To help children keep reading over the school holidays, two ‘Books in the Park’ events are taking place.
Part of the Essex Year of Reading, the events include special story time sessions. They take place at Thorndon and Weald Country parks on Thursday 11 August. During the sessions, families can hear children’s classics, The Gruffalo and Stick Man.
The session at Thorndon takes place 10.30am-11.30am and the session at Weald takes place 2pm-3pm. The events are free but car parking charges will apply.
The Country Parks are home to the Gruffalo and Stick Man trails. Families are welcome to walk the trails before or after the story time sessions.
The mobile library will be at Thorndon between 10am-12pm and at Weald between 1.30pm-3.30pm on the day (subject to weather conditions).
There are lots of other ways to get involved with the Essex Year of Reading this summer. Take part in our ‘Reading in Unusual Places’ challenge. Download the app from the App Store or Google Play for more fun ideas to help your child discover a lifelong love of reading.
Book lovers and children are in for a treat at the City of Santa Maria Public Library.
The library is extending its hours starting Monday, July 11.
The hours will be Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In addition, the library is inviting families and children to an interactive and imaginative program presented by Pyjama Drama on Monday, July 11 at 11 a.m. in the Youth Services Altrusa Theater. The program features play, stories, and songs for children ages 18 months to 3 years old.
Also being held in the theater, preschoolers and caregivers are invited to learn how to create sensory bins on Wednesday, July 13 at 11 a.m.
By Isabel Shaw, student at Brookdale Community College
“Across the nation, challenged and banned books and challenges to curricula from elementary to higher education that cover race, gender and sexuality are not just in the news – these efforts are having an impact on educational access and the lives of individuals,” said English Professor Rosanne Alvarez, who coordinates the WILL program.
Brookdale students Jackie Romano, Amanda Zelevansky and Lillian Connor were shocked to hear that, due to misinformation and political pandering, the University of Wyoming planned to defund the university’s gender and women’s studies department and eliminate the program. The Wyoming Legislature later rescinded the defunding, but only after the embarrassing debacle was publicized.
Politicians using school curricula to rally a political base sets a dangerous precedent. Concerned about copycat bills in other states, the three students sprang into action, planning events to inform other students and to highlight the seriousness of school censorship.
Zelevansky, a business administration major and president of Women in Learning and Leadership (WILL) got together with Connor, a political science major and secretary of WILL, and Romano, an English major and WILL member who is completing a Women’s and Gender studies Academic Credit Certificate of Achievement. Their plan was to find a way to counter the lies and misrepresentations promoted by ill-informed politicians and school officials.
The students were initially concerned with the unprecedented number of challenged and banned books and a “Banned Book Event” is planned for noon on Tuesday, April 19, at the upper level outside the Student Life Center. But when the threat of censorship expanded to include women and gender studies, a greater urgency unfolded.
In response, Brookdale faculty will join WILL Academic Program members for a Zoom Webinar titled “Education at the Intersections: Brookdale Faculty Discussion Panel” 7 p.m. Thursday, April 14. The group will share why it is important to resist this attempt at school censorship.
Alvarez promises an exciting and informative exchange and invites all Brookdale faculty and students for a discussion that will center on the relevance of Women and Gender studies curriculum in our current moment.
“We must consider the implications of the ongoing push to ban books and classroom curricula that represent the experiences of women, Black, indigenous, and people of color as well at the LGBTQ+ communities,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez will share her insights and help moderate the free event. The other panelists will be Professor Kathleen Kennedy, English; Associate Professor Diditi Mitra, sociology; Professor Brian Oland, psychology; Professor Jane Scimeca, history; Assistant Professor Judi Ungar, library; and Shayla Ward, English instructor.
