Persuasive 5th Graders

Dawson fifth graders were challenged to write a persuasive/opinion essay on anything about which they felt strongly.  The class used it as a way to practice organizing thoughts and research. They were also invited to share those thoughts with the wider world; Dawson encourages students to discover and use their voice in many ways. Here are four of the essays.

WOMEN VS. MEN - by Lauren Muniz
   I believe that people judging women based on their gender is wrong. This is a big issue because people can't always assume that women are just highly feminine, passive, graceful, weak, and sexy. Some people just assume that all women are the same even though no two females are the same. Also, a lot of people don't think women are athletic. Some examples of inequalities are that there are differences between salaries for men and women doing the same job. In sports there are inequalities, disadvantages in education for women, and women are more likely to live below the poverty line. This is not ok. Some people say, "You run like a girl, play like a girl, and you play good for a girl." This can't happen. We need to change this so that women and men are equal. Here are some shocking facts about women and men's differences.
   Women get paid less than men even though they do the same work. In 2015 studies showed that no country in the world had equal pay for women. An example of pay inequality is that the US women's national team has won 3 world cups, is ranked 1st in the world, has four Olympic gold medals, and has notched seven cocacaf gold cup wins. The US men's national team has never done better than the quarterfinals in the World Cup and failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympic's in rio and yet the men get paided more than the women. Women earn about 78 cents for every dollar made by men. A player on the U.S. Women's National soccer team made about 1.2 million after winning their third World Cup. A player on the U.S. Men's National soccer team made 1.4 million after competing in the World Cup and not making it to the finals. The men made about 200,000 more than the women even though the men lost. Another shocking study found that the median income for men working full time was $50,383 and the median income for women working full time was $39,621 the difference is $10,762. Did you know that about two thirds of minimum wage workers are women? Equal pay for women is super important, so lets get equal pay rights.
   There are a bunch of inequalities in sports for women. An example of this is that the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) still lurks in the shadows of the NBA (National Basketball Association). This makes it difficult for female athletes to be taken seriously. As Malala said, "We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back" Malala Yousafzai and women athletes aren't succeeding because people don't take them seriously. Women don't get paid as much as men making it difficult for them to stand out in their sport. Women are thought of as weak, graceful, and fragile, but that's just a label, and that's not true.
   When someone says a nasty comment about you, you should stand up for yourself and all the other women that this person is categorizing. "Your voice is your strongest weapon" says Malala Yousafzai, so use your voice. You can't just do nothing about it.
   Women are more likely to live in poverty. Over half the Americans (over half of 37 million) in America that live in poverty are women. 13.8 percent of females are poor compared to men which is 11.1 percent. Women live in poverty more than men because they aren't paid as much (which really adds up) and are thought of as weak. There are record numbers of women living in extreme poverty. If women get paid as much as men this number could decrease by a lot. Equal pay and rights would help a bunch of women in need. Imagine if you lived in poverty because you weren't being paid as much. We need equal rights. This is a big issue even if you aren't a woman living in poverty.
   Women have a bunch of disadvantages in education every day. In India, women aren't supposed to go to school, they are supposed to stay home and work to aid the family. Here is an example that is huge, On October 9, 2012 a man shot 15 year old Malala Yousafzia in the head for pursuing her right to go to school. They had to remove the part of her skull that she was shot in so her brain could swell up. Then they put that part of her skull in her stomach for safe keeping. Malala got the consequence because of a man who didn't believe that women should go to school. Malala has grown up to be a big part of the women's movement. "I believe in equality. And I believe that there is no difference between a man and a woman. I even believe that a woman is more powerful than a man." -Malala Yousafzai. People think that a girl's education isn't as important as a boy's education but girls' education is just as important as boys' education. Girls and women deserve education rights so they can go to school without being hurt by a man or stopped by people that don't believe that women should go to school. Girls, and womens' education rights are super important so let's get these rights for every girl, woman, and country in the world. Every girl has the right to go to school.
   These big issues should be fixed. Women should get equal pay, the right to go to school, to not live in poverty as much, and to play sports without inequalities. Why do people think men are better, stronger, faster, and more aggressive than women? I believe in women and I believe in equality for women. No more pink for girls and blue for boys. No more princess for girls and cars for boys. Change. Change is the word that we need to use to stop inequality and disadvantages for women. Equal rights, equal rights, equal rights!
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