Strange Knowledge: Stories from Desert Flower in Bloomington, MN

Rosi Talavera was abused, pregnant, angry, and poor. Then she registered for Alison Reichle's "Women And Power" class at Desert Flower, a wonderful small school for pregnant and parenting teens. Many of the young women were quite intelligent but generally had not been academic achievers. Reichle had seen a pervasive, almost crippling lack of self-esteem in the girls she taught, chaining them to a cycle of poverty not only for themselves but for their children. In an attempt to reform these dismal prospects and raise aspirations, Reichle researched and developed a women's studies class tailored to meet the needs of the students. Rosi joined with 40 remarkable others in what they called the WAP class. This is their story.