Educational Equity, Politics & Policy in Texas

Angela Valenzuela (based at UT) founded the "Educational Equity, Politics & Policy in Texas" blogsite.  It is self-described as "This blog on Texas education contains posts on accountability, testing, dropouts, bilingual education, immigration, school finance, race, class, and gender issues with additional focus at the national level. This blog reflects the work and contributions of both University of Texas Professor Angela Valenzuela and UT Education, Policy and Planning graduate student, Patricia Lopez."  Some recent posts include Success Obscured by Controversy Sacramento-area schools use race-based assemblies ... Study Cites Dire Economic Impact of Poor School Universities asked to establish more Center for Me... 'Pathways' option for dropouts Court weighs state's duty to English learners Read more at http://texasedequity.blogspot.com/

African Texas - Children, Young Adults

Skywriting:  African Texana for Children and Young Adults http://www.worldcat.org/profiles/WillHoward48/lists Your Assistance Is Requested   Skywriting, a bibliography for young readers is being developed on the topic of the Texas African experience – non-fiction and fiction– in-print and out-of-print - with very few adult titles included.  The preliminary stage numbers about 300 titles.  About a third includes modern athletes and singers.  About a third relates to the 19th century.  The large number of titles mandates a classification scheme. Art and Dance – 2 Astronauts – 34 Barbara Jordan – 15 Bessie Coleman – 29 Beyonce and Destiny's Child – 13 Buffalo Soldiers – 23 Colonial to Reconstruction – 20 Cowboy and Western Life – 15 Cowboy and Western Life – Bill Picket – 7 Cowboy and Western Life – Fiction – 10 Estevanico – 9 Folklore (mostly adult) – 7 General – 5 Juneteenth – 17 Modern Life – 15 Modern Life – Fiction – 33 Music (including Scott Joplin) – 15 Sports – 62   The list is quite preliminary.  Please contact Will Howard with any suggestions or offers to help in the editorial phase.  Skywriting should be finished by December.  If you wish to peruse a Word document copy of the list, as it stands now, request it by email.

SFA Tides Blog

Stephen F. Austin State University's successful TIDES program to assist teachers and students now has its own blog at http://tidessfasu.blogspot.com/ in addition to its regular site http://tides.sfasu.edu/ TIDES: Teaching, Images, & Digital Experiences Its self-description : "Providing a free database of primary source documents, lesson plans for educators, and virtual expeditions while building community partnerships and preserving the history and culture of East Texas and beyond."

David Davis Youtube Channel

David Davis, Texana children's author of several books, e.g., Texas Aesop's Fables, Texas Mother Goose, Texas Zeke, etc. has gone and gotten himself a chanel on Youtube where librarians and his other favorite folks will find a enjoyable visit.  The Channel is called Tomftwain - http://www.youtube.com/user/tomftwain

Rivera Book Award

The Tomas Rivera Mexican American Children's Book Award which originated in 1995 in San Marcos at Texas State University has a website at http://www.riverabookaward.info/ .  Its purpose is To recognize and honor authors and illustrators that create quality children's literature depicting the Mexican American experience. To enhance awareness among librarians, teachers, parents and children of this literature so it will take its place in libraries, classrooms and homes to educate, inspire, and entertain all children. Soon the 2009 winners will be posted to augment their site.  This year it was a tie.  Both Benjamin Alire Sáenz, author of He Forgot to Say Goodbye, and Carmen Tafolla, author of The Holy Tortilla and a Pot of Beans received the award. Tafolla's website http://www.carmentafolla.com/ says of the author "One of the most anthologized of Latina writers, Carmen Tafolla has published work for both children and adults in more than two hundred anthologies, magazines, journals, textbooks, and readers. Long considered one of the madrinas of Chicana Literature and a master of bilingual code-switching, Tafolla is the author of more than fifteen books, seven screenplays, and numerous articles and essays." Saenz's website http://www.benjaminaliresaenz.com/ where his biographical sketch begins "Benjamin Alire Sáenz was born in 1954 in his grandmother's house in Old Picacho, a small farming village on the outskirts of Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was the fourth of seven children and was raised on a small farm near Mesilla. He graduated from Las Cruces High School in 1972. That fall, he entered St. Thomas Seminary in Denver, Colorado where he received a B.A. degree in Humanities and Philosophy in 1977. He studied theology at the University of Louvain in Louvain, Belgium from 1977 to 1981. Living in the Belgium rain made him desperate to return to the desert—but he also fell in love with Paris and Spain and Italy. During those years, he spent a summer working in a home for the homeless in Kilburn (in what was, at that time, the Irish slums of North London). The home was operated by the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Mother Theresa. He also spent another summer living in Tanzania. It was during that summer that he discovered the meaning of the word, "colonialism." "