How can we use our voices, bodies, and imaginations to investigate gender roles throughout the world?

What do the societies and people of Rwanda and the United States have in common? How do they differ?

Each year, the Lord Stirling 4th Grade educators have been interested in exploring an aspect of their curriculum through a current-event or theme. This year, they were interested in exploring gender and power structures. Partnering with a GSP teaching artist, the team decided to focus on matriarchies and patriarchies, explored through gender politics in Rwanda. Each class explored a non-fiction Rwandan story through various exercises based in gender roles/stereotypes and matriarchies/patriarchies. This process resulted in a refined understanding of the complex, contemporary Rwandan culture, as well as a deeper understanding of their own. The residency culminated in a sharing from each class, and then a discussion about the connections between each presentation.