19: Little Schoolhouse on the Prairie: Kirsten Learns a Lesson

Dolls of Our Lives

Allison Horrocks and Mary Mahoney

Society & Culture, History

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 28 October 2019

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

During this episode, Mary and Allison channel a young Kirsten Larson and immediately hit the books. Diving right into Kirsten’s second story, the hosts start by examining her jarring introduction to the American classroom and all that entails (spoiler: threats of violence and male misbehavior). As they explore the power trips and perils of one-room schoolhouses, Mary and Allison also apply a laser sharp focus on the wonder that is Kirsten’s teacher, Miss Winston. To the surprise of us all, however, this wielder of rulers and molder of minds isn’t the most curious character in the book. Throwing memories of Marta to the wind, Kirsten becomes “best friends” with a local indigenous girl named Singing Bird. This revelation of course leads to a broader discussion of friendship, language barriers, and representations of native people in children's books. So, crack open your chalk, grab your slate, and prepare to get schooled.

You can find episodes, resources, and a link to our merch store and patreon on our website: dollsofourlivespod.com

Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/dollsofourlivespod

We love to hear from you! Drop us a line [email protected]

Follow us on social media:

Instagram -@dollsofourlivespodcast

Twitter - @dollslivespod

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/DollsOfOurLivesPod/

Follow Allison on Twitter and Instagram @allisonhorrocks

Follow Mary @mimimahoney (Instagram) or
@marymahoney123 (Twitter)

Need a source of calm in your day? Listeners will get a free audiobook when you start a new monthly Libro.fm membership for $14.99 a month. You'll get two audiobooks for the price of one in your first month as a member. Valid in the US and Canada.Subscribe to Libro FM! Choose from over 150,000 audiobooks and even support your local bookstore with your purchases as a member.

To sign up, use code DOLLS or this link: https://tidd.ly/3EwqiF5

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	So Mary I have a question for you.
0:02.0	Yeah, listening.
0:03.0	Who would you say is probably the most important material girl for the Midwest for the past century or so?
0:10.0	Madana?
0:11.0	Yeah, of course.
0:12.0	Yeah.
0:13.0	So if we're talking about Madana, I want to take us to like a very specific historical moment, which is
0:18.5	1986.
0:20.5	Year of my birth, keep going.
0:22.2	She had two hits that year.
0:24.0	Okay. Papa don't preach, we'll get to that later.
0:26.0	Yep.
0:27.0	And the second, Live to Tell.
0:29.0	Is this not autobiographical about Kirsten somehow?
0:34.4	I do think that's true, although live to tell, I'm just like flashing in my mind right now to
0:41.5	truth or dare and the scene where she performs live to tell.
0:45.0	Ooh yes. Oh my God so emotional. Yes yes you've hit me with something very
0:49.6	real. She has a tale to tell and so does Kirsten.
0:53.0	Oh my god, I'm afraid. Welcome back everyone. This is American Girls the podcast where we're
1:09.4	reliving the American Girl series book by book. I'm Mary. And I am still Allison.
1:15.4	Still Allison. Thank you for being here Allison.
1:18.4	Thanks, it's my pleasure. You know, we still have a lot to learn. We have a lot to learn and you know this book kind of
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Allison Horrocks and Mary Mahoney, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Allison Horrocks and Mary Mahoney and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.