Excerpted Reflections on Writing Lucy Stone Biographies

Westie students prepare children's biographies of Lucy Stone

" Lucy didn't like the idea that a woman could not choose to be educated. So as the years moved onward, her love for education and her belief in women rights grew. Her beliefs became different from her father's. She did not believe that men should dominate women…"

"When Lucy was living, women were not allowed to make speeches in public, something Lucy liked to do. When she went to college she took some oratory classes and found out she was quite good at it. However, she could not speak in the class, she had to practice with just women. Lucy was denied her right of free speech because she was a women…"

"Lucy Stone was a strong woman who traveled all over the country in order to give women equal rights. Now in the twenty-first century, women are able to make public speeches, get an education, become doctors, keep their maiden names, own property, and best of all, vote. Lucy Stone helped women get those rights…"

Student reflections on writing non-fiction versus fiction:

"I found that writing a non-fiction story was more difficult. I really had to have my facts correct, and I couldn't make up an ending. If I could, I would have had Lucy Stone be the first women president…"

"I started thinking about women's rights in Haiti because that is where I come from. I think that the US has better rights for women and because of this more Haitians should move to the US…"

"I found the research as challenging…it exercised my brain…"

"I've become interested in this subject of women's rights. I want to learn more about other women who worked for women's rights…"