Like a Flower

Written By Taylor Faulkner

This book is dedicated to my future
students for many years to come.
“It’s Dayzee, but not like the flower Daisy,” she
always said. “Like Day with a Z and a double E
on the end!” She did not want people to be
mislead by her long blonde curly locks, misty
blue eyes, fragile ivory skin, and girlish name.
She wanted everyone to know she was a force
to be reckoned with and nobody was going to
stop her. Stop her from what you ask? Anything,
anything at all.
Dayzee lived in a small town in the mountains of
North Carolina where she was in her second
year at Blue Ridge High. She lived with her
parents and two younger sisters who she loved
very much. Dayzee’s mother worked at a local
TV station as a news reporter and her father was
a English teacher at the high school. Dayzee
wasn’t sure what she wanted to be when she
grew up. All she knew is that she loved helping
people and standing up for what was right.
It was another day of school. Dayzee was sitting
in her first period class wearing her favorite
ACDC shirt and a pair of old blue jeans.Dayzee
grabbed her pencil out of her backpack and
started to write the date on the top of a new
page in her notebook and realized it was March
1st. Women’s History Month! Dayzee loved
Women’s History Month because every year her
mother and two younger sisters got to pick a
weekend where they would go and do “girly”
things. But don’t be confused by this. Dayzee
was not a girly girl and didn’t want anyone
thinking she was. She just loved being able to
spend that time with her mother.
Mr. Miso was Dayzee’s history teacher. He was
an odd individual, and not very friendly. He stood
in front of the class and announced, “Well class,
this month marks Women’s History Month, once
again. We are going to continue to study the
revolutionary war because there is not much to
learn about in Women’s History and it is not as
important as the war.” Dayzee’s shoulders
tensed up, she looked right at Mr. Miso in
disgust and raised her hand high and mighty.
“Yes Dayzee,” Mr. Miso mumbled to the class. “I
just do NOT understand why we wouldn’t study
all of the great women that have helped build
this country. As a teacher you should know that
it is just as important as studying the war, if not
even MORE so,” Dayzee exclaimed. Mr. Miso
wouldn’t even acknowledge Dayzee’s argument,
he scribbled on a piece of paper in front of him
and looked up from his writing. “Dayzee you will
need to head down to the principal's office and
take this with you,” Mr. Miso mumbled once
again. Dayzee walked up to the front of the class
full of anger. She grabbed the note off of Mr.
Miso’s desk and began walking down the hall
with strong steps and fists clinched.
Dayzee had reached the principal's office
knowing what the note had said from Mr. Miso.
The note wrote: Dayzee will need to spend some
time in the office because of disrupting the class
and being disrespectful to the teacher. The
secretary looked at the note and looked back at
Dayzee with a confused look. She took the note,
knocked on the principal’s door, and sent
Dayzee in. When Dayzee was done speaking
with the principal, she was sent to her next class.
Dayzee felt better getting to talk to someone else
about how she felt, but she wasn’t convinced
that there would be any changes made.
The afternoon bell had rung and it was time to
go home. She met her dad at the car, like they
always did, but this time he had a sad look on
his face. They both got into the car and as
Dayzee’s dad started to drive home, he looked
over at her and said, “Dayzee, I talked with the
principal during lunch today. He told me what
happened in Mr. Miso’s class this morning. I just
wanted you to know that I am…” Dayzee held
her breath, because she knew her dad was
upset with her. “I am so proud of you for being
bold enough to ask questions and for not going
along with the crowd,” Dayzee’s dad said. She
was shocked, she was sure her father was upset
with her! Then, Dayzee and her father finished
their talk during the car ride home.
When they had finally got home, Dayzee walked
into the house with her mother standing in the
kitchen over some freshly baked chocolate chip
cookies, Dayzee’s favorite. “Your father texted
me and told me everything. I thought this might
cheer you up,” Dayzee’s mom said with a soft
smile. Dayzee hugged her mother and started to
dig into the warm chocolate chip cookies. “Now
honey, I want you to know that I think what you
did in class today was brave and important.
However, whatever Mr. Miso decides to teach is
his decision and even if you don’t like it you need
to be respectful. I believe that you can do
anything you set your mind to do, and I will
always have your back,” Dayzee’s mom said.
Later that night at the dinner table, Dayzee has a
bright idea. “So I was thinking about what you
both had said earlier, especially the part about
being able to do anything I set my mind to. I
think I really want to start a Women’s history club
at school. A place where we can learn about
women like Sojourner Truth and Ida B. Wells.
Maybe even get the community involved and
hold a March for women,” Dayzee said excitedly.
“Honey, that is an amazing idea,” her mom said.
“Maybe I could get the TV station involved to
help spread the word and get some community
involvement.” “I love that idea,” said her dad. “I
know you are going to need a teacher to be
there to supervise everything, I would love to
help out and be a part of this!”
She had done it! A young women from a small
town had done it. She had started the first
women’s history club in town and even the first
in the city. We all know that this is one of many
stops for Dayzee. She was ready for change and
wanted everyone to be treated equal. Her next
step was to rally up a women’s march in the city
with her club. Did she do it? What do you think?
 Author’s Note
My book is inspired by my life as a young girl growing up in the
mountains of Asheville, North Carolina. Specifically, about women’s
rights and how the area I grew up in impacted my ideas of this. I wanted
to write a children’s book so that young girls, no matter where they are
from, could understand what women have gone through and how they
have the power to change the narrative. I want all of my students to know
that they can do anything they set their minds to just like Dayzee did. I
remember learning in school about women like Jane Addams and
Sojourner Truth and how they were some of the strongest women in
activism. It was then, in those moments, that I knew women were
special and had a lot to fight for. Many years later, at 18 years old, I
decided to start my education at The University of North Carolina at
Charlotte where I began pursuing an elementary education degree. I had
walked into a whole new world. Throughout the program I have met and
worked with many different young girls of all shapes and colors. They
have also been an inspiration for this book. I want them to learn how far
women have come but that our journey is not done.
The big idea I want to focus on is: Women’s rights have come a
long way, but the work for gender equality will never be done. This idea
is important for all students to know because the life that they live now is
because someone had to fight for it. We now live in a very disconnected
society where some young girls and women have never heard of the
Seneca Falls Convention and do not know that in 1920 women gained
the right to vote (this is less than 100 years ago!!). We must take our past
and grow from it.
My book will connect best with the history subject area of social
studies. It will touch on women empowerment, gender equality, and
activism. The NCSS themes that will fit best are: 3) people, places, and
environments 4) individual development and identity 5) individuals,
groups, and institutions 6) power, authority, and governance. My book
connects well with these themes because of my variety of characters,
settings, development, and identity. I also cover women as a whole and
how they fight for and struggle because of power, authority, and
governance.
A great way to use this book in the classroom would be during
women’s history month where teachers can recognize and teach about
women while working on literacy as well. An extension activity could be
writing a letter to the leaders of our country to share their thoughts about
women's rights and what they think needs to be done to help gender
equality. Thank you so much for reading!
 Annotated References
Caines, J. (1985). Just us women. London: ACER Project.
Annotation: This book was a mentor text I used to help inspire some of my writing as it
takes place in North Carolina. A young African American girl is excited about a road trip
with her Aunt Martha. It is a special trip, with the first rule set by Aunt Martha: "No boys
and no men, just us women." It's a trip they've been planning for long time. The bond
between them is powerful and gives you the outlook of a young African American girl’s
life.

Finley, K. (2018, April 7). Personal interview communication.

Annotation: This interview consists of information from a professor at the University of
North Carolina at Charlotte who teaches women and gender studies. Some of the topics
covered were things such as the gender pay gap, women in america’s rights, gender
gap in careers, international women's rights, and teaching young women. She is very
knowledgeable about this topic and had a lot of great ideas for me to keep in mind while
writing my story.

McCully, E. A. (1999). The ballot box battle. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Annotation: I used this children’s book as a mentor text for my writing process. The
book takes place in New Jersey in 1880. A young girl named Cordelia isn't interested in
hearing her neighbor's stories about the fight for women's suffrage. But on election day,
Cordelia prompts Mrs. Stanton to tell the heart wrenching story of her own childhood,
and how it steeled her for the battles of her adult life. What happens when Cordelia and
Elizabeth Cady Stanton decide to go to the polls is a turning point for Cordelia, and an
inspiration to children everywhere.

Morgan, R. (1996). Sisterhood is global: The international womens movement

anthology. New York: Feminist Press.
Annotation: This text features original essays Morgan commissioned from a
deliberately eclectic mix of women both famous and less known activists, politicians,
scholars, guerillas, novelists, social scientists, and journalists-representing seventy
countries, from every region and political system, with particular emphasis on the Global
South. These truth-telling, impassioned essays celebrate the diversity as well as the
similarity of women's experience; they also reveal shared female rage, vision, and
pragmatic strategies for worldwide feminist solidarity and political transformation.

Savage, A. M. (2017). Womens rights: Reflections in popular culture. Santa Barbara:

Greenwood, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC.
Annotation: This book is about popular culture's role in the modern history of women's
rights and representation of women, women's rights, and feminism in popular culture.
This insightful book highlights of some of the most important moments of women taking
a stand for women throughout popular culture history. Each section focuses on an
aspect of popular culture. The work of key women activists including Margaret Sanger,
Angela Davis, and Winona LaDuke is recognized, along with the unique ways women
have used the power of the web in their continued effort to push for women's equality.
 Photo Credits
Front Cover and Title Page Image: Daisy picture by
Beverly Hills MD

Dedication Page Image: Google Clip Art

Page 1 picture: Daisy by Iuliia Burlachenko

Page 2 picture: Mountain by Etsy

Page 3 picture: Rosie the Riveter by USA Today

Page 4 picture: World Globe by Glenbrooke

Page 5 picture: Women’s History Month by Health Power

for Minorities

Page 6 picture: Principal Desk by St. Stephens School

Page 7 picture: Car Ride by Vix.com

Page 8 picture: Chocolate Chip Cookies by King Arthur

Flour

Page 9 picture: Dinner Table by Sarah’s Cucina Bella

Page 10 picture: Let Equality Bloom by Las Vegas Review