Rosa Ortega is the coordinator for BUILD, a program in UC Berkeley’s Public Service Center that helps elementary school students connect with reading in new ways. (UC Berkeley photo by Irene Yi)
Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window) Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Click to print (Opens in new window) - Growing up, I never saw my life reflected in the books I read. My family structure is a little bit unconventional. My mom was a single mom and got a lot of support from her sister, so I spent a lot of time with my aunt and uncle as a kid. I was also an only child. In books I read, there was always a mom, a dad and a couple of kids. My mom's family is Mexican and Irish, so we would celebrate the Day of the Dead and also go to a special restaurant on Saint Patrick's Day and eat corned beef hash. Either there was never an aspect of culture in the kids' books I read, or the dominant culture was always white culture.
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