NOTE: If you are short on time, watch the video and complete this bell ringer activity: What did you notice? What did the story make you think about? What would you want to learn more about?
SUMMARY
Saturday in Atlanta, Jen Pawol took the field as the first woman to umpire a regular-season game in Major League Baseball’s nearly 150-year history. She was on the bases this afternoon for both games of a doubleheader between the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves. John Yang speaks with The Washington Post’s national baseball writer Chelsea Janes for more.
View the transcript of the story.
News alternative: Check out recent segments from the News Hour, and choose the story you’re most interested in watching. You can make a Google doc copy of discussion questions that work for any of the stories here.
WARM-UP QUESTIONS
- Why is Jen Pawol’s Major League debut significant?
- What motivated Pawol to pursue a career as an umpire, according to Chelsea Janes?
- How did Pawol progress through the ranks to earn her opportunity as a Major League umpire?
- Where does baseball stand in comparison to other professional sports (like basketball and football) when it comes to having female officials?
- Who is Pam Postema, and why was she mentioned in this video?
FOCUS QUESTIONS
- What obstacles do women commonly encounter when entering male-dominated fields like professional umpiring, and how can those barriers be addressed?
- Why is representation of women and other underrepresented groups important not only in highly visible roles, like being a CEO or a star sports player, but also in professions that receive less attention, like umpiring?
Media literacy: In what ways does our media implicitly reinforce gender stereotypes? How can we challenge these norms and promote media efforts that break down stereotypes instead?
WHAT STUDENTS CAN DO
Assignment: Research an important female figure who has broken barriers in a traditionally male-dominated profession that receives little public recognition. Some examples of such fields include video game development, meteorology, and graphic design.
Explore the challenges your chosen female figure has faced, how she overcame them, and the impact she has had on her field. Then, create an infographic using Canva to share your findings and to highlight the importance of representation across all types of careers—not only in the most famous or publicly recognized roles, but also in everyday jobs where breaking barriers is just as important.
Written by Brooke Ingemi, PBS News Hour Classroom's intern and senior at Amherst College, and News Hour's Vic Pasquantonio.
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