My Reflection
When I started thinking about what I wanted to do this project on, I immediately thought of something to do with women’s rights and American history. I have always had a passion for history and wanted to choose a topic that I was really interested in learning more about. The woman’s suffrage movement and larger women’s rights campaigns have always interested me. I remember being surprised in school when I learned that women in this country were not legally considered full citizens until as late as 1920. I decided that for this project I really wanted to explore the political issues that contributed to that fact and to learn more about the various women who fought to achieve the right to vote.
While researching this topic I learned so many interesting things about this movement that I did not know before. In fact, one of my biggest struggles in creating this project was in focusing on the big picture. There were so many rich stories and interesting people that I came across in my research that it was hard to narrow down my concentration. I especially found the divisions within the movement fascinating. I had no idea, before starting my research, how many different factions there were within the broader suffrage movement. It was very interesting that even though all the suffragists were working toward the same goal, they had very different ideas on how to reach that goal. So much so that it divided the movement into very different groups that spent a lot of their time trying to distance themselves from the others.
The information I learned while creating this project will be invaluable to me when I have my own classroom. Not only did I acquire a large amount of knowledge about this particular topic, but I also learned skills and strategies for research and analysis that I will be able to use to teach my students many different content areas. I learned a lot about what makes a political movement work and how many different types of people it takes to affect change. I can convey to my students the idea that to change society for the better we must sometimes be willing to listen to new and “radical” ideas. I can also use this project to show how important it is to participate in your community. The rights we have as American citizens have not always been there. It took generations of different types of people fighting for their rights to ensure that we live the way we do today. This project has shown me how important the rights I have are and how crucial it is that I use these rights to make my community better.
While researching this topic I learned so many interesting things about this movement that I did not know before. In fact, one of my biggest struggles in creating this project was in focusing on the big picture. There were so many rich stories and interesting people that I came across in my research that it was hard to narrow down my concentration. I especially found the divisions within the movement fascinating. I had no idea, before starting my research, how many different factions there were within the broader suffrage movement. It was very interesting that even though all the suffragists were working toward the same goal, they had very different ideas on how to reach that goal. So much so that it divided the movement into very different groups that spent a lot of their time trying to distance themselves from the others.
The information I learned while creating this project will be invaluable to me when I have my own classroom. Not only did I acquire a large amount of knowledge about this particular topic, but I also learned skills and strategies for research and analysis that I will be able to use to teach my students many different content areas. I learned a lot about what makes a political movement work and how many different types of people it takes to affect change. I can convey to my students the idea that to change society for the better we must sometimes be willing to listen to new and “radical” ideas. I can also use this project to show how important it is to participate in your community. The rights we have as American citizens have not always been there. It took generations of different types of people fighting for their rights to ensure that we live the way we do today. This project has shown me how important the rights I have are and how crucial it is that I use these rights to make my community better.
Related Standards
3.H.2.1 Explain change over time through historical narratives. (events, people and places)
3.H.2.2 Explain how multiple perspectives are portrayed through historical narratives.
3.C&G.2.1 Exemplify how citizens contribute politically, socially and economically to their community.
5.H.2.2 Explain how key historical figures have exemplified values and principles of American democracy.
5.H.2.3 Compare the changing roles of women and minorities on American society from the Pre-Colonial era through Reconstruction
5.C&G.2.3 Exemplify ways in which the rights, responsibilities and privileges of citizens are protected under the United States Constitution.
5.C&G.2.4 Explain why civic participation is important in the United States.
3.H.2.2 Explain how multiple perspectives are portrayed through historical narratives.
3.C&G.2.1 Exemplify how citizens contribute politically, socially and economically to their community.
5.H.2.2 Explain how key historical figures have exemplified values and principles of American democracy.
5.H.2.3 Compare the changing roles of women and minorities on American society from the Pre-Colonial era through Reconstruction
5.C&G.2.3 Exemplify ways in which the rights, responsibilities and privileges of citizens are protected under the United States Constitution.
5.C&G.2.4 Explain why civic participation is important in the United States.