Jake Tapper’s 10-year-old daughter pens op-ed on girls raising their hands in class

A New York Times op-ed calling for girls to raise their hands more in class was authored by an activist with a personal connection to the cause — 10-year-old Alice Paul Tapper, the daughter of CNN host Jake Tapper.

The young writer, who is named after the American suffragist Alice Paul, says in the op-ed published Tuesday that she attended a field trip where she noticed her male classmates participating more.

{mosads}“I told my mom that I thought girls weren’t raising their hands because they were afraid that the answer was going to be wrong and that they would be embarrassed,” Tapper wrote. “I also think they were being quiet because the boys already had the teacher’s attention, and they worried they might not be able to get it.”

The experience inspired Tapper to create the “Raise Your Hand” Girl Scout patch that girls could earn after pledging to raise their hand more in class and recruit others to do the same. The patch was put into circulation nationwide this week.

“I tell girls that we should take the risk and try anyway, just like the boys do,” she writes. “If the answer is wrong, it’s not the end of the world. It’s not like answering a trivia question to win a million dollars on live TV.”