About Talia Whyte

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Libraries Are The New Makerspaces

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legosMaker education is a new term that has popped up a lot recently in educational circles. Creating spaces for students to have hands-on learning teaches them skills that they might not find in a traditional classroom, like being innovative and thinking outside the box. Also, maker education can gear students towards careers in design, engineering, math, media and research. Most importantly students develop vital problem solving skills that are useful in any career they choose in the future.

Recently, I had a discussion with my friend Chris, who is a high school computer science teacher at a private school. He told me that his school has turned the library into a dedicated makerspace, where students can put their knowledge to work with coding and robotics.

“My principal became worried that less students were using the library to borrow books, since they can do all their research on their iPhones and download books,” Chris said. “This way we are reinventing what the library can be and serve our students in a more relevant way. The kids are actually more excited to go to the library now because they know they can create something cool there.”

Mind you, Chris works for an elite private school with high tuition, so the school can afford to create a full-time makerspace, unlike many public schools around the country that are lucky if they even have books in their libraries. This made me think about how makerspaces would fit into the context of public community libraries. Now I am not advocating that libraries should completely convert themselves into makerspaces, but like school libraries, public libraries are looking to stay relevant in the digital age. Circulation is down in many community libraries as more people choose Amazon and Wikipedia for books and research, respectively.

Recently, my local library started a LEGO club for kids. I see the final products the kids make, and they are pretty awesome! I don’t think makerspaces are going to completely replace libraries, but rather, work together in the same space with the common goal of providing a quality learning experience.
Here’s why I think this way:

Libraries and makerspaces are resourceful: Students have access to both print and digital books, research materials and other resources that are not usually accessible, even on the Internet. Likewise, makerspaces provide access to physical materials that would otherwise be too expensive for an individual to purchase on their own. For example, my library purchased several orders of the LEGO Creative Suite, which totaled over $400. They are free to use for participants in the LEGO club. Many of the kids come from low to middle income households, and making such a purchase would be inaccessible for many of them.

Blending interdisciplinary education: Libraries are full of books that span a wide variety of academic subject matters and contribute to idea creation which supports innovation in makerspaces. Alternatively, students experimenting in makerspaces will want to use the resources in the library. Many of the kids in the LEGO club look at books in the library about engineering and robotics design.

Librarians and Maker Educators lead on innovation: Both of them can be more flexible than traditional teachers in setting up customized workshops, mentorship and guidance based on specific learning needs. The head librarian at my local library played a big role in setting up the LEGO club and picking out books and materials with the maker educator for the kids.

Sense of community: Libraries are naturally informal gathering spaces for community members. Users don’t just come to borrow books, they also attend a wide variety of programming, like book clubs and children’s events. They are also social equalizers. No matter what background, race, age, gender or income, every and anyone can go to a library and gain knowledge. Makerspaces work in the same way.

It’s important to find that perfect balance between public libraries and makerspaces and how they can better serve their communities as this discussion continues in the near future.

Support Positive Images of Black STEM Students

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hoodsmartTwo things are evident in American society today. For one, there are not many positive images of black people in mainstream media, especially black males. While there have been some recent victories in television, like Scandal, How To Get Away With Murder and Black-ish, most of what’s on TV today are reality shows awashed in the very worst stereotypes about African-Americans.

The other evident thing is that there is a lack of African-Americans in STEM careers. I am sure you all have heard all the discussions about having more racial and gender inclusion in Silicon Valley and other STEM sectors.

Well, here is an interesting thing I stumbled upon that attempts to deal with these two racial issues simultaneously.

Maryland assistant principal Ateya M. Ball-Lacy is the creator and executive producer of a new reality show she is trying to launch called HoodSmart: The Urban STEMulus Project.

This would be a reality show that takes its cues from MTV’s The Real World, where 15 African-American STEM students are put into a house and compete in a variety of science, technology, engineering, and math related challenges for the ultimate prize of a full college scholarship.

“There are so many dimensions to us as a black community and our experiences in America, and I started to wonder why no one was telling that story,” said Ball-Lacy to UrbanGeekz. “There has always been a focus on the negative parts. Through this revolutionary reality show, we intend to change the image of urban America by providing a platform for African American youth to observe, celebrate and ultimately emulate the academic prowess of their peers, all before a live national T.V. audience.”

I don’t know what the status is on this show and if it was picked up by a network. It doesn’t look like HoodSmart raised enough money on their Indiegogo campaign. I get the impression the creator is only looking to put this on traditional network or cable television. If I was her, I would actually just produce a video series that can be viewed on YouTube and build momentum from there. Either way, I hope HoodSmart gets the greenlight somewhere.

I am a strong believer in being the change I want to see in the world. So I guess I am doing my small part by presenting this on my blog this week. I know a lot of people who work in the media who follow this blog, and, maybe one of them will take an interest in HoodSmart…

Watch the trailer here:

The Pre-9/11 Hijacking Era Revisited

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the skies belong to usMy post about the Black Panther documentary last month inspired my interest in learning more about the BPP international section.  I was browsing through my library a couple of weeks ago and realized that I had a copy of Brendan Koerner’s book The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking

(Disclaimer: I got this review copy of the book for free from the publisher a couple of years ago, but never got around to reading it at the time.)

This is one of the best books I have read in awhile.  Part investigative journalism, part thriller, this book doesn’t disappoint!  I literally couldn’t put this book down and finished it in three days.  The book centers around Western Airlines Flight 701, which was hijacked in 1972 by Roger Holder and his then girlfriend Catherine Kerkow.  This story has everything – sex, drugs, violence, mental illness, racism and politics.

Koerner does an excellent job of describing the hijackers’ backstory.  Holder and Kerkow, other than the both of them living in the same town of Coos Bay, Oregon briefly, couldn’t have been more different from each other.  He was a black man who felt discriminated against because of his skin color; first while living with his military family in Oregon and then as a soldier in Vietnam who was wrongly court-martialed for a petty crime.  She was a white woman who had a typical working class upbringing who became a masseur that gave hand jobs to male clients and sold marijuana on the side.

Holder had gone AWOL, writing bad checks and dealing with the onset of PTSD when he met Kerkow in San Diego.  He came up with the crazy idea of hijacking a plane, swapping the passengers for Angela Davis, who was on trial at the time for the Marin County incident, and bringing her to the Vietcong in North Vietnam.  The plan was to get ransom money that Holder and Kerkow would use to start a new life in Australia.

Sounds pretty crazy me, and unbelievable that the plane crew believed it, but they got away with it – sorta. Instead of going to Vietnam, they took the hijacked plane to Algeria, where they met up with Eldridge Cleaver and other Black Panthers on the lam.

I won’t give away too much of the story, but it is that wild and crazy and worth the read.  I will say that Catherine Kerkow is still on the run, and wanted by the FBI.  She has been rumored to be living in Cuba, but there is no substantive proof.

But the book is not just about Holder and Kerkow.  Koerner spends most of the book giving a substantive history of the “golden age” of hijackings, which was a common occurrence during the 1960s and 1970s.  I am only old enough to understand hijackings through the context of 9/11.  But even before 9/11, I never knew of a time when there weren’t metal detectors and security guards searching your person at the airport.  It seems impossible for me to imagine a time when people could just walk onto a plane without any of the strict security hassles we deal with today.

Apparently, this atmosphere of innocence did exist for a short time 50 years ago when commercial air travel was becoming more accessible to more people.  Many “skyjackers” saw this as an opportunity to use planes as vessels to gain worldwide attention.  Most of the earliest skyjackers were Fidel Castro sympathizers who wanted to fly to Havana.

Over time, skyjackers’ reasons for taking planes became varied and, well, insane.  Some wanted to bring attention to legitimate struggles like the Palestine question or racism in America, while others hijacked planes to avoid paying taxes or just wanted to get ransom money.  A lot of the hijackers were really mentally disturbed, especially the ones that parachuted off planes mid-flight like D.B. Cooper. Hijackings became so common during this time that there was one or two once a week.

These hijackings straddled the fine line between revolutionary acts and terrorism.  It makes you wonder if everyone during this time was crazy… or just high!

The only hijackings I was aware of before reading this book were the ones carried out by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine during the Black September timeline, and specifically PFLP member Leila Khaled – who hijacked two planes – the first woman to ever hijack a plane.  An interesting documentary about her life was done a few years ago.

The book also introduced me to Delta Air Lines Flight 841, which was hijacked by radical black militants who wanted to copycat the Western Airlines incident. They are mentioned in Koerner’s book, but there was also a more indepth documentary done about that incident too.  In the film, the director goes to Paris to interview one of the hijackers George Brown.

Whatever reason a plane was hijacked back then, the skies no longer belong to anyone today.

Why You Should Support Freedom of Information

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Read Banned BooksI was having a casual conversation the other day with a client about censorship in his home country of China.  He told me that among many, many things banned in the communist country, he said that he had never heard of Alice in Wonderland until he moved to England to attend college.  The Hunan province in China actually banned the classic children’s book because “animals should not use human language, and that it was disastrous to put animals and human beings on the same level.”

My first thought was to go into my usual rant about how oppressive China is and how free and lucky I am to be in the United States.  And, trust me, America does a better job of supporting free speech than most other countries in the world.  However, even in the land of the free, this country has its own censorship issues.

This is why we still need Banned Books Week.  

This week free speech advocates are highlighting books that have been challenged or banned in schools and public libraries around the United States.  The goal is to expose readers to literature that present different ideas and perspectives, even if those ideas and perspectives are contrary to their own beliefs.

According to the American Library Association, there were 311 reported attempts to remove or restrict materials from school curricula and library bookshelves during the 2014-2015 school year.  As a journalist, author, blogger and publisher, I have always been a strong supporter of free expression.  Furthermore, exploring literature from different perspectives give us a more well-rounded understanding of the world and it makes us better people.

Here is a list of the top 10 books that were challenged or banned in 2014.  I hope you will choose to read one or more of them!

1) “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,” by Sherman Alexie

Reasons: anti-family, cultural insensitivity, drugs/alcohol/smoking, gambling, offensive language, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group, violence. Additional reasons: “depictions of bullying”

2) “Persepolis,” by Marjane Satrapi

Reasons: gambling, offensive language, political viewpoint. Additional reasons: “politically, racially, and socially offensive,” “graphic depictions”

3) “And Tango Makes Three,” Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Reasons: Anti-family, homosexuality, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “promotes the homosexual agenda”

4) “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison

Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “contains controversial issues”

5) “It’s Perfectly Normal,” by Robie Harris

Reasons: Nudity, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group. Additional reasons: “alleges it child pornography”

6) “Saga,” by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Reasons: Anti-Family, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group. Additional reasons:

7) “The Kite Runner,” by Khaled Hosseini

Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited to age group, violence

8) “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky

Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “date rape and masturbation”

9) “A Stolen Life,” Jaycee Dugard

Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group

10) “Drama,” by Raina Telgemeier

Reasons: sexually explicit  

There are dozens of other books that have been banned or challenged over the last two decades. You can find the full lists here.

Learn more about Banned Books Week here.

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