There was a full house at the Fall 2017 SDCE Diversity Book Club Kickoff Meeting, held at North City Center on Sept. 25. We welcomed 29 faculty members (and 1 Dean!) who attended this lively event, with representation from across SDCE programs. The Diversity Book Club is an opportunity to read, learn, share ideas and build community at SDCE. The book selection is ‘The Distance Between Us’ by Reyna Grande, which was a National Book Critics Circle Awards finalist. The book speaks to the extraordinary and challenging experiences that many of our students, friends and families may have lived through as immigrants in the United States. Reyna Grande has become a celebrated author, social justice advocate, and inspirational speaker.
The first meeting provided an opportunity for people to meet and share why they wanted to be in the Diversity Book Club. Several people shared that though they read a lot, they never had joined a book club until they got invited to this one, and they looked forward to meeting with colleagues across programs; others said they are in book clubs now or in the past and both enjoyed them and got great value from the experience; still others mentioned how important it is to think about the experiences of our students so we can better support them in our classrooms, and reading and talking together is an excellent way we can do this.
While the Fall Book Club session is now full, we plan to have a Spring 2018 Diversity Book Club and will have a more spots open. Keep your eyes open in January 2018 for an invitation.
More Good News: Guest Speaker Surprise Visit!
We are more than excited to announce that Reyna Grande herself will be a special guest speaker at ECC. Here are the event details:
DATE: Monday Nov. 6, 2017
TIME & LOCATION: Main Presentation: 3:00-4:30 PM; ECC Theatre
Book Signing w/ light refreshments: 4:30-5:00 PM, ECC Foyer
4343 Ocean View Boulevard San Diego 92113
This event is co-sponsored by SDCE Academic Senate & AFT Guild, Local 1931, and is open is open to all SDCCD faculty, staff and students. Flex Credit for Faculty will be available
The leadership team for the Diversity Book Club includes Laurel Slater, ESL Faculty & APC at CE Miramar; Linda Osborn, Parent Ed faculty and SDCE Coordinator; and Laurie Cozzolino, Faculty Flex Coordinator. Special thanks to Sol Madrid at the ECC Campus Bookstore, for exceptional customer service and support! Contact lcozzoli@sdccd.ed for more information.