St. Nicholas Day - December 6th.

The Posada and the Feast of the Immaculate Conception are two aspects of culture in the American southwest (including Houston, which I do not consider the southwest) that are celebrated in December.

I grew up in Wisconsin. Religious diversity when I was a kid meant you were either Catholic or Lutheran and ethnic diversity meant you were either Polish or German. But what these groups had in common was the celebration of St. Nicholas Day. St. Nicholas was a 4th century Christian bishop in what is today Turkey whose biography might have played a role in the creation of the modern Santa Claus. One of the myths surrounding St. Nicholas was that he secretly gave gifts to children.

Anyhow, we all celebrated December 6 (St. Nicholas Day) by putting out a sock the night before and that next morning we discovered little treats such as a candy cane, some small tidbit of chocolate, and a tangerine. Now, that last item might sound out of place in 2019 when citrus is readily available 12 months out of the year. But, in the 1970s the country did not import citrus and thus the only time we got citrus was starting in December. Don't ask me about the grape boycott. I'm still ticked off about that. My parents supported the boycott. All I knew was that I couldn't get any grapes.

Sometimes we would get a Hot Wheels (or the alternative Match Box). But nothing big. St. Nicholas Day was not a religious day for my brothers and I as much as it was getting something special with 19 long days ahead of us before Christmas. Well, we were attending St. Bernadette Church so we did have mass that day, but for the most part St. Nicholas Day was a secular holiday.

My favorite wife grew up in the high plains and west coast. She never heard of St. Nick's Day. But as I enjoy giving gifts, I introduced the holiday to her early on in our relationship and now our son looks forward to placing a sock on the kitchen table before going to bed on December 5th. Although I will say that the gifts have gone beyond a few pieces of candy and a tangerine. Now St. Nick brings pajamas, some toy, as well as that first candy cane and tangerine. I won't buy imported fruit. The taste is so bland because the fruit has to be shipped when its immature so as not to rot.

And, my favorite wife's gifts have gotten more extravagant over time. St. Nick is generous, indeed. I will make a special dinner on the 6th. A mini feast -Thanksmass I call it, with early winter root vegetables, a game bird, and something Provencal as a tip of the hat when we used to travel to Italy and France over Christmas.

So, what particular cultural adaptations have made it into your family?

Beggars’ Night

Across this country, on October 31 (although when I grew up it was the Saturday before) kids will go house to house demanding candy from the occupants. Their chant of “trick or treat” suggests if they do not receive that candy then they will inflict some sort of minor harm upon the home owner. Suggestions include rolls of toilet paper, eggs or the infamous flaming bag of dog poop.

Anyhow, because I’m now in my 50s, I get to use such phrases as “when I was younger” and “kids these days” suggesting my superior, more difficult or just better upbringing. And so, “when I was younger” my brothers and I never went trick or treating. Well, we did. We just never went trick or treating for ourselves, for candy. We went trick or treating for UNICEF. (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund).

Every Halloween we would go house to house with our little orange boxes shouting “trick or treat for UNICEF.” People would put some change, or the occasional dollar, in our orange boxes. At nearly every house the homeowner would want to also give us some candy, but my dad would wave his hand from side to side, giving a clear “no” sign, much to my disappointment.

My parents were trying to instill a sense of doing something for someone else. Of giving without receiving anything in return. Lots of references of that in the Bible and my parents were/are pretty conservative Catholics. As a young kid I always wanted the candy more than I got any sense of helping out poor and hungry children by collecting change every Halloween. Besides, my parents called Halloween “Beggars’ Night.” I never asked why they had such a disparaging view of kids collecting candy every October 31st. Or, maybe they only didn’t want us to do so, to use that time more wisely, for someone else.

Part of that stuck because my six-year-old gets the orange UNICEF box from church every year and fills it with change (mainly donations from his parents but recently from his own savings). And, he goes trick or treating, for candy. This year he is going as Darth Vader.

Happy Halloween!

There I was, knee deep in grenade pins . . .

When we returned from Harvey I embarked on a "listening tour." I contacted my classes through Canvas to see who was still with me, who had fled the area, who could still continue, and who needed help to continue. I had a few on-campus students who took the class as online students being unable to make it to campus, to include one student who spent the semester in a Red Cross shelter. But most who needed assistance just needed temporary assistance and as the college pushed back the start of the semester two weeks, that was enough for most people to get their issues resolved so that they either could return to class or could come up with a Plan B.

Some of those alternative paths to success included bundling smaller, earlier assignments into larger assignments due later in the semester or different versions of assignments such as oral presentations via Skype.

We have something like Harvey, but on a smaller scale to work through now. Tropical Storm Imelda ripped through the area last week. Came out of nowhere, like TS Allison, and did more damage than expected. I had the foresight (luck?) to cancel classes on Wednesday and Thursday so that my students would not have to worry about trying to get out of here. This campus very quickly becomes an island during heavy rain events. So far I've only heard from on-campus students and they had their vehicles totaled. Most are out for a short time but one sounds like he might be out indefinitely, but I am working to get him to at least do some work via online.

We will see what happens as the week unfolds -who shows up and what kind of stories I hear. The Platinum Rule is the motto of the semester: Treat others like they want (need) to be treated. Need to make sure that everyone who wants to continue in my classes are afforded the opportunity to do so. Plan B. Life is full of one Plan B after another. At least my life has been one Plan B after another.

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it." -Yogi Berra

A Road Less Traveled: One Historian’s Reference Guide to Our Story: Update

I’ve been writing the 2nd edition of my OER ancillary (don’t call it a textbook) for about a year. I’ve completed a Preface, a Prologue, an Introduction, seven chapters for the first part of US History and four chapters for the second part of US History.

The reason for the OER project is to create a free resource that provides a basic understanding of US history under one roof. Currently, I use a series of links from varies sources to provide my students with that understanding of US History. The problem with a series of hyperlinks is that some students have reported difficulty finding the starting point of some of the readings, such as Building the American Republic.

I’m interested in what people think about OER in general and my OER project in particular. https://ourstory.pressbooks.com/   

Free/More Free College

There is much discussion lately about "free" college. Some how, some one has to pay for the salaries of the college employees, the maintenance of the grounds, upkeep of the buildings, expansion when necessary, and so forth.

So the right question is free college will be free to who?

College was free to me because I was prepared to lay down my life for this country and in exchange the federal government, with the support of American taxpayers, provided me with the GI Bill. Part of the GI Bill was money that covered most of my tuition, books, and other costs.

So, if you want a free ride, all you have to do is follow my lead and join the Army. Although the Marines, Navy, Air Force or Coast Guard will do, I suppose.

The other option is to have some sort of civilian federal service for those who wish to obtain a free college degree without joining the military.

Students borrow money from the federal government. Those who do not obtain their terminal degree or certificate must pay back 100% of the loan. Those who who obtain their terminal degree or certificate can enter into federal service.

There needs to be a formula. Depending on the type of work performed for the federal government, the government will forgive a certain amount or percentage of the loan. Military work will result in the loan being forgiven at a quicker pace then say working for the Parks Department as a docent in Yellowstone. Hazardous versus non-hazardous duty.

Someone else can figure it out. I'm just the idea man. The devil is in the details, which I have none at this time. A CCC or WPA for the 21st century.

First Week!

The first week is in the can! I don’t get any feedback from students, so I’m never sure how they are doing at the end of this week; after I’ve explained my standards, requirements, policies, and expectations. Do they feel like this?

Group Work - Learn the Skills to Successful Group Dynamics Now Because You'll Be Doing Group Work in Your Careers!

Group work is important. But many (most?) students either do not like or shy away from group work. The importance of group work in college is two-fold. First, students need to learn how to work as a member of a team now because they will be doing so for probably most of their professional lives. And, when they interview for that job, one traditional question is “Tell us about your experience in working as a member of a team.”

Second, students are capable of teaching each other just as well as their professors can teach the students. Students need the self-assurance in their capabilities, which comes with practice in the group setting.

Of course one obvious problem with group work is inevitably one member will fail to do his/her job. The same thing will happen when you go to work for Halliburton, GE, or Boeing. So, group work in college affords you the opportunity to learn how to deal with such a scenario. Learn how to accomplish the goal even though at least one group member has not lived up to his or her responsibilities.

https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/students-teaching-students-and-student-engagement

Prying or Helping?

There is a trend in higher education that faculty and staff (but primarily faculty because we are in close contact with students more often than anyone else) really get to know students, be aware of their students, watch their students, listen to their students, and try to determine the students' needs outside of the classroom. Needs that would affect their ability to succeed inside of the classroom.

But that means I am no longer your professor. I am your professor/social worker. I am trying to determine your external needs -something I am not trained to do. And, if I determine that you need assistance with food or housing or that you are using your student loans to pay for your parents' rent, how do I talk to you about that? Do you even want me doing so?

What's the line between helping and prying?

Maybe that line is different for each student. For some students, they might feel what I am doing, trying to get involved in their lives outside of the classroom, is a invasion of their privacy. While other students might welcome the help because they do not know how to ask for help or who to turn to for help.

One thing I do know is that my job description in definitely changing. I noticed that several years ago when I identified my first homeless student and when I figured out that some of my students did not have enough nourishment because they lived in a food desert. So, I started to help where and when I could. I have not received any blow back. Nothing but thanks and gratitude so far.

But still, I do wonder what is the line between helping students to succeed in class by meeting their needs outside of class and prying into their personal lives. One of these days I might find out.

Food Insecurity

The other major issue affecting more and more college and university students is that they do not have enough to eat. They do not have reliable, consistent access to food. This phenomenon is known as Food Insecurity. Institutions of higher education have opened food pantries, hold food drives, and even individual professors bring food to class.

People who are hungry have a harder time concentrating. People who have a harder time contrasting fall behind in their classes and either fail, drop out, or just disappear into the abyss. The Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior reports that nearly 60% of college students are food insecure. That is a staggering figure! With approximately 13% of American households having a hard time securing
sufficient food, college students would then be five times more likely to experience food insecurity.

From California to the East Coast, some governments require all public colleges and universities to operate food pantries while other institutions operate food pantries because they know the need exists. I teach in an are which the neighborhood (designated as a super neighborhood by Houston) is a food desert. There is not one grocery store in the area. In order to get fresh fruit and vegetables at a reasonable price (reasonable meaning cheaper than what is for sale at corner mini markets) people have to drive or take buses outside of the neighborhood. Although there has not been a study of food insecurity at my campus, I would not be surprised if the percentage of students who go hungry are higher than the campuses in the suburbs. However, there seems to be no agreement on the numbers or percentages of food insecurity among college and university students. But it seems that West Coast schools might be taking the lead in addressing this issue.

To get a handle on the scope of the need here at my campus, we need to poll the students. But before that we need to get every professor on board.

Housing Insecurity

Several years ago, on the first day of the semester, a student beat me to my 8am class. She beat me the next time and the next time and the next time. I pride myself on getting to class early (30 minutes early) to set up my PowerPoint presentation so when students filter in they see the title of the lecture and I’m ready to begin at 8.

On our second meeting of the semester I noticed this early bird was wearing the same clothes. She had on the same clothes the next two times the class met. So, at the end of the second week I called her over and remarked how much she like that sweater because she’s worn it every day for the first two weeks of the semester. Then she confided in me what I expected: she was homeless.

There are two major problem affecting students, one is housing insecurity.

In every class, each semester, I become aware of at least one homeless student. I have no idea how many of my students are homeless. Nationally, about 36% of students are housing insecure while 9% are outright homeless.

How large, how widespread is this problem at HCC? Home insecurity has a direct correlation with student success. Without a stable shelter, anxiety, stress, and depression build. Those take over one’s ability to focus on college work, which leads to dropping out of college or just disappearing into the abyss.

We need to do something. The first thing to to get the word out that the college has the resources and the know how to offer assistance to those with home insecurity. The second thing I’d like to do is to figure out how many homeless students we have.

So, some of my classes are assigned to meet with homeless advocates to try to come up with a plan to best identify students who are home insecure.

Stigma to Community College

Stigma is Due to Failure, Not Success.

(And what to do about it.)

Two lifetimes ago, right out of high school, I moved out of my parents’ house and enrolled in a tier-two state university but I did not have the maturity and other characteristics to succeed. The same thing happened the next semester when I gave it less than the old college try at my local community college, which was just a few miles down the road from my parents’ house (which I moved back in to). At no point did I think community college was a step down. I simply enrolled because of proximity. I could walk, ride my bike, or take the bus if I was feeling particularly lazy.  

I knew coming out of high school I had no skills any employers were looking for. Growing up I religiously watched the Wild, Wild West and Batman and so I had always wanted a career in federal law enforcement or national security. I started to fill out applications for the Secret Service, only to stop when I got to the part when they wanted to know what my Bachelor’s degree was in and where I was awarded that degree.

And so, I turned to the Army for a myriad of reasons, one being that I was able to get a job in military intelligence and another being that part of the GI Bill that would help pay for college. 11 years after failing two different types of higher education I returned to that same community college.

Now, the University of Washington was a 20-minute bus ride across the Evergreen Point Floating bridge and a bus pass was included with the tuition. But even closer was the community college. Ultimately, I wanted to earn a BA in History from the University of Washington then go on to earn a Master’s degree in something yet to be determined. I was playing with the idea of medieval history.

I was not a math major but I did realize that if I went to the community college first and then tried to gain entrance to the UW as a Junior, I would have a more difficult time gaining entry then if I tried to start as a freshman. I was not sure how many students were admitted as Freshmen, but I knew that the number admitted as Juniors were dependent on the number of those first and second year students who dropped out. So, if the university had room for 5,000 Freshmen but only 1,000 dropped by year three, the school would only admit 1,000 as Juniors. Therefore, I would have a better chance of being accepted into the state’s flagship, tier one research institution by trying to gain admittance as a Freshman.

On the other hand, the finances were limited. The GI Bill I was under was not as generous as earlier or current GI Bills when it came to education. Furthermore, I seriously questioned my ability to succeed. I was 0-2. Granted that was 11 years earlier, but still I asked myself if I had what it took to succeed and if I did not, I wanted to discover that as inexpensively as possible, thus I elected to enroll in the community college.

I never felt that I was doing myself a disservice. That I was somehow cheating myself out of two years of a flagship experience. Those ideas never crossed my mind. What did cross my mind was the messy, financially and emotionally draining divorce I was going through. That community college had counselors. That’s what they called them Counselors. They were actually psychologists. The college had psychologists available for students. Talk about a benefit that I needed. Between my experiences in the Army and the divorce, I needed help. I guess most students were squared away emotionally because I was able to see the psychologist twice a week, every week.

Then on a whim I ran for a position on the student government. I was unsuccessful, but the person who did become the president hired me to be the student liaison to Olympia -the state capital, on issues pertaining to community colleges. So once a week I drove to Olympia where I met with state representatives and discussed legislation that was in the pipeline as well as the needs of community college students.

This was during the Clinton administration and so the Pell Grant and Work-Study were both well-funded. I got a job working for the head of the theater department, designing sets and learning about lighting and working a sound board. I even wrote a one-man play about the first hour I realized I was going through a divorce.

I never had any doubts about the quality of the instructors. Never wondered if they had “only” a master’s degree. Their lectures were captivating. They were interesting story tellers. No multimedia. No PowerPoint with embedded video. Just well-told stories. I did not have to take any math classes and I only had to take one science and one English class. Every other class was a History class. How that happened is a story for another time. I developed close friendships with several faculty members. I was 29 after all. 

First class was 7AM, and once cases were over (I think by 11), there was the Work-Study, clubs, organizations, trips to Olympia and those visits to the counselors. So much to do. Such a vibrant campus! Nothing about my community experience said second rate, the high school with ash trays, or the 13th grade. 

Not only did I succeed, I excelled. I finished my AA in just one calendar year and I was successful in being admitted into the state’s tier one research institution as a Junior. You know what’s interesting? Nobody ever asked me “Where did you graduate from high school?” or “Did you go to a community college before coming here?” That stuff was not important.

Nowhere on my schedule did it say “former community college student.” We were not segregated in the government documents room of Suzzallo Library, or a special section at Husky Stadium or at Starbucks. I never had a professor ask about my academic past. At the community college I took three types of anthropology classes with a wonderful professor. One day at the University of Washington I ran into him, because he was teaching there as well and that’s when I was introduced to this thing called “adjuncts.” I think that’s the real stigma in higher education, but that’s a different essay.

I hung out with fellow veterans at my community college. One went to law school, another history major went to medical school, and one got a degree in plasma physics. I do not know what that is.

I would not trade my time at the community college for the university. The time to obtain my AA provided me to with so much opportunity for growth in so many aspects of my life. Opportunities that just did not exist at the University of Washington with a student population of 75,000.  

I do not see, hear, smell, taste, or feel a stigma about going to community college. Of course, I could be deaf and blind to the trolls because I chose to become part of the system that educates the vast majority of Americans (and quite a bit of international students, too)!

I knew I wanted to teach, but I was unsure as to which level. But shortly after I began attending that community college, meeting up with other veterans for coffee before our 7am classes, with all of the enrichment programs, personal assistance programs, and wealth of success stories I heard from the faculty, I decided that I wanted to teach at a community college. I am exactly where I wanted to be because I attended a community college.

I think any stigma associated with community colleges is not in completion, in having that degree on your cv along with the other degrees, certifications, and accomplishments. I think the stigma is because so many students do not succeed and thus community colleges get branded as institutions that are unsuccessful in their mission of educating people. I think that people do not realize that community colleges are open enrollment institutions, and they do not realize that many state universities are also open enrollment. We are low hanging fruit. And so, the stigma is not on the successful students, such as myself now but on myself in 1982. Community colleges are the dumping ground for the ill prepared to succeed (me in 1982) is maybe the perception? Is that the stigma?

If so, then I would invite you to attend a graduation ceremony in May and then a few years later when they graduate with their BA and BS degrees.

The bar is low to gain admittance into an open enrollment institution: does the check clear? If so, you’re in! But the passion, excitement, and tenacity that I experienced as a student at my community college in 1994-1995 are the same as I see among my colleagues today. Some major differences are that we have a better understanding of content delivery, learning and assessment.

So, how do we tackle the stigma of the community college student who fails? We need to address the reasons for failure, which are many to include a lack of soft skills (maturity, dedication, perseverance, resiliency and grit), a lack of proper nutrition, the ability to pay for the insanely rising cost of books. We cannot say that a percentage of students simply lack the intellectual abilities to succeed in college. 

Life is too complex for the single villain theory. Rather we need to address the holistic reasons for failure. Double the Pell Grant. Bring back Work-Study for everyone. Ensure that students have the choice of taking OER classes over for-profit book classes. Open up food pantries, or even better open a cafeteria that serves at least one hot square to every student each day. A sliding scale day care so more people can afford to attend college. There is much we can do to address the stigma that people do not have what it takes to succeed at community colleges and maybe that community colleges are not doing enough to meet the needs of their unique student populations.

Justice Louis Brandeis said something like “Sunlight is said to be the best disinfectant.” In other words, let’s identify why these stigmas exist, then tackle them in a public and aggressive manner until the realization exists that community colleges are your most bang for your buck, you’ll get more personalized and individualized care and attention, and those community college professors are just as accomplished as those at your local university.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

On a Purely Personal Manner

My son Julius completed kindergarten. He is in a dual immersion program in which half of the kids are native Spanish speakers and half are native English speakers. This year, 90% of instruction was in Spanish.

The school put on a little completion ceremony. Each kid's name was read. They shook the hand of the principal, stood for photos, then all kindergarten classes together sang about 6 songs. Very nice. I will let you figure out which of the kids in this close up shot is my son Julius.

Summer 2019

This summer I've decided to go 100% OER in all of my classes. A relatively easy task for my US history courses, but slightly more difficult for my Mexican American history classes in large measure because I have only collected one OER textbook for Mexican American history and I prefer to use several in order to present a more balanced look for my students.

Nevertheless, I dug deep into the net and discovered a plethora of ancillaries, articles and essay collections that will dovetail nicely with the OER textbook A History of the Mexican American People by Julian Samora. The semester has not started and already I've received feedback from one of my Mexican American history students: "Thank you for not making us pay." 

This semester I had my students purchase just one book, an anthology put together by our department. The book is a quality piece of scholarship. And as the book is only available in an electronic format, the price is right (about $32).

But study after study, article after article, presentation after presentation hammers home the reality that food and insecurity and homelessness are two major issues affecting our students. Click the image to read a 2019 article on food insecurity.

However, $32 to someone who is struggling with food or housing insecurity is $32 that could be used elsewhere. So, I have decided to beta test going 100% OER in all of my courses through both summer sessions. US History to 1877, US History since 1877, Mexican American History to 1900, and Mexican American History since 1900. I found identifying sufficient scholarship for the first part of Mexican American history to be particularly challenging.

Towards the end of the this (Spring 2019) semester, one of students who had been struggling with housing issues (I introduced him to the Dean of Student Services earlier in the semester) launched a GoFundMe site in order to collect enough money so that he would not have to live in his car. He is an example of someone who needs $32 for other things besides a book that I probably can recreate with some time and thought. I already have collected the articles, essays and documents. All I need to do now is to write introductions to each. That is one of my summertime projects. Therefore, by this Fall I will have my own OER anthology. This was a project I had wanted to do. This homeless student of mine was the impetus to finally do it. Click the image to read a report on homelessness among college students.

$32 is not much, but its a start. If I can save every student $32 maybe I can get my colleagues to do the same. OER is spreading like wildfire across college and university campuses. It's about time that others adopt this method for a variety of reasons to include helping those who have to deal with food insecurity and possible homelessness.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

Open Education Week

My #OER project for Open Education Week been approved and it's featured on the OEW website! 

I will be part of a round table discussion taking place on a webinar Monday, March 4th talking about the status of OER at HCC with other OER authors, contributors, and users from the college. The round table will be facilitated by the college's OER Program coordinator, Nathan Smith. 

2019 NACCS - Tejas Foco Conference

Our campus (Eastside) hosted the Tejas Foco conference of the National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies. Entitled Semillas de Poder the theme was contemporary resistance honoring the histories of Chicanas/Chicanos.

I wanted my students to attend to so I offered the opportunity to swap some traditional assignments for some non traditional assignments. Instead of writing stuff that I wanted them to write about, they would attend the conference, select three panels of their choice, and write about what they learned from those panels.

The feedback from my students was unexpected. They loved the conference -not just the presentations but meeting students from other colleges from various level of study. They were excited and we spent a good part of each class the week after the conference discussing the conference in general and the presentations in particular.

This makes me want to revive the student conferences the History Club used to host pre-2012. Usually one in October (with no particular theme except "History") and one in March with a women's studies theme. Vamos a ver.

So many participants knew Dr. Pocarello. We spent much time before and between sessions reminiscing about her and her impact to this college. Her presence is felt and known far and wide.

And thank you to all of the HCC faculty and staff who worked so diligently so make this conference a success to include Natalie, Samantha, Jesse, Stalina, Rosie, Erica, Melinda, Martha, Veronica, Daisy and Alejandra. As Natalie said, "It was a lot of work but y'all made it a labor of love. Here's to work that matters."

Our Story

Updated January 19th

Recently, I began migrating my OER reference guide from Rice's Open Stax (originally Project Connexions) to PressBooks. PressBooks has become the platform for all HCC faculty producing OER. I am what Rice calls a "legacy author," which means I am still able to create content for Open Stax. I know the University of Maryland's online school and a few other instructors and many individual students/people use my reference guide from Open Stax, so I need to keep the edition there updated.

I am taking the opportunity of HCC migrating all OER to PressBooks to write the 2nd edition of my OER, which I renamed A Road Less Traveled: One Historian's Reference Guide to Our Story. As I complete rewriting each chapter of the 2nd draft in PressBooks, I then upload that new chapter to the 2nd edition in OpenStax.

A Road Less Traveled: One Historian's Reference Guide to Our Story

The Tetons and the Snake River -Ansel Adams (1942)

The link will take you to what I have so far. Our students participated in the research and translation aspects of the Magnolia Park monograph (Pearson, 2011). Starting this semester, students in my US history survey classes will be researching and writing biographies of people not found in traditional textbooks. I will edit what they come up with and use those bios in this OER book, thus making Our Story truly our story. I am excited about this faculty-student collaboration and I look forward to what my students come up with. As of now, I am writing the context, the linear narrative and some analysis. Students will pepper the narrative with people, their words and deeds. 

My goal, besides the collaboration and final production, is the increase of student success and retention due to increased student enjoyment because they are more closely tied to the course objectives. The major objective being each student adding the voice and experience of lesser known (or better yet unknown) people to the history of this country. They get to pick the people. They will research those involved in various events, movements, activities. Students will decide who will make the cut, who we will give agency to. Students will have the choice over who this textbook talks about, the direction, even just for a page or two. Students will interview family members who participated in combat from WWII to the present, participated in civil rights activities, or their feelings when Kennedy was shot, when Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon, or 9/11. And this being Houston, there will be some stories on immigration (legal and illegal), family disruptions, living in the shadows, and DACA. 

Each student who participates will be properly recognized in the list of contributors. They may also include a brief, 100 word bio if they chose to do so. And, students may opt out of having their work added to the OER. I have a history major who is my student editor. She will critique student submissions (in the blind) and suggest using or not using them in the OER. She will also be contributing to Our Story as well by researching and writing more detailed stories. She took the second part of the US history survey from me in the Fall of 2018. Her writing and analytic skills are leap years beyond her classification of a sophomore. And, she's an international student. This is exciting stuff!