Sub Notes: How Times Have Changed, Part II

Things have changed a lot in secondary schools in the past few years, and some of those changes are wonderful. Most amazing to me is the girls. They don’t have a clue what we went through. By the time I was twenty, I’d experienced several indecent exposures and had had someone try to lure me into his car. My mother acted like that was no big deal. Now, of course, it would have made headlines. Construction workers hooted and catcalled, and total strangers grabbed. The workplace was sometimes the worst; even as a young teacher, I once had a male teacher grab me going up the stairs, an older one tried to hold my hand like I was a child rather than a colleague, and even a principal once said something vaguely lewd.

We were teased if we were too pretty, too ugly, too girly, too boyish, too wimpy, too sporty, too fat or too thin. I used to notice how so many girls walked—crumpled over themselves with their arms crossed in front of their breasts, minimizing their girlness.

Now I’m awed by the way some of them walk like she-warriors, owning themselves, the room, and the world. They are unabashed and unafraid. They speak up and speak out. They can be feminine and powerful at the same time. Some can go way overboard without question, but the quiet confidence some of these girls exude is inspiring.

Sometimes as I stand outside the classroom door ostensibly doing hall duty, I see them striding by, and I think to myself, “You go girl.” I hope they go far.

Yep, times have changed. Just as they should.

Birthday Girl to her friend:  "That’s okay.  You don’t need to hug me.  I have ‘personal space’ issues."

Boy:  (nodding commiseratively) "A lot of us do."
~Conversation overheard among A.P. English students