Every Day is Magic: Ada Limón
In her 2015 collection, Bright Dead Things, a National Book Award finalist for poetry, Ada Limón writes of moving to Kentucky: “Confession: I did not want to live here.” It’s perhaps not a surprising sentiment coming from a coastally oriented person who was raised in Northern California, attended college in Seattle, and then spent over a decade in New York City.
But Limón and her husband, Lucas, have been in Lexington for seven years now and the effects of settling into this place are noticeable in her new book, The Carrying (Milkweed, Aug.). It’s a phenomenally lively and attentive collection replete with the trappings of living a little closer to nature. While Bright Dead Things is marked by a preponderance of light, such as images of fireflies and neon signs, The Carrying features numerous appearances by various trees, birds, and beetles. Limón also demonstrates a greater willingness to be explicit in naming colors, particularly green. “It’s crazy green, the whole book,” she says. “Lexington is the greenest place I’ve ever lived.” Similarly, where in Bright Dead Things, Limón tells a lot of stories and anecdotes, in The Carrying she is very present in her thoughts and experiences.
As it turns out, these shifts in focus have another, altogether unexpected source. While putting Bright Dead Things together, Limón was diagnosed with chronic vestibular neuronitis, which can cause bouts of vertigo. “If I’m really having vertigo, it’s pretty intense and I really have to focus,”
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Mexican American Women’s Reflections From Public High School
KA Taylor, SL Fernandez-Bergersen – Journal of Latinos and Education, 2014
… The oppression from double jeopardy suffered by Black women because of the intersection of
race and gender can be applied, by extension, to Mexican American woman (Collins … On
investigating the attitudes toward achievement and success of eight professional US women. …
Link to abstract
Mexican American Women’s Reflections From Public High School
KA Taylor, SL Fernandez-Bergersen – Journal of Latinos and Education, 2014
… The oppression from double jeopardy suffered by Black women because of the intersection of
race and gender can be applied, by extension, to Mexican American woman (Collins … On
investigating the attitudes toward achievement and success of eight professional US women. …
Link to abstract
Jupiter’s El Sol wins grant from Mexico to enhance education programs
The Mexican Consulate on Tuesday awarded the El Sol Neighborhood Resource Center a $9,000 educational grant known as IME Becas to support and enhance their adult education programs at the center at the southwest corner of Indiantown Road and Military Trail.The IME Becas program began in 2005 to raise the education levels of the Mexican population living in the United States.“We are thrilled to have been selected by the Mexican Consulate to further our education mission with this tremendous grant,” said Dora Valdivia, Associate Director of El Sol. “Our students become empowered by creating a solid foothold with their literacy, which allows them to aspire towards increased educational goals that becomes the gateway to opportunity.”…
Extraordinary Women in Texas: A Phenomenological Study of Mexican American Female Superintendents
SA Rodriguez – 2014
… from family and professional colleagues. These support mechanisms assisted them in coping
with cultural incongruence and school board affairs. The strategies and skills that the participants
depicted in this study will provide aspiring Mexican American female superintendents …
Link to dissertation
Educational decisions and academic achievement: A focus on Mexican American students
This mixed methods study examines factors associated with student learning outcomes
for Mexican American students in the public elementary schools. The problem of disproportionate identification of cultural and
linguistically diverse students in special education is addressed. This study looks at 23 third and fourth
grade students by means of a retroactive educational records review; an interview with a subset of educators and parents and the use of
member checks with a select group of adult participants to evaluate the validity of the interpreted
results. The results from this study affirm the effect of categorical factors previously described in
the literature as having positive or negative effects of academic achievement and identifies specific team…
Link to study
Anchor and launching pad: The role of a Latino cutlural center in the experience of Mexican American students at a Midwestern predominantly White institution
SA Lozano – 2014
… activities? 3. What role does the cultural center play in Mexican American student success? …
because they are not staffed with full-time professionals. Rather, each center employs a half- …
Center is planned and coordinated by students rather than by professional staff members. …
Link to dissertation
UT establishes Mexican American and Latina/o studies department
UT The Daily Texan
“If you want a professional edge in the market, you might want to do business and Mexican-American and Latino studies because those are the people …
Link to article
Self-Construal, Career Decision Self-Efficacy, and Perceived Barriers Predict Mexican American Women’s Life Satisfaction
B Piña‐Watson, N Jimenez, L Ojeda – The Career Development Quarterly, 2014
… degree attainment, with only 2.9% of Latinas obtaining a master’s degree and 1.0% obtaining
doctoral or professional degrees (compared with … Informed by this study, a program could be
established in which professionals connect Mexican American college women with …
Link to abstract
Unraveling the Yarn: Self-Reflection, Critical Incidents, and Missteps Leading to Continued Growth as a Culturally Sensitive Art Educator
Teacher reflection has been shown to have a positive influence on educators’ professional growth. This article features the author’s autobiographical reflection on his eight years working at an elementary school within a predominantly migrant Mexican AmerTeacher reflection has been shown to have a positive influence on educators’ professional growth. This article features the author’s autobiographical reflection on his eight years working at an elementary school within a predominantly migrant Mexican American community, with specific attention paid to his mistakes while implementing a lesson on the indigenous Huichol culture of Mexico. Through the author’s critical self-reflection, a number of common missteps in multicultural instruction are discussed, including the selection of lessons that call for shallow reproductions of cultural artifacts, the error of false assumptions of cultural homogeneity, and the culturally-insensitive practiceican community, with specific attention paid to his mistakes while implementing a lesson on the indigenous Huichol culture of Mexico. Through the author’s critical self-reflection, a number of common missteps in multicultural instruction are discussed, including the selection of lessons that call for shallow reproductions of cultural artifacts, the error of false assumptions of cultural homogeneity, and the culturally-insensitive practice…
Link to abstract and PDF copy
Chuckawalla’s Chicano Correctional Workers Association (CCWA) presents scholarships
BLYTHE, Calif. – Chicano Correctional Worker’s Association (CCWA) and avid supporters Chuckawalla Valley State Prison (CVSP) Warden A. M. Gonzales and Chief Deputy Warden C. Callahan continue to impart the importance of education by presenting scholarships to Carly Renee Teater ($900) and Destiny Lopez ($600).
The recipients were selected by CCWA scholarship committee members and were presented certificates and checks by CCWA Chapter President Evelyn Garcia…
Link to article
The Population With a Bachelor’s Degree or Higher by Race and Hispanic Origin: 2006–2010
This report examines people aged 25 and over with a bachelor’s degree or higher among racial and Hispanic-
origin groups. As the U.S. population becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, it is important to exam-
ine educational attainment among population groups,which is a strong predictor of economic well-being.
Also, government agencies require data on educational attainment for funding allocations and program plan-
ning and implementation, while local government use information on educational attainment to attract
potential employers to their areas…
Link to report
Dr. Joseph Castro named new Fresno State president
By Linda Mumma and Corin Hoggard
FRESNO, Calif. —
The California State University Board of Trustees has just selected UC San Francisco Vice Chancellor Dr. Joseph Castro as the new President of Fresno State.
Fresno State has a new president. The announcement came just after 9 a.m. Wednesday at the California State University Board of Trustees meeting in Long Beach. The man picked is Doctor Joseph Castro.
Castro is from the Valley, but currently works as a Vice Chancellor at U.C. San Francisco. The Hanford native is the first member of his family to attend college, and he and his wife Mary — who is also from the Valley — have three children including one daughter who currently attends Humbolt State…
Link to article
Decoding ethnic labels
If you are of Latin American descent, do you call yourself Chicano? Latino? Hispanic?
As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Carlos Hipolito-Delgado, PhD, knew instinctively that the ethnic labels his fellow students chose said something about their perception of themselves and their values.
“There was a very clear understanding that if you identified as a member of one group, you were not a member of the other groups,” Hipolito-Delgado said. “If you called yourself Hispanic or Latino, then…
Link to article
Hispanic college enrollment up, but not by enough
Recent data show that nationwide Hispanic or Latino and Chicano college admissions are on the rise, with Hispanic figures now outpacing white enrollment at some schools. But Hispanic education experts say the numbers are not high enough.
Patricia Gandara, research professor and co-director of The Civil Rights Project at UCLA, and and commissioner with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics calls the numbers have improved, but they are still “disastrous.”…
Link to article
Exploring the Role of Community Cultural Wealth in Graduate School Access and Persistence for Mexican American PhDs
MM Espino – American Journal of Education, 2014
… Exploring the Role of Community Cultural Wealth in Graduate School Access and Persistence for
Mexican American PhDs. Michelle M. Espino. … Exploring the Role of Community Cultural Wealth
in Graduate School Access and Persistence for Mexican American PhDs. …
Link to preview
SUCCESS FACTORS AND STRATEGIES OF MEXICAN – AMERICAN MALES WHO HAVE EARNED A BACHELOR’S DEGREE
F Irigoyen – 2014
… Mexican-American males to earn a bachelor’s degree. Problem Statement For every 100
Latino male elementary school students, 51 will graduate from high school, 10 will graduate
from college, four will obtain a graduate or professional degree, …
Link to dissertation
MEXICAN American youth TEENAGERS — Health & hygiene TOBACCO habit
JA Pesa
… Mexican-American adolescents appear to be at risk for participating in unhealthy behaviors on
par with the majority adolescent population. It is important that efforts be made on the part of
involved professionals to better understand the special needs and cultural differences that …
Link to study
Latino scholar gifts books to S.A. Central Library’s Latino Collection
The San Antonio Public Library, its foundation and the Latino Leadership for the Library Committee celebrated art historian Tomás Ybarra y Frausto Tuesday for a donation of hundreds of Latino literature books, accumulated over a long career as a scholar and Latino arts and cultural historian.
The works will go into the Central Library’s Latino Collection on the sixth floor. His gift was a timely one, as the space is being renovated with new branding and furniture. The project will be completed this fall…
Link to article
Top 10 Chicano Films for M.A.S.
Mexican American Studies (MAS) is spreading like wildfire in Texas.
By the time you read this, Texas will have the most schools teaching MAS in the nation-and growing.
On that note, we’re fine-tuning the MAS Texas Took Kit to help any K-12 teacher to incorporate Mexican American Studies. This can range from implementing an entire curriculum to using one lesson plan for a particular unit or obvious time of year such as Hispanic Heritage Month…
Link to article
The Historical Evolution of Texas State University Through The Eyes of Three Latino Males
The purpose of this study is to capture the culture and climate within Student Affairs at Texas State University during the last thirty years through the eyes of three Latino professionals, during their collective sixty plus years of service as students and professionals This research uses Social Cartography to capture three life stories of Mexican American men working within the Division of Student Affairs at Texas State University…
Link to abstract
