female role models

I hope although its not a rural story (on the basis that it has resonances for all schools including rural ones) “And finally…” readers will forgive me for profiling this story on the basis that its an excuse to quote a brilliant line from one of the Bard’s best female characters .In a fantastic line which proves he was a man for all times Shakespeare has Cleopatra say on hearing of the death of Mark Anthony

“And there is nothing left remarkable beneath the visiting moon”

Makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end! This story tells us how in one visionary school:

Girls are to be taught to see Shakespearean heroines such as Cleopatra as positive role models to supplant social media superstars such as Kim Kardashian, in a programme being launched at a London secondary school.

Jane Lunnon, headteacher of Wimbledon High School, said she devised the programme after discovering that many pupils at the £17,000-a-year independent school named Kardashian and singer Taylor Swift as their role models.

Students will be given classes introducing them to Shakespearean female characters such as Cleopatra, Viola from Twelfth Night and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing, given a contemporary makeover.

“My school is full of really aspirational, delightful young women, but they are just as likely to cite Taylor Swift or Kim Kardashian as a role model as Malala [Yousafzai] or Michelle Obama. In fact, slightly more likely, and quite passionately defend them as being great businesswomen.