Collaborative Girl Power

Back when I was in sixth grade, I sure don’t remember that the girls I knew even being conscious of helping each other with personal turmoil, let alone collaborative projects. Thank goodness that old model has been turned upside down. In my experience (my workshops), I see the the opposite of Mean Girls happening. I see girls bravely standing up for each other, helping, encouraging and doing what they can to make sure everyone succeeds. When did this happen? I think my own daughter missed this phenomenon by a few years.

As I’ve hosted some biggish tween and teen Maker birthday parties, I’ve observed that these young girls seem have been well educated that the success of the entire group is much better than the success of only a few. They take great delight in each other’s unique designs and are plenty generous with the compliments and comments.  WHAT IS THIS NEW WORLD? Can it be a taste girlhood’s positive evolution? That’s so far from my experience when we were all just trying our best we could to cobble together our pitiful little project and take it home to a family who might make fun of it, or for sure not be too impressed by our work. Not all families were like that, but if you had three older brothers, chances were, back then, that someone would be making fun of you, no matter what you did. Along with that, we were told that it would make us stronger. As an adult and a mom who raised three kids, I can tell you that that theory was no good. It did NOT make you stronger, it made you feel sad and unappreciated. Luckily, times have changed and parents have a much stronger drive to understand child development and how to raise strong, confident and empowered kids. And girls aren’t excluded.

In this day and age, it’s common knowledge that if you can successfully collaborate at a young age, you’ve got a lot of adulthood mastered. Most of us didn’t learn it from our parents or teachers. We muddled through bad group projects, gave and received harsh feedback, and usually felt frustrated with the group to which we were assigned. Obviously, someone in charge woke up and realized that group collaboration is a skill worth teaching and certainly worth learning. And if you’re a girl with goals, collaborative skills should be a priority. Bright women have long understood the value of well stocked (figurative) toolbox of useful skills, practical and universal knowledge, and rich life experiences.  Up until recently, that hasn’t necessarily helped us with equality at work, equal pay, well deserved promotions and plum opportunities.  But the times are changing.  There will be a need for well rounded kids now more than ever. Girls and boys alike need to round out their interests. Women and men who’ve been raised with A balanced diet of all different kinds of mastery is what the world will be in need of. diverse instruction, trying different activities, learning outside of the curricula, hope parents see the benefit of well rounded kidsteach their daughters to  Good mentors, good teachers, good collaborations, and a strong, powerful, comfortable sense of who you are—GURRRL–go get after it! Let me know how I can help.