An engaging and aspirational book about raising confident and independent-minded adolescent girls, educator Jeannie Norris draws on her sixteen years of experience as head of an all-girls independent school to address the issues that challenge today’s girls and their parents. With wit and insight she combines stories about her own Midwest upbringing, principles that governed her daily practice, and a discussion of a broad range of contemporary writing about girls and society. After each essay she includes tips and tactics, tried and tested in her work with many parents who were committed to their daughters’ healthy growth but often puzzled over what to do next. This is an important collection of ideas that are useful as we guide our daughters to be confident in who they are and to prepare to have influence in the world.
Jeannie Norris’s voice in Parenting Great Girls: Giving Our Daughters the Courage to Live Authentic and Fulfilling Lives reflects her amazing ability to communicate across generations. She understands girls today and can speak to parents and teachers with a voice that reflects her deep appreciation of the joys and challenges of working with adolescent girls. Through her writing she illustrates the great potential that is untapped in girls and points out where and how that potential gets sidetracked and undermined. Most importantly she teaches us the skills necessary to work successfully with today’s adolescents. This is a hopeful, optimistic, and instructive volume and should be essential reading for anyone who is raising a daughter.
Christine Shelton, Professor, Smith College, Co-Director, Project on Women and Social Change