Women’s History Month
In celebration of Women’s History Month in March, we want to remember some influential women from the history of education and recognize the inspirational leaders in education today. These women have paved the way, and continue to do so, for the women leaders and educators of today and tomorrow.
Emma Hart Willard (1787-1870) – Willard started the first school for females, offering an equal or better education than men received at the time. She helped give young women the opportunity to have an education at a time when they were expected to learn only the rules and ways of the house and home.
Sarah Pierce (1767-1852) – Pierce founded the Litchfield Female Academy, the first school dedicated to the higher education of women. Students from across the United States and from around the world came to study at her school.
Nannie Helen Burroughs (1879-1961)– In addition to being a church leader and suffrage supporter, Burroughs founded the National Training School for Women and Girls as a national model school for the teaching of African American women at the time. Burroughs trained her students to become respectable employees and emphasized the important of bring a proud black women to all students by teaching African-American history and culture.
Mary Mason Lyon (1797-1849) – Lyon founded Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, the first college for females. The school was aimed at middle-class girls of the day because Lyon felt that educating this particular group of women would have the greatest influence on changing the standards for women overall.
Diana Oblinger – Educause’s President and CEO, Oblinger previously served as the company’s Vice President and was responsible for the association’s teaching and learning activities and the Educause Learning Initiative. Oblinger has held positions with both Microsoft and IBM, and has served as a faculty member at two universities and as an Associate Dean at the University of Missouri. Oblinger currently serves on a number of boards and is a frequent keynote speaker. She has written a number of books and received several awards because of her work in the fields of education and education technology.
Rosabeth M. Kanter – Kanter, a professor at the Harvard Business School, has been recognized as one of the “50 most powerful women of the world” as well as one of the “50 most influential business leaders in the world”. Having written or contributed to 18 books and receiving 23 honorary doctoral degrees, Kanter continues to teach and inspire the business leaders of tomorrow.
Katherine C. Boles – Boles writes and teaches about teacher education, school reform, and new forms of teacher leadership. Her work advocates real and positive changes in public policy with the aim of restructureing the field of teaching. She cofounded the Learning/Teaching Collaborative, a professional development school that ties public schools and colleges in the Boston area together.
We appreciate all of the energy and work these women have poured into improving the lives of women and the field of education!
Who inspires you? Leave a comment below on the people (men and women) who have inspired you as an educator.
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