Celebrating the Contributions of Women to America
Since 1987, the United States has observed Women’s History Month every March to honor women’s contributions to the history, culture, and society of America. The students at Westminster School also learned about Women’s History Month and participated in these celebrations. Westminster School, a private school in Annandale Virginia, dives into the significance of Women’s History Month in the article below.
Why Is Women’s History Month Celebrated?
Abigail Adams to Susan B. Anthony. Sojourner Truth to Rosa Parks. These are just some of the inspiring women who contributed to American culture, history, and society. Women’s History Month celebrates women across the timeline of historical milestones stretching back to the founding of the United States.
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter announced the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week. The following year, the US Congress established this week as a national celebration of women’s history. Six years later, the National Women’s History Project petitioned to expand the event to the entire month of March. Thereafter, every year, the month of March was celebrated as Women's History Month across the country.
Why Is This Month Important?
The celebration of women’s history is an endeavor to understand the context and significance of women’s accomplishments, as well as to honor the long and arduous history of women’s activism and the fight for their rights. This is an essential part of the American education curriculum that schools today follow.
Women’s History Month Celebrations at Westminster School
Celebrating Betsy Ross
Betsy Ross is credited with helping George Washington finish designing and sewing the first US flag. Every March, Ross is remembered for her contributions to history and for the symbol of patriotism she helped develop.
At Westminster School, during Women’s History Month, the first-graders were introduced to Betsy Ross in their social studies lesson with Miss North. The students then engaged in a step-by-step activity to draw Betsy Ross and her famous flag. Not only did they learn something about a remarkable woman, but they also learned how to persevere with this activity.
Knowing Abigail Adams
John Adams, the second president of the United States, was married to Abigail Adams, his wife and closest advisor. One of the first advocates of women's equal education and women's property rights, Abigail Adams pioneered the fight for women in a time when women had few rights.
The eighth-graders learned about Abigail Adams in Mrs. Jacobson’s class by reading one of the hundreds of letters this former first lady of the United States exchanged with John Adams. This primary source lesson helped the students see how well-read Abigail Adams was and how much her spouse relied on her for her intelligence and innate political instincts. In a time when women were expected to adhere solely to domestic life, John valued her as his intellectual equal and primary confidant and advisor in all things personal and professional.
An examination of her writing about the prospect of the colonies declaring independence highlights Abigail’s political prowess. The eighth-graders were able to compare some of her ideas about the nature of men and government to those of Machiavelli or David Hume, whom the students had previously studied in lessons on the Renaissance and Enlightenment.
Why Westminster School?
Westminster School is a private school that stands apart from other educational institutions by adhering to a high standard of excellence in classical education for the twenty-first century. Established in 1962, Westminster School continues to prepare its graduates for successful and fulfilling lives through a classical education delivered in an exceptionally nurturing environment. A traditional and time-tested approach, classical education has educated some of the greatest thinkers and innovators of the world across history.
The school’s mission includes character development and preparation for the children to succeed and become leaders in all areas of life. The school encourages high achievement in academics, arts, sports, community service, personal presentation, confidence, and poise, and it inspires a matchless enthusiasm for life’s possibilities in its students.
