This year the United Nations (UN) has chosen‘Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality’ as the theme for International Women’s Day (IWD23) on Wednesday, 8 March. Coming swiftly on the back of World Book Day (WBD23) the week before, this provides an excellent, timely opportunity to share news of exciting technological developments in the teaching of English at St George’s, Ascot.
Explaining the context for the choice of theme, the UN website acknowledges that ‘Today, a persistent gender gap in digital access keeps women from unlocking technology’s full potential. Their underrepresentation in STEM education and careers remains a major barrier to their participation in tech design and governance.’ In its centenary year, St George's, Ascot reflects back on the progress made in women’s education at the School over the last century and looks to a future in which, in contrast to the challenges highlighted by the UN, technology and learning innovation is very much at the forefront of its pupils’ educational and co-curricular experience.
Today, a persistent gender gap in digital access keeps women from unlocking technology’s full potential. Their underrepresentation in STEM education and careers remains a major barrier to their participation in tech design and governance.
The United Nations
At the start of the spring term, the pupils of Year 8 embarked on an exciting new project that incorporated a very different approach to the teaching of non-fiction persuasive writing. Tasked with designing, branding and promoting their take on the humble chair, through the process, pupils learned about marketing and advertising, and how important the spoken and written word is when selling and promoting ideas and products. Working in teams, they prepared presentations on Google slides and used film-making technology to create advertising that specifically appealed to their target audience. The project concluded with a Dragon’s Den style pitch to ‘the board’ - Head of Business and Economics, Mr Wilkins and current parent, Mr Martin - giving the girls invaluable public speaking experience and the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge, professionalism and persuasiveness in response to the Dragons’ questions.
Previously, the school’s own poets contributed to the digital future of literature, with submissions from twenty one Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils chosen for publication in the Young Writers’ ‘Power of Poetry’ competition in the autumn term. Writing on the theme of ‘The Power of Words’, the girls created a digital piece which they submitted to Young Writers through an online portal. The girls’ work was then published and the printed anthology was presented to the winners on World Book Day in assembly.
Head of English, Mrs Lauren Baker, is convinced that opportunities such as this, moving from pen and paper to the keyboard, dramatically increases young people’s engagement with literature and is instrumental in bringing the teaching of stereotypically traditional subjects into the current age. Throughout the week of WBD23, pupils enjoyed a superb series of events run by the school Library educating the girls about ground breaking female authors and inspiring titles of the last century to celebrate the School’s own history and legacy.
The common themes at St George’s, then, are becoming clear; there is an enduring love of literacy and language, but in more recent times, an ambition to strategically use technology to explore new teaching methodology. Projects such as these are great examples of how teachers at St George's ably dovetail digital access and capability with traditional learning, empowering the School's tech-savvy girls to battle the persistent gender gap and unlock technology’s potential to the very full.