Description: We Are Children of the Corn/Somos Hija/o/xs del Maíz: Husks of Hope, Resistance, and Latina/o/x Educational Success is a collection of empirical studies that explores the complex and multi-faceted journeys of Latina/o/x students. With maíz (corn) as the guiding symbol, this book incorporates indigenous teachings and knowledge to highlight the pillars and resources of support--referred to as "husks"--that nurture Latina/o/x students' growth, resilience, and achievement as they navigate the U.S. schooling system. This anthology offers examples that underscore the role of schools, families, and communities in shaping Latina/o/x students' trajectories from pre-K to higher education.
The volume builds upon the parent book, The Chicana/o/x Dream, by examining the intersectional experiences of Latina/o/x students in varied educational contexts, the resources they access within educational spaces, and their familial and community support systems. Using the Framework of Atravesada/o/xs Nepantleando (FAN), the authors in this anthology illustrate how Latina/o/x students become nepantlera/os--change agents who create and foster diverse cultural spaces and advocate for transformation. The book is organized around three themes: planting seeds to foster college access, cultivating students to foster college readiness, and harvesting to support college completion. Through these themes, the volume aims to empower educators, researchers, and policymakers to foster diverse, equitable, and inclusive school and community spaces that amplify Latina/o/x student voice and center their experiences. We Are Children of the Corn/Somos Hija/o/xs del Maíz is a valuable contribution to the scholarship on the Latina/o/x student experience in the United States. It is the perfect text for a variety of courses in Ethnic Studies and Cultural Studies.Brief description: Gilberto Q. Conchas is the Wayne K. and Anita Woolfolk Hoy Endowed Chair in the College of Education at Pennsylvania State University. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and his B.A. in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author and coauthor of over a dozen books--including The Color of Success; Streetsmart Schoolsmart; Cracks in the Schoolyard; Educational Policy Goes to School; The Complex Web of Inequality; The Chicana/o/x Dream; Race Frames in Education; We are Children of the Corn/Somos Hija/o/xs del Maíz: Husks of Hope, Resistance, and Latina/o/x Educational Success; and Repertoires of Racial Resistance. Dr. Conchas has been a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the University of California at Irvine and visiting professor at the University of Southern California, San Francisco State University, University of Washington, University of Barcelona, and the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara. He was also Senior Program Officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Review Quotes: "We are Children of the Corn/Somos Hija/o/xs del Maíz is a timely anthology that highlights the resiliencies of Latina/o/x and Chicana/o/x students and provides numerous examples of ways to help them thrive and succeed academically. This book contributes to and complicates the widely used phrase, 'They tried to bury us, but forgot we were seeds.' In utilizing the metaphor about maíz, We are Children of the Corn/Somos Hija/o/xs del Maíz reminds us that although seeds (Latina/o/x and Chicana/o/x students) are more than capable, they should not be forced to grow on their own and instead we need to carefully attend to them. Thus, Conchas, Acevedo, and DeAlba underscore the importance of planting, cultivating, and harvesting the seeds via our unwavering advocacy, support, and mentorship. It provides an important and necessary analysis of the many wonders that can be accomplished when there is intentional structural support available to Latina/o/x and Chicana/o/x students. We are Children of the Corn/Somos Hija/o/xs del Maíz is a useful tool for educators, educational leaders, community-based advocates, and researchers to critically reflect on their own educational approaches and practices by exposing us to the continued harsh realities of Latina/o/x and Chicana/o/x students as demonstrated in this book, but also by prompting us to recognize these interventions as inspiring and a call-to-action."----Martín Alberto Gonzalez, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at Portland State University and award-winning author of