which argued that women seemed weak-minded only because they were educated for charm instead of reason, and which proposed free day schools where girls and boys learn side by side. She rested her case on religious grounds and granted men more strength of body; this primer keeps only the part that has held up, that being a girl is never the reason a child can’t learn something.

Run and Climb

Long ago, some girls sat still all day.
Sit up straight. Don’t get muddy.
Look nice. Be sweet.

Their legs got tired fast.
Their arms were not strong.
People said, see? Girls are weak.
But they were weak from sitting!

Run and climb. Run and climb.

Legs get strong when you run.
Arms get strong when you climb.
That is true for her.
That is true for him.
Girls and boys can race together.
They can dig and jump together.

Say it with me: Run and climb!

Looking nice is okay.
But it is not your job.
Your job is to grow.
Mud washes off!

Some kids run faster.
Some kids climb higher.
That is okay.
You just get stronger than you were.

Run and climb. Run and climb.

So go outside today.
Run to the big tree.
Climb one step higher than last time.

Run and climb!

A note for the grown-up

For the grown-up reading aloud: Wollstonecraft argued that girls of her day were kept indoors and still to protect their looks, and then called weak by nature; she wanted them to exercise as boys did. She also granted that men are generally stronger in body, so this primer promises a stronger child, not a child who wins every race.

Boss of Me

Some people want to be the boss of everybody.
They whine to get their way.
They play tricks to get their way.

Tricks are sneaky. Whining is loud.
Here is a better wish.
I want to be the boss of me.

Boss of me. Boss of me.

Boss of me means I choose.
I think first. Then I pick.

I see the last cookie.
I want to grab it fast.
I stop. I think.
My brother did not get one.
I give him half.
Nobody made me. I chose.
It feels good inside.

Boss of me. Boss of me.

Does boss of me mean no listening?
No! I am still learning.
My grown-ups help me learn to choose.
Every year I choose a little more.

Say it with me: Boss of me!

Today, pick one thing to choose.
Stop. Think. Then choose.

Boss of me!

A note for the grown-up

For the grown-up reading aloud: The idea is Wollstonecraft’s best-known line, that she did not want women to have power over men, but over themselves. She meant command of yourself by reason, instead of the charm and wheedling that people without honest power fall back on. She also said children should obey their parents until they can judge for themselves, which is the fence this primer keeps.