It’s that time of year again, to go and buy/check out/borrow your favorite banned book(s)! I was at my local Half Priced Books and they had this cool sign (seen to the right) reminding us that Banned Books Awareness Week is September 26th through October 3rd. Okay, so maybe “awareness” does sounds kinda weird, but it’s really interesting how many books have been banned! Ones that I would never think of! If you go to deletecensorship.org you can see the top 100 list. They include:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer – Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (series) – J.K. Rowling
Forever, Blubber, Deenie, Tiger Eye, Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret – Judy Blume (she is banned a lot!)
Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger
Goosebumps (series) R.L. Stine
A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
A Light in the Attic – Shel Silverstein (I loved this one!)
Carrie – Stephen King
How to Eat Fried Worms – Thomas Rockwell
Bridge to Terabithia – Katherine Paterson
The Outsiders – S.E. Hinton

Of course, the list is huge, but these are ones that stand out to me. I had not realized how many times Judy Blume has been challenged!



Banned Books Week 2009 is the twenty-eighth annual celebration of the freedom to read. This freedom, not only to choose what we read, but also to select from a full array of possibilities, is firmly rooted in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press. – Robert P. Doyle

Here’s another list:
The American Libraries Association’s top ten most challenged books of 2008:

1. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group

2. His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman
Reasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, violence

3. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R series by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

4. Scary Stories series by Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, violence

5. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, violence

6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group

7. Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

8. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding by Sarah S. Brannen
Reasons: homosexuality, unsuited to age group

9. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

10. Flashcards of My Life by Charise Mericle Harper
Reasons: sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

Hm, so now I am wondering what I should try reading…? I’ve actually read quite a bit of the older banned books, but only one from this updated 2008 top 10 list. Perhaps “Bless Me, Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya? Or, I did keep seeing “The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier on several other lists, perhaps I should take a look at that too. Actually, I am reading “Eclipse” by Stephenie Meyer, someone who is no stranger to the censored list. Okay, so the Twilight series isn’t exactly considered of a high literary standard, but screw it! It’s like candy, and while I read “Chimera” by John Barth, I want to enjoy some easy reading too!

Like I said, go out and read something! Could be a fun read, something naughty, silly or something classic…just read!! Oh and the deletecensorship.org site also has a kids section, you can take an interesting little quiz and and test your Censorship IQ!

If you haven’t heard of the Crafty Chica, you obviously aren’t a crafter (or Latina!). Kathy Cano-Murillo created the Crafty Chica site “to preach the gospel of cool crafts to the masses.” She now dedicates her life to crafting and all that the lifestyle entails; like writing books, talk radio interviews, TV appearances and of course enjoying it all. Did I mention her obsessive fascination with glitter? Kathy takes her pop art and spices it up with Latino inspired themes, splashes on some glitter and creates her own personal styled artwork! She is slowly building her empire, one craft project at a time! What I find extra interesting is that she was able to take a hobby and make it into a career. Crafty Chica now has it’s own product line and books!

The cool thing about Kathy, is that she writes in her own voice. She jokes and laughs in her posts which makes it so much more personal and interesting. I continue to read her blog because she seems like someone I’d love to have a chat with, probably about crafting, business, and well…maybe a story or two about accidentally inhaling too much glitter during a craft project.

I’m not sure how she finds time to do all this but Kathy has just created a new blog, Chica Writer! She was a writer long before she called herself a “crafter”, so her new blog should be pretty interesting! Currently, she is hosting a contest and celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a book giveaway. All you have to do is leave a comment on her site of your favorite book and why you loved it. Go and do that now, and add her blogs to your feed!

Recently, The Art Institute had it’s first Carnival! Student Affairs worked hard to create a fun little break for students right before finals week.

The college also invited folks from the community to join in the festivities. I was impressed by the student participation and how many stuck around throughout the evening. It wasn’t a real carnival (with rides) but there were lots of fun things to do.

Like face painting! I was surprised at how many students (and younger kids) wanted their cheeks covered in stars, peace signs, hearts, and arrows (I guess like the Airbender cartoon?). The booth was run by C.H.A.T. (Celebrating Hispanic Arts and Traditions), a club I am an adviser for). I think Alex and Cristina did a great job face painting, and Alex did a great job with the sign. Hm, I must post a picture of it soon…it’s coolio.

Also, they had an awesome bungee run! This was sort of off to the side of the carnival due to space. I bet had it been a bit more visible, students (and instructors) would have been all over it. Did I do it? Nah. But I would have, if I had a good adversary that matched my speed and cat like reflexes. I saw those little kids fly back as they try to reach the goal (they had to stick a flag thingy to the end). It was pretty funny, but at times looked a little painful. Maybe next time.

C.H.A.T. also put on a Jalapeno Eating Contest! At first, no one wanted to sign up, but soon they had about 9 people total. Students had to race to eat the most jalapenos. Okay, so they didn’t know how many would try, so it ended up that whoever ate 8 whole jalapenos first would win. Milk was provided just in case things got too hot. The contest was over in less than a minute! Sadly, I didn’t get to take a photo of the winner. One of my previous students, a female no less, won! These weren’t the small jalapenos, they were big and pickled. Yuck! She, and the runner up, won a free flash drive from the college. I forgot to ask her if she had any “issues” later that night!

Students served up everything from popcorn and cotton candy to snow cones and hot dogs with fortunes (or misfortunes). The Dean opened hers up to find: “A giant spit wad is heading towards Austin right now!”. Don’t worry, the fortunes were in an attached stick thingy and not in the hot dog. The audio production classes provided the sound for the live music. I wanted to mention “Tejanosarous Rex” mainly because I think their band name is so funny. They are still a new band looking for a label and management and fans…but they got the name down alright.

I got to hang with other instructors, like Julie, an audio instructor.

She’s cool and I didn’t notice till we took the photo that we kinda match. I guess she got the memo. In the photo we kinda look alike, except I’m bigger, browner and…..curlier? Why does my head look twice the size of hers?!

I’m glad I didn’t have to teach that night, because I know a lot of students were missing class to chill outside and enjoy the great weather and carnival.

While looking at the Austin American Statesmen I came across the article, “Oral History Project to Target Latinos“. This really peaked my interest. I have often thought about taping my grandmother talk about her past, to gather her very interesting (and sometimes juicy) stories.

Like did you know, my grandmother went on a “date” with a guy she just met, and ran off that night to a city hundreds of miles away (his home town) to marry him! See, juicy! Oh, by the way, that man was my grandpa! Or the crazy old wives tale about how someone put the devil in a jar and the glass would shatter if you said his name…so don’t say “devil”! Ack! I said it twice in one sentence! Or perhaps the story of my grandfather dying very young and my grandmother staying true and being a single mother all of her life. All of these are stories I would like to keep and listen to every once in a while. I mention my grandmother, but I would love to record my parents and other family members as well.

The newspaper article says this sis the “first initiative targeting Hispanic Americans. Historias, which means both “stories” and “histories” in Spanish, starts Sept. 24 — a tie-in with Hispanic Heritage Month”. This story gathering will be an ongoing program by a non-profit called StoryCorps. Have you heard about StoryCorps? It’s really interesting! Check out their goal for recording oral histories:

By recording the stories of our lives with the people we care about, we experience our history, hopes, and humanity. [...] Each conversation is recorded [...] and is archived for generations to come at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, creating a growing portrait of who we really are as Americans.

How cool is that?! You can even check out their website and listen to “historias”. Their goal is to collect the stories of about 700 Latinos all over the nation (including stories in Austin).

“By the close of its first year, StoryCorps Historias will likely stand as one of the largest collections of Latino voices ever gathered.”

Wow, talk about a big a deal! I really suggest checking out their site, but also, maybe spend some time with your parents or grand parents (heck even friends and spouses) and listen to their stories. There is so much to learn and so much interesting stuff to hear about!

Ever since I was little I always wanted a wall of books. No, not just a wall…an entire library. You know, like in the movies where the rich family goes into their “study” and takes a book from their “library” and perhaps the library resides in the north wing of the house…you know, those kinds of movies. I loved the idea of having several books, nah, I should say “volumes” to choose from. And these volumes would have thick covers with gold lettering and the page edges would also be trimmed with gold. To sit, next to a crackling fire in your smoking jacket (or in my case ‘non-smoking’ jacket) and enjoy a chapter or two of Dickens or E. B. White. Those visions still fill my head, okay, perhaps not the whole north wing, gold letters and crackling fire…but the idea of my own library.

Well, it’s 14 years after high school and I finally have my small library! I have a wall of books, DVDs, and CDs. Okay, so my husband helped me fill out some of the space with his favorites, but it’s ours! I have books from when I was little all the way up till now. It’s not the full room of volumes I have dreamed of, but it’s a start and honestly, it makes me happy to look at it.
I recently wondered why that vision has stayed in my head for so long. I know growing up we really didn’t have many books around the house. I can’t say anyone in my family is really a “reader” except for me. Books weren’t really a big deal I guess. We could go to the school or public library any time we wanted, but we didn’t.
So why did I want a wall of books? Could it be perhaps:

a. to look/feel like a smarty pants standing in front of it
b. to be literary enough to necessitate a library
c. to say “oh, I have a book on that” and be able to run to my library and “fetch” it
d. all of the above

Hm, I’m going with D. I’m sure our school librarians helped, as well as certain teachers. I do remember in middle school, standing in front of the library book shelves and staring at all the titles lined up. I would totally judge a book by it’s cover and select the cover, or should I say, the spine that looked most interesting. I also remember in high school my friend Mandy and I would try to read classic novels, everything from Hunchback to Dracula. For some reason it was the cool thing to do (for us at least)!

So why all this talk about libraries? Well, today I marched right on over to the Austin Public Library and got myself a library card!

While I love buying books (I preferably go to Half Priced Books to save money and to recycle), I have joined a book club and well, I would be spending a lot on books. Don’t get me wrong, I will still buy books, but now I can be a bit more choosey. Also, with a book club, sometimes the style of the month isn’t really what I am into, and if I don’t like the book, well, hey I can turn it back in!
When I went into the local library (it’s right around the corner from my house) I was instantly transported back to my middle school library. I don’t know why I hadn’t been in there before, I have lived in this neighborhood for 4 years! The card feels good in my wallet, sort of wish I could wear it like a bumper sticker. “Keep Austin Reading!”
I think you should go check out your local library…
Oh and what are you favorite books? Any suggestions so I can start using my library card?!

Lately, I have been seeing several articles about Latinas. Most prominently, of course, is the news of Judge Sonia Sotomayor taking her place on the Supreme Court. Which, by the way, Latina magazine is selling these cool t-shirts, in honor of Judge Sotomayor’s appointment.

But sadly, the news has turned bleak again for Latinas. Most recently, the focus is on the dropout rate among this particular group being up 41 percent. Dropout is implied as students unable to complete high school within 4 years.
Here are links to the studies completed bythe National Women’s Law Center and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) to show this trend:

• MALDEF: Listening to Latinas: Barriers to High School Graduation
• National Women’s Law Center study

“Many Latinas are influenced by family and societal expectations, often based on stereotypes of Latinas as submissive underachievers and caretakers,” the report said. “When these stereotypes are internalized, they may cause Latinas to doubt their chances for academic and career success.” – CNN Article

The report did give some recommendations to provide support to one of the largest female groups in US schools . The recommendations include (summarized on the CNN article):

• Congressional investment in Latino children through early education initiatives and child care, and outreach to Latino families.
• More outreach to Latinas in schools, including providing them with role models.
• College preparation by schools for Latinas, with funding from Congress.
• More school measures to stop discrimination in educational programs and activities.
• School use of comprehensive, age-appropriate material to teach sex education to avoid the rising pregnancy rates among teen Latinas, and additional support for those who get pregnant.

A professor at the Art Institute is working towards his PhD. He has been doing studies on Hispanic males in high school and trying to find ways to help them graduate on time. Most recently he has felt hopeless, his studies show that even intervention programs are not making much progress. They are of value, but not to the extent to make a large change. The only findings he says show actual progress is simple, parental involvement. Things like showing interest in your child’s life, helping them with their homework, reading to your child, and asking how their day went. While that does sound simple, there are realities that make it difficult. Single parents trying to balance work and home, grandparents raising grandchildren, or parents with several children. Not to mention, parents educational level not up to par as their child.

With this information the outreach recommendation stands out to me. I encourage everyone to become a Big Brother or Big Sister. Something as simple as just hanging out with a young person can make a difference. By you being there, you are not only showing support, but also giving them another perspective, another person with experiences that may be far different from their own. You are a role model, and you fill holes that you may not even realize are missing in that child’s life. To respect her privacy, I won’t post a picture of my Little Sister, but she is awesome and I love her.

While this post may be about Latinas, we can’t forget the other half. Recently, BBBS of Central Texas told me they desperately needed Big Brothers. They have to start paring Big Sisters with Little Brothers because the volunteer number in males is so low. Taking one day a month (or more) can making a difference in any child’s life (whether latino or other), believe me, you won’t regret it.

Below is a CNN video discussing the Latina dropout issue:

48 miles to Austin…driving home from Corpus Christi. Our weekend was good and long but I am only slightly happy we are going home.
We began the weekend at our in-laws. Danny wasn’t feeling well and so it was pretty down. We had dinner with his family, hung out and chatted. They noticed Danny seemed tired or sad and asked if he was felling okay. He said he was fine and so later that night we watched the Soloist. It was an okay movie, sort of long with no real ending, but interesting. It shed light on people with mental disorders and what can and can’t be done for them. That night Danny and I talked and he seemed to feel better.

The next day, Danny slept in. He never sleeps in. I had time to chat with his parents about things that have been bothering me/us. I told them why Danny might be down. Danny is a very honest person and doesn’t throw feelings around often, if he says he is bummed, then it’s not to be taken lightly. His parents were understanding and his mother usually knows what to say (usually). Overall it felt good talking to them but I wondered if I should really divulge information like that. Perhaps some things in a marriage should be private, and not involve the parents.

That day Danny and his father went to Academy and then fishing. Danny’s mother had asked his dad to talk to him, so when the day was done I asked if they talked. Both are men of very few words. Apparently Danny’s dad said about one sentence about it and that was it. Typical men talk I guess. Either way, Danny had a good time fishing and was much happier. Spending the day with his dad, even if only light chatting was done, was a very good thing. Later that night Kelly, Danny and I went to Half-Priced Books and enjoyed their 20% off sale!

The next day Danny, his father and I went to the beach. They fished while I sun bathed, walked, played in the surf and read.

It was actually a really good day. It was perfect outside, even though it was raining not far off. The water at Padre Island was a blue green, rather than the dull brown it sometimes is. The waves weren’t too big or small, and the sky was a almost cloudy blue. Not cloudy in our area, but not so hot either, just right. It had rained the day before so even the sand was perfect between my toes. No jellies and just a little seaweed here or there. We just had a good time, but, Danny did get sun burned. Meh.

Afterwards we went to my families homes. The whirlwind began with a BBQ at Lisa’s house, then hanging at Andy’s. Isaiah got a new kitten and wanted to show her off. She is super cute and named “pulgies”. “Pulga” means “flea” in Spanish. “Pulgita” is the name for a “little flea”. “Pulgies” is like a slang term of endearment to an animal…no for real, it is! Also, my old cat named, Amidala was nicknamed “pulgitas”…he liked it and kept the name.

Sunday, we all ate lunch at Kiko’s and then headed to Barnes and Noble. Afterwards we sort of split up at Petsmart and Target. It ended with most of us coming home and napping. The evening wrapped up with eating left overs at Lisa’s.

Before we ate dinner I did get a message from a co-worker. Apparently another co-worker may have been fired. Tensions are high at the college and people are very unhappy with management. I must admit, I’m not a fan either and am wondering if I too should write a grievance letter. The conundrum I am having is that I really love it there. The teaching, the atmosphere, the students…all are great. What I don’t like is the whole “for profit” business. I’ll know more about the whole situation when I go to work tomorrow (or should I say later today).

Let’s see where we are on our trip home…ah, reaching the outskirts of Austin. I can see the city lights, especially the Frost Bank tower.

At least we feel rested and calm. Sometimes going to visit family can be stressful, and at times this weekend it was, but it was good and I am glad we went.

Within my career in education, I have been employed at a community college, an elementary school, and most recently, at a for-profit college. I probably could add my time in grad school as also being a part of a large university as well.

Looking at all the experiences I have had in education, I can narrow down over-arching themes I pulled from working in the different realms.
Let’s start with my first educational job at a community college.

I was hired in 2000 by a community college in Austin. I was very excited to get a job in education for several reasons. One, education is a stable career (usually) and two, I liked being part of something that’s sole purpose is to help educate people. A large portion of my job was to record and edit the Board of Trustee meetings. Afterwords I would compress and stream the video on the web, as well as maintain several web pages. I must admit, I was at times bored with the meetings. Lots of talk about grants, raises and building a new campus or two. It wasn’t till I had been there a while that I really started to listen to what was going on. When they talked about grants and donations, it was all to benefit the students. When they talked about raises, they talked about how to help employees without cutting the needs of the students (a very hard task when working in a non-profit). When they talked about new buildings, they were looking for locations with the furthest reach, they wanted affordable education not only for the people of Austin, but also the surrounding cities and towns. Their purpose was to educate people who didn’t think college was right for them. To educate people who couldn’t pay by offering affordable classes and scholarships. So many people diss community colleges, but they truly do provide an important service. Not everyone gets their education given to them on a silver platter (even if they worked hard for it). Also, along with Associate’s programs, they have technical training, so if the regular classroom isn’t right for you, you can get your degree in auto maintenance or air conditioning repair, etc… May sound dull, but a local AC guy came to our house and made $73 on telling us we need insulation! Obviously there is a need for AC fixers and people are willing to pay. I will always push and tell you how important a community college is, partly because I am a community college graduate. I attended Del Mar College in Corpus Christi and received my AA in Radio/TV.

Sidenote: In high school I was told I should just apply there…and I did. Later I came to resent my counselor. I was not offered any other choices because she thought I couldn’t pay for it/do well/have support, who knows why else. I thought it was my only option. I still resent her, but I am proud I went there and am where I am today because of it. You could try and blame my parents for not pushing, but honestly, they didn’t have the opportunities we did and they just didn’t know what was out there.

The over-arching theme I have learned from my experience and employment at a community college:“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free“! Fighting the good fight, educating the masses…
All this of course, is dependent on the integrity of the college and the board who runs it.

Next, my time at a University. I attended two of varying sizes. The first was Texas A&M Corpus Christi for my BA in TV/Film and the second was The University of Texas at Austin for my MA in Instructional Technology. While I was not employed there, themes still stood out. The culture they create is one of strength and empowerment. We were often told (mainly in grad school) that we were lucky to be there, that we were a select few who made it among many who did not. We were told if you didn’t want to be there, to leave, that there were many waiting to take your place. Students felt like they had to take responsibility of their education and do the best they could with the opportunities they were given. I must admit, it was very stressful, but it pushed me to do well. I wanted to earn the right to graduate, proud that I did my best. And I think I did. The cost was much higher (thankfully I received a few scholarships and then a Fellowship for grad school). But with the cost came many more resources, libraries, museums and academic as well as student support. I don’t have the experience of working at such large institutes, but from the student side, the overarching themes were clear.
The over-arching theme I have learned from my experience at a large University: You were specifically selected, we have a lot riding on you, you have a lot riding on you, don’t let us or yourself down. Oh and “ye shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free!”

In my next post, I will continue my thoughts on over-arching themes that I have observed while working at a public elementary school and at a non-profit college. The differences are very interesting!