A Message from BWHT Project Coordinator Sara Masucci	ProclaimHer is published by the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail 22 Holbrook Street Boston, MA 02130 617-522-2872 howsmoyer@aol.com www.bwht.org Board of Directors President: Mary Howland Smoyer Vice President: Sylvia McDowell Secretary: Liane Curtis Treasurer: Gretchen O ’Neill Meg Campbell Julie Crockford Charlotte Harris Erica Hirshler Vera Johnson Diana Lam Barbara Locurto Maria de los Angeles Montes Beverly Morgan-Welch Deborah Rossi Patricia Sarango Elaine Taber Marie A.Turley Susan Wilson Advisory Board Barbara Clark Elam Carol Geyer Jean Gibran Polly Welts Kaufman Loretta Roach Nan Stein Joyce Stevens Stephanie Wong-Fan Consultant Bonnie Hurd Smith Sara Masucci The Boston Women’s Heritage Trail is a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 as a program of the Boston Public Schools.Through educational programs, publications, and outreach initiatives, the BWHT is dedicated to weaving the lives and work of women back into the story of the City of Boston. We are available for research assistance, speaking engagements, and to collaborate on programs and projects. Editor: Mary Smoyer Design: Patricia Sarango Logo design: Ginny O ’Neil
Learning of the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail last year, I was thrilled to find that women’s history was not only being uncovered in Boston, but it was being taught to young people as well. As a student of education, with a background in and a passion for women’s issues and history, BWHT was a perfect fit for my interests and knowledge. Fortunately for me, BWHT was looking for someone to take on a new project: the Women’s History Art Contest. Preparing to work with Boston Public School teachers and students, I created a slide show and began to really investigate the lives and work of the women highlighted in the Boston Women’s Memorial Sculpture, Abigail Adams, Lucy Stone, and Phillis Wheatley.       Now I am excited to be coordinating the Boston Women’s Memorial Curriculum project which will take the next step towards integrating women’s history into the schools.       The women honored in the Memorial are powerful representatives of women’s historical accomplishments and are especially commanding women in Boston’s history. Their influential writings, passion for social justice, and commitment to actively working for change, make these women particularly significant illustrations of women’s strength and ability to advance social change. Due to their exemplary actions, these women present a wonderful opportunity to teach young people about women’s contributions to our nation’s history–an area of our past habitually overlooked in education.       The Boston Women’s Memorial Curriculum, while structured around the women of the Memorial, will also act as a conduit for teaching about gender and women’s history. The Curriculum will provide: Background information about the Memorial Biographical information on its three subjects Additional information about Boston’s history and other important women who were contemporaries of the subjects Primary source materials for classroom activities Reproducible activities for teacher use Extensive details on further resources      In addition to these material resources, seminars and workshops will be provided to help teachers learn methods for teaching about women’s history and gender. Our goal is to have a select group of teachers begin piloting the curriculum during the 2002-2003 school year. I am looking forward to the exciting challenge of finding innovative and engaging methods for involving both teachers and students in this important undertaking.
Back	Next