Education

Historically, if you weren’t wealthy, white, and male, access to formal education was limited. That never stopped women and girls from striving to get as much education as possible. Teaching and learning at kitchen tables, in church basements, in one-room classrooms, and at Ivy League universities, women continue to use their agency to push for equal educational access. According to findings published by the Pew Research Center in June 2019, women are now half of the U.S. college-educated workforce.

Read the Story Behind this Object

In school, girls are taught to fit in. This video from our Girlhood (It's complicated) exhibition looks at how in classrooms, on the playground, at lunch, and even in the bathroom, girls learn how to behave, what to wear, what to say, and what to study. They learn the rules, and they learn how to break the rules. In this mix, girls confront what society expects from them. Like anyone being "schooled," girls talk back.

Collection Objects

Learn about these featured stories or see more examples of education in our collections.

  • Betsey’s sampler includes three distinguishing features of Rhode Island samplers; trumpeting angels with embroidered faces, queen stitch flowers, and a three-story house.
    Supporting Revolution with Needle and Thread
  • A skirt and blouse in a matching alphabetical print of blue, teal, and white on a black background. The blouse fastens with small black buttons, has a pointed collar and short sleeves that tie into bows at the cuffs. The skirt is full and has several plea
    A Brave Stand against Segregated Education at Little Rock Central High School
  • 1876 Ellen Harding Baker's "Solar System" Quilt
    Teaching the Solar System with a Quilt
  • Lego figurines of Margaret Hamilton, Katherine Johnson, Sally Ride, Nancy Grace Roman, and Mae Jemison.
    Immortalizing NASA Women in LEGO® Minifigure Prototypes
  • This postcard shows a woman sitting on the observing chair in front of a large refracting telescope. The accompanying text reads, “Prof. Maria Mitchell in the Observatory at Vassar College. June 1878.”
    Astronomer Maria Mitchell Mentored Women in Science
  • Mary McLeod Bethune stands in front of a painting of a house and palm trees.
    Empowering Black Women through Education

Conversation Kit

  • Let's Talk! Juliette Gordon Low and the Girl Scouts Conversation Kit

    PDF icon Juliette Gordon Low and the Girl Scouts Teaching and Discussion Guide

    Grades 6–12. Time: Variable (1–3 class periods). Aligned to CCSS standards.

    In this lesson plan students will learn about Juliette Gordon Low's founding of the Girl Scouts in 1912 and how this helped change expectations of girls and their roles as community members and citizens. Students will examine the question: How can education change expectations of what girls can and should be?

Videos

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    The sisters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. fundraised to buy and distribute books throughout the segregated South to provide students with critical educational tools.

  • In 1961, Pantoja founded ASPIRA ("to strive" in Spanish), an organization dedicated to improving disproportionally low Latino high school graduation rates. ASPIRA won a landmark lawsuit in 1972 that mandated bilingual education in the New York City school system. Pantoja's efforts in education earned her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996.

  • Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, Vice Chair, Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents and President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute gives opening remarks at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture grand opening dedication ceremony.

  • As a teacher, Julia Child shared her love for culinary arts with the world.

Playlist

Smithsonian American Women book cover.

Smithsonian American Women

Remarkable objects and stories of strength, ingenuity, and vision from the National Collection.

Smithsonian American Women book cover.
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