Behind the Art: You Are Valuable

March 08, 2021

 


The inspiration for this piece of artwork came from a quotation from Hillary Clinton's concession speech from the 2016 election. I was moved by this sentence that she spoke near the end of her speech, because I feel it in my heart that girls (and women) are everything, and deserving of everything, that Hillary said.

As a preschool teacher, I have shifted my language and the way that I approach educating little girls, like instead of saying "you're a strong girl" I just say "you're strong". I never added "boy" to the end of the sentence when I was talking to one of my little boys, so why was I adding "girl" to the end of the sentence for the little girls. 

This shift is subtle, but it has helped me to realise the language that we use when talking to children, and how we can use it to build up rather than just make it seem like they'll only ever be what society tells them they'll be. You may have heard the phrase "words matter", well, the words that we hear as children can become our inner voice as adults. I don't want to teach little girls that they are strong, for a girl, I want to teach them that they are powerful and capable of pursuing their dreams no matter what they look like!



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