Role expectations have been a part of our society for hundreds of years. Tasks involving physical labor were assigned to males, and lighter work was designated for females. Traditions involving these roles were gradually formed, and they quickly became the norm. As generations progressed, most people simply accepted the roles the way they were. However, some questioned the roles in society, which took bravery and determination. The Friday Everything Changed, by Anne Hart, demonstrates that challenging role expectations takes courage and often results in changes for everyone.
The role expectations of the children in the story are greatly influenced by tradition and by the setting of the story. The isolated rural setting creates standards unlike those of a more sizeable community. The children in the one-room schoolhouse are not exposed to the outside world except for what they hear and read about. The teacher, Miss Ralston, comes from River Hibbert, where they had fancy things like Grade 11. Doris, a Grade 9 student at the school, states that she know[s] for a fact that girls there get to play on softball teams just like the boys. This is contrasting to the way things are in this area, where the girls are allowed to play, but only as outfielders. The boys dominate their female peers and even the teacher at times. The custom here is that the boys have more privileges than the girls. Every Friday, an hour at the end of the day was reserved for Junior Red Cross, which was a reading session. Because the boys were stronger and sat near the back they usually got the National Geographics first, which meant they could spend the rest of Red Cross looking at African ladies wearing nothing on top, while [the] girls had to be satisfied with the Junior Red Cross News, which show[ed] little African kids wearing lots of clothes and learning how to read. More prominent than who got to read what was who would carry the water for the next week.