Yale Needs Women by Anne Gardiner Perkins

YALE NEEDS WOMEN by Anne Gardiner Perkins was just released this week and I am actually reading this book in tandem with Paul Tough’s new work about college, The Years That Matter Most. It is truly fascinating to reflect on changes and the differing experiences across generations. Perkins is writing about “How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy League Giant,” chronicling the experiences of several women who were among the first of their gender to attend Yale. For some of our students, it may be hard to believe that Yale and many other schools were only integrated gender-wise in the late 1960s and early 1970s, a generation or so ago.  Perkins does an excellent job of describing the feelings of those pioneering co-eds and her work could readily apply to events at other schools, like Union College.  In fact, Booklist says that YALE NEEDS WOMEN is “recommended for teens [because] teens approaching college age, especially those involved in social justice, will enjoy this window into a not-actually-that-distant past.”   

Perkins' book, though, is not just about the decision to admit women, but about what happened next and how subtle (or not so subtle) traditions and rituals impacted their experiences: “‘The worst part was being constantly conspicuous, which is something you don’t think about until it happens to you,’ said one freshman girl.”  Extremely well-researched, YALE NEEDS WOMEN contains a chart about the sources for oral histories and interviews, plus extensive notes (50+ pages), an index, and some black and white photos from the time.  Please look for a copy on our shelves soon – I am looking forward to having many conversations with interested readers. We still have much to do, as Perkins emphasizes through a number of statistics in her epilogue: “Women students today graduate at a higher rate than their male classmates, but their bachelor’s degrees earn them just 74 cents on the dollar compared to what men with the same credentials are paid. En route to that degree, one in five women is sexually assaulted. Nationally, women represent just 32 percent of full professors, and 26 percent of college and university presidents. … The battle … is not yet done.” 

The Years That Matter Most by Paul Tough

THE YEARS THAT MATTER MOST by Paul Tough has been generating quite a bit news lately. Please NOTE that Paul Tough will be a FAN (Family Action Network) speaker at 7:00pm on Monday, Sept. 16 at the Cornog Auditorium on our Northfield campus; more details here.   

Tough is known for his earlier best-selling work, How Children Succeed, and he contributes regularly to The New York Times, such as with this recent and very popular article: “What College Admissions Offices Really Want” which itself is adapted from this new book where Tough writes about “How College Makes or Breaks Us,” compiling anecdotes and statistics.  He begins the book with a student waiting to hear admissions decisions from Princeton and University of Pennsylvania who says, “It feels like everything is depending on this. Which sounds dramatic, I know. But it’s true.” That emotion is certainly consistent with attitudes from our students and some parents, too. Tough empathizes and goes on to argue that “in sharp contrast to other ages and other cultures, mobility in the United States today depends, in large part, on what happens to individuals during a relatively brief period in late adolescence and early adulthood.” He outlines the studies which Raj Chetty has conducted about social mobility and the role of college.  One point I found particularly interesting was Tough’s summary that “in prewar [WWII] America, it may have taken pluck and elbow grease [i.e., entrepreneurship] to rise above your birth, but in postwar America, what it usually took was a college degree.” What about the future? Is this situation changing yet again in the 21st century?   

Tough also offers an entire chapter on fitting in, describing the experiences of first generation students at Princeton, Amherst and elsewhere. He later addresses the Graduation Gap, plus feelings of belonging and inclusion in a chapter titled “Staying In.” Tough describes a variety of higher education programs and approaches in a very engaging and thought-provoking manner. He moves between individual stories to a societal lens, looking, for example, at the role of the federal government and contrasting proposals from FDR and the Obama White House. I have already been recommending this new book to teachers, parents, and administrators, including our Post-High School Counselors. It is fascinating. Student researchers will appreciate the over 30 pages of notes and useful index. THE YEARS THAT MATTER MOST received starred reviews from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly.

Added: here is a video of his interview (aired Sept. 13 and lasting about 10 minutes) on PBS NewsHour:

The Penguin Book of Migration Literature

THE PENGUIN BOOK OF MIGRATION LITERATURE by Dohra Ahmad, a professor of English at St. John’s University, is split into four sections: Departures, Arrivals, Generations, and Returns, plus a foreword by award-winning author Edwidge Danticat. Honestly, I have been very excited about this book and have several teachers who may consider using it with their classes. The selections here are varied – in terms of genre (poetry, essay, memoir, story); in terms of geography (to/from countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia) and in terms of time (ranging from colonial times to the 21st century). As a result, there is plenty of choice for sparking student interest and adding to the curriculum. Many of the authors (e.g., Mohsin Hamid, Julie Otsuka, Salman Rushdie and Marjane Satrapi to name just a few) will be ones students already know and read or ones to whom they should be introduced. Booklist says, “Recommended for teens: The diversity of viewpoints and genres makes for an invaluable introduction to the personal dimensions of global immigration.” I am truly looking forward to working with teachers and to developing projects related to these readings which deal with issues like the motivations for migrating, the reality (and sometimes disappointment) of reaching a destination, the different experiences for children and parents, and the multi-directional nature of movement.  Thank you to Penguin and to Dohra Ahmad for compiling the much needed collection (accompanied by almost twenty pages of suggestions for further reading and viewing) in THE PENGUIN BOOK OF MIGRATION LITERATURE.

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

THIS TENDER LAND by William Kent Krueger (author of Ordinary Grace and Cork O’Connor mysteries) is a new work of historical fiction that received a starred review from Library Journal and was a LibraryReads selection for September.  In an author’s note Krueger says, “I’ve poured the best of myself into this story … [as a key character says] ‘open yourself to every possibility, for there is nothing your heart can imagine that is not so.’”  Set in Minnesota in the summer of 1932, Krueger’s novel deals with themes of social justice, survival, and belonging. THIS TENDER LAND tells the story of four orphans, “impish” Odie (the narrator) and his older brother, mechanically minded Albert, plus their very strong Sioux friend Mose/Amdacha and little Emmy whom they all try to protect. Together, the four take a canoe on the Gilead River towards the Mississippi in the hopes of eventually finding family in Saint Louis. Along the way, they encounter cruelty and kindness, sickness and hunger, as well as joy through friendship and music. Booklist also recommends THIS TENDER LAND, saying “teens will enjoy this historical crossover novel of adventure, and identify with its young protagonist.” My only concern is the length – 464 pages is too long for a required read and only the more motivated students will select it as an independent choice. Those who do will find that the characters are appealing and their travels and adventures certainly pull readers through the story. Adults and book groups, particularly those who liked Where the Crawdads Sing, should definitely consider this heartland tale, too. Highly recommended.