Representation in all walks of life has been in the spotlight recently. And one area that is full of controversy is what young people are exposed to in books that often help inform them during some of the most important years of their lives.
A study by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that out of the 3,400 books that they received for 2015, 106 were by Black authors and 269 were about Black characters, and 58 were by Latino authors and 82 were about Latino characters.
Malinda Lo, a YA novelist, has been following the uptick in LGBT+ YA.
According to Lo, “In 2014, mainstream publishers published 47 LGBT YA books. This is a 59% increase from 2013, when only 29 LGBT YA books were published by mainstream publishers.”
Yes, these statistics look optimistic, but they are still not what they should be.
So what is the damage done when proper representation can’t be ascertained?
All groups suffer because such lack of representation fails to encapsulate the differences between different people; essentially, one person is not the whole.
“I think the tendency has been to reduce Latino characters as this one thing or Asian characters as this one thing, Muslim characters as one thing, and the fact is that we’re people,” Meg Medina, a Cuban-American writer of YA books and an Advisory Chair for the group We Need Diverse Books, said in a interview with RISE NEWS. “And all of those very specific identifiers and experiences shape how we move. It’s what makes us people.”
Meg Medina, a well known Cuban-American YA author. Photo Credit: Meg Medina/ Facebook.
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The effects of poor representation of minority groups are not limited to people of color.
Alex Gino uses the singular they pronoun and wrote George, a YA book about a trans girl that won the 2016 Stonewall Book Award.
“It’s important to remember that each trans experience is unique and different the way that each cis experience, the way that each trans experience, the way that each gay or queer experience is unique,” Gino said in an interview with RISE NEWS. “And so I wouldn’t even say that one trans story can cover it, or one gay story would cover it. There’s nothing quite like finding someone like yourself in a book.”
Leaps and bounds have been made in representation, however, despite this work, there are still advances to be made.
For example, Lo estimated that 1.9% to 2.4% of YA books published in 2013 had LGBT+ characters or dealt with LGBT+ issues.
YA author Alex Gino at a book signing in 2015. Photo Credit: Alex Gino/Facebook
“There is a lot of work to be done. I think that we only started to drill down into the many experiences that make up being a young person,” Medina said. “I think there are lots of questions in publishing now, like who’s writing these stories? Are they authentic, are they not authentic, are they written from sort of an outsider point of view, people imagining what it’s like to be x y or z, are they generally writers of color? I think when we have many people at the table with many points of view, the books that get published are richer, are more nuanced, are truer stories of real peoples’ lives.”
Gino seemed to agree with that sentiment.
“I think that we are scratching the surface of the stories that are available to be told, and the stories that are available to read,” Gino said. “I think that we need more books by diverse people and we also need more diverse groups of people publishing the books, so that stories that are being picked have more things to offer.”
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Amber McKinney/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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10 Reasons to Go Back to College
By Melissa Davidson
It’s never too late to go back to college.
In fact, the number of students “returning” to school is now outpacing first-time students.
Traditional-aged students between 18 to 22 are no longer the majority of students in the higher education system in our country.
Attending college is a rite of passage after high school for some, while for others jumping into the job market is the way to go. No matter where you are in life, here are 10 great reasons you should go back to college and get the degree.
- Earning potential
Having a college degree not only increases your career earning prospects, it may make you eligible for a pay raise or promotion.
The difference in median weekly earnings between a high school diploma and a bachelor’s degree can be $20,000 a year or more, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Yes, college can be expensive but the return on investment may be worth it down the road.
More education could qualify you for that promotion you’ve been gunning for.
Likewise, if earning a salary boost means going back to school, it seems like a no-brainer.
For new job hunters, the degree will likely land you a higher paying job with health insurance and vacation time.
- Career change
Sometimes we don’t know what we want to be when we grow up, so we work jobs to make ends meet until we figure out something more lucrative.
Or, maybe your current career feels like a dead end and pursuing a different path seems like a logical next step.
In fact, just getting a degree in anything can help you get a better paying job or open up opportunities for more senior positions.
According to Forbes.com, only 27% of college graduates have a job related to their major, so go study what your heart desires and still have a worthwhile career as anything from an entrepreneur to project manager to a realtor.
- New challenge
A mid-life crisis sometimes yields an expensive new Ferrari or an equally expensive divorce.
How about investing in a new life challenge?
Furthering your education! Taking courses is a positive pursuit of a new-found passion or playing off your current strengths. Learning new things keeps life spicy.
- Financial aid incentives
This is interesting: Big employers – like Pizza Hut, JetBlue and Starbucks – help older students finish their degrees through incentive programs.
Nearly 3.5 million Americans over 50 years old have taken some college courses, but have not earned a degree or certificate, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
For students like 63-year-old Diane W. Tavoian, the only way to finish her degree was by returning to college at Arizona State University, who partners with Starbucks to provide financial aid for employees.
Tavoian was already a student at ASU, but after hearing about the Starbucks College Achievement Plan, offered by ASU, she begged Starbucks to hire her as barista.
Starbucks got a good employee and Tavoian finished her bachelor’s degree.
- Positive role model
Your decision to return to school is an inspiring one for your friends and family.
You never know what your determination sparks in others.
It certainly sets a good example about finishing what you start. Good stuff.
- Personal achievement
Nothing is more satisfying than earning the degree you worked hard to get.
No matter what you study, your education leads to a richer life experience.
“When I was young for 15 minutes it was fashionable to tell your parents you weren’t going to go to college, “ writes higher education author Donald Asher. “My father, a design engineer, was driving down the freeway trying to convince me of the folly of my ways.
“Do you see that bridge,” he asked me, pointing to an overpass. “Sure,” I said, the typical insolent teenager. “Well, you see something different than I see. You see an overpass, and I see stress analyses, load factors, and fifty-year cycles of planned obsolescence. So I am getting more out of life than you are, and it’s because of my education.”
He was right, of course.
- Confidence boost
Learning new things makes you feel smarter, right? When you feel smarter, you’re enhancing your self-esteem. With a healthy self-esteem, your confidence shows, which shows your employer how valuable you are.
- Flexibility
You don’t have to attend a brick and mortar college or university to get your degree. Many students prefer online classes, especially busy people with families and current jobs to earn a bachelor’s or master’s degree.
You find a way to fit distance learning into your life in a timeframe that works best for you.
- More job options
Acquiring a new skill set makes you more marketable.
Not always, but college grads tend to have more job prospects because of the specialized skills they gain.
For example, many hospitals in the country will no longer hire registered nurses without a bachelor’s degree in nursing.
Nurses who’ve worked in the professional nursing field for decades are now going back to school to complete their degrees, sometimes on the hospital’s dime.
The degree also gives them more job options within the field.
- Meet new people
Classmates sharing the same interests is a good way to make connections that could eventually lead to a new job.
Having fun and meeting people is just part of the whole “college” experience.
If you’re nervous, like I was, about starting out on your college path, there are some things you can do to prepare so you will have the best time, like researching which campus group looks the most fun, or seeing if there are any out of the box classes that your school might offer that you could take for fun.
Plus, practicing those networking skills could serve you well in your new career.
Financially fit?
As you can see, going back to college has many advantages.
You’ll have to determine if the financial investment is worth it.
If you’re going to accumulate debt by going back to school, evaluate whether your potential salary will allow you to pay it off in a reasonable amount of time.
The goal is finding a career in a growing field with a paycheck that will do more than offset the costs of getting your degree.
But maybe the paycheck isn’t what it’s about at all.
College graduates tend to be happier and healthier and more optimistic about their past and future progress.
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Vincent LaConte/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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Freddie Gray’s Back Injury Detailed In Unsealed Report
BALTIMORE — Defense attorneys for Baltimore Police Officer Caesar Goodson have filed in court an internal police document in which officers wrote that Freddie Gray once complained of a back problem, as part of an effort to gain access to Gray’s medical records. The document had been previously sealed, after Judge Barry Williams ruled that prosecutors… Read More
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Are the Philadelphia 76ers the Worst NBA Team of All-Time?
For fans of the Philadelphia 76ers (such as myself), the 2015-2016 season has been a continuous nightmare.
Currently, the boys from the City of Brotherly Love have a record of 2-31, and with the exception of the equally-listless Lakers on New Year’s Day, the possibilities for wins are are few and far between.
The stats alone spell out a lot of woes. The team is last in PPG (92.0), last in point differential (-12.4), and 24th in points allowed (104.4).
On top of that, they have the youngest roster in the NBA at 22.9 years of age. They have only played one man over 30 (Carl Landry) and their leading scorer is a 20-year-old rookie.
I highly doubt any team could win boasting those figures.
But it’s not enough for the Sixers to just be seasonally bad. They are historically bad.
The phrase “worst team” is, admittedly, subjective. However, if you look at history, the case for the current iteration of the Sixers to hold that dubious title is strong.
The worst team in NBA history by winning percentage was the 2011-2012 Charlotte Bobcats (.106). However, that was in a strike-shortened season. For a full 82-game season, the record low is held by the 1972-1973 Philadelphia 76ers (.110).
Those Sixers won a paltry nine games. The current roster is projected to win fewer than five contests, which for the record would be a winning percentage of .061.
That sound you just heard was a collective groan coming from the vicinity of Constitution Hall.
I believe it is safe to say that the argument for the 2015-2016 76ers being the worst team of all time is cemented.
With that in mind, let’s take a minute to talk about the franchise as a whole.
General Manager Sam Hinkie is in the running for worst GM of all time in any sport. The news site FiveThirtyEight, summed this up pretty nicely.
And when other owners are petitioning the league to step in, you know you’re in trouble.
Hiring Jerry Colangelo as Chairman of Basketball Operations? Excellent.
Hiring Mike D’Antoni as an Associate Coach and sort-of Offensive Coordinator? The fanbase collectively facepalms.
Long story short, unless Colangelo takes over the GM duties, this team will go nowhere this season. And while theoretically they could only go up from here, that’s what was said at the end of last season too.
Cover Photo Credit: Doug Kerr/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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