Where Girls Come First [Paperback]

Ilana DeBare (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2005

Twenty years ago, all-girls schools seemed headed for extinction, a minor footnote in the story of American education. Today, they are experiencing a dramatic revival. In Where Girls Come First, Ilana DeBare interweaves the first complete history of girls' schools in America with her own personal story of cofounding an all-girls school in Oakland, California, in 1999. A chronicle of daily life at girls' schools over the past two hundred years, DeBare's book also illuminates the strong convictions of parents and educators that have fueled the rise of new all-girls schools throughout the country. It is an important contribution to the current debate on single-sex education in America.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ilana DeBare helped found the Julia Morgan School for Girls in Oakland, California. She is formerly a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle and The Sacramento Bee.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (March 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585423947
• ISBN-13: 978-1585423941
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,663,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Girls are valued for brains and heart, not just looks, March 17, 2005

By 

Susan "teacher" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where Girls Come First (Paperback)

I loved this book. Anyone who is interested in the education of girls today will find it a fascinating journey. The narrative weaves back and forth between the history of girls schools filled with amazingly strong and dedicated women and the author's working hard with others to establish a new girl's school in California. This is a book for anyone who went to a girls school, anyone with a daughter and anyone interested in how we educate girls in our pressure filled society. Ms. DeBare is a great storyteller.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great information in an easy-to-digest format, June 6, 2005

By 

B. Hawks (Chattanooga, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Where Girls Come First (Paperback)

I enjoyed DeBare's book so much! I attended an all-girls school (what fun to read about it in her book!) and am preparing for a career teaching in one, so I was excited to run across this history. DeBare has a vested interest in girls' schools, both their strengths as great places for girls and their weaknesses, including a checkered history that has included both innovative opportunities for young women and stultifying traditions that hold women back. Her research has revealed a wide range of issues in all-female education over the past few centuries, a number of interesting characters among girls'-school founders, and, of course, numerous traditions that make girls' schools distinctive places to grow up. Her book lends her readers a great perspective on how we have ended up where we are, and what we need to keep in mind as we take all-girls schools into the 21st century.

My only frustration was with the writing style--having worked as a journalist, DeBare often uses short, simple sentences to the point of irritation, but this style also makes her book an easy read that doesn't bog down her reader. Highly recommended for anyone interested in single-sex education!

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Fails to ask the hard questions, January 26, 2008

By 

Madeleine Morin (Oakland, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Where Girls Come First (Paperback)

"Where Girls Come First" is akin to indicating you have a favorite aunt when you only have one. Girls come first because there are no boys, the hard question is - is this type of education in girl's interest?

I read this book before enrolling my daughter in a Catholic High School profiled in the book, before I had any knowledge or opinions of how positive the experience would be. I can say with great certainty that this type of education is not good for anyone. The girls are aimed at the least common denominator; financial resources are just not adequate; administrative positions are antiquated and intractable. Parent of boys would just not put up with the deficiencies present in this type of girl's school

Julia Morgan, which Ms. DeBare helped create, is a school created by the parents with parents in mind. This turns out to be a positive formula as it keeps parents very much in the lives of their middle school girls. This is very different than the girl's schools of old, where parents are turned aside at the door and realize too late that they've sacrificed the quality of education for some degree of "safety".

This book should have asked the hard questions -- do the schools profiled offer a better educational experience for girls that at comparable co-ed schools? If not why not? If so, why aren't they flourishing?