A 'her-story' lesson in Valley Stream

“Why do we pay attention or learn about women’s history in the month of March?” Assemblyman Brian Curran asked several dozen students at the Robert W. Carbonaro School last week.

What was once silence, broken only by the soft tapping of a computer keyboard in the school’s library, then ignited into energetic shouts from a lively group of fifth-graders. Curran’s question had made an impression and got them thinking. “Because women played an important role in our history,” one young student called out.

Years ago, women’s rights pioneers and activists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered remarkable speeches fighting for their civil liberties. Denied the right to vote, hold elected offices and own property, women did not have it easy, Curran noted. And instead of accepting the status quo, women raised their voices for equality. Curran’s lesson celebrated those voices that spoke volumes on March 17.

The interactive lesson engaged students in a questions game. Testing their knowledge of historic events like the Suffrage movement — a reform period where women organized for voting rights and secured the 19th amendment in 1920 — the rousing game brought laughter and a light-hearted spirit. Split up into respective boys’ and girls’ teams, the students answered 11 questions, identifying influential women throughout history.

Students knew that the first woman on the Supreme Court was Sandra Day O’Connor and that Harriet Tubman led passengers on the Underground Railroad. And on the bonus question, the girls shouted that Sally Wright was the first female astronaut. Their excitement spread like rapid wildfire — cheers erupted and women’s history informational books were given out for each correct answer. The girls’ team then won 8-4.

“Just like Black History Month, it’s important to take the time out to learn about all these individuals in women’s history,” Curran said, “because what happens when you go and read their stories is you find out what type of courage they had, what type of determination they had to do what they did. It wasn’t easy what they did and certainly not easy what they accomplished…you learn most important that if you want to do something, even if it’s impossible to reach, you can do it.”

He added that if it was not for individuals like Susan B. Anthony, who started the Suffrage movement, there would not be female congresswomen and assemblywomen.

His words resonated with the audience. “I thought it was a very informative, wonderful assembly,” said teacher Deborah Adler. “It fit in with the curriculum and it was great to see the government in action.”

Fifth-grader Shane Sackichand said it was exciting to see Curran visit the school to talk about his job — the children also learned a large part of being an assemblyman is to work on a budget and find money for schools.

Principal Lisa Conte and District 24 Superintendent Dr. Edward Fale, who also attended, both agreed that Curran did an outstanding job. “There was a nice focus on women’s history,” Conte said, “and he explained the process of being an assemblyman very well.”