Elite Education = Quality Leadership ?

An interesting thought from Wiilliam Deresiewicz in the latest issue of The American Scholar

The world that produced John Kerry and George Bush is indeed giving us our next generation of leaders. The kid who’s loading up on AP courses junior year or editing three campus publications while double-majoring, the kid whom everyone wants at their college or law school but no one wants in their classroom, the kid who doesn’t have a minute to breathe, let alone think, will soon be running a corporation or an institution or a government. She will have many achievements but little experience, great success but no vision. The disadvantage of an elite education is that it’s given us the elite we have, and the elite we’re going to have.

Latino Books Month

From the Association of American Publishers

AAP Latino Voice for America: "Latino Books Month
What is Latino Books Month?

The Association of American Publishers Publishing Latino Voices for America (PLVA) Task Force has declared May Latino Books Month.

Throughout the month of May, booksellers, librarians, and others in the book industry are encouraged to promote reading among Latinos in their communities, and to raise awareness of the rich variety of books authored by Latinos that are available, in both English and Spanish."

This is another program that seems consistent with our mission and Paragraphs should be able to work with the local ISDs and public libraries to make sure we celebrate the rich heritage these authors provide our common heritage. It may also be an area we can develop some joint events with the El Paseo Arts Council.

Mi Educación es la Causa is NACCS Conference Theme

I found information about this conference at RGV Life:

South Texas College plays host to the NACCS Tejas Regional Conference from Thursday, Feb. 28 through Saturday, Mar. 1, 2008 and has recruited prolific and important Mexican-American scholars and authors from across the nation to participate.

In the article, South Texas College history instructor and conference coordinator Victor Gomez says:

“We are so pleased with the response to this event and the willingness of top scholars in this field to come out and, in some cases, back home to the Valley to share their perspectives with our community. This will be an invaluable opportunity for not only local educators and students, but also the community as a whole.”

The story continues:

Participants include professors and authors from New York University, Notre Dame, Rice University, The University of Colorado at Denver, The University of California at Santa Cruz, California State, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University and Texas Tech University to name a few. Faculty and students from South Texas College, The University of Texas at Brownsville and The University of Texas-Pan American will also participate.

....The two keynote speakers will speak at the McAllen Convention Center. Rodolfo F. Acuña, the author of Occupied America: The History of Chicanos, and Martha P. Cotera, the author of Diosa y Hembra: The History and Heritage of Chicanas in the U.S., will discuss their experiences in studying, teaching and writing about the Mexican-American experience. They will share their perspectives on the opportunities for Mexican-Americans in the 21st century and how education has and will continue to be a foundation for the exploration of Mexican-American culture.

Following the keynote addresses, the community is invited to an evening of cultural activities including an author meet and greet with more than 25 Mexican-American scholars signing their books. Participating scholars include: Rodolfo Acuña, Martha Cotera, José Angel Gutiérrez, Guadalupe San Miguel Jr., Norma Cantú, Armando Alonzo, Josephine Méndez-Negrete, among other very important scholars.

This sounds like a prestigious conference. Reading the announcement made me reflect on the common perceptions which many hold about the RGV. Many times since I have been researching the idea of opening a bookstore on South Padre Island I have been warned about the reading habits of the valley population.

I can't even put a number on how many times I have been told - "the valley residents don't read" or "the culture in the valley doesn't value reading" and "the Mexican nationals who visit the island won't be interested in a bookstore". Yet, here we have a conference being held in Harlingen, attended by world class scholars and 25 Mexican-American authors will be signing books.

There seems to be a contradiction here. Does the general public do the valley community an injustice with these kind of over-generalizations? I'm sure I don't know - just a thought.