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The Siena School Blog

Discover, Learn, Celebrate, and Empower

Welcome to Siena's blog, your source for helpful, cutting-edge resources tailored to teachers, parents, and other advocates in the learning differences community. We are dedicated to providing a wealth of curated knowledge spanning various topics, ranging from dyslexia advocacy and awareness to classroom teaching strategies, heritage month profiles, and social and emotional health.

 

Posts Tagged "hispanic~heritage~month"

National Hispanic Heritage Month 2024

September 06, 2024
By Joe Fruscione, Communications, Content, and Advancement Coordinator

The theme for National Hispanic Heritage Month 2024 is Pioneers of Change: Shaping the Future Together.

Siena is highlighting some artistic and cultural contributions to commemorate during this important month celebrating Hispanic history and culture. See below for books, podcasts, and other resources of interest to introduce you to some pioneers of change in the Hispanic community.

Reading Pioneers of Change 

Here are some recent fiction and nonfiction books by Hispanic/Latino authors to explore:

See also Hispanic Executive’s 10 New Releases from Latino Authors and Penguin Random House’s Books to Read for Latine & Hispanic Heritage Month.

 

Listening to Pioneers of Change

Here are some podcast recommendation lists for various Hispanic, Latino, and other related topics to explore:

National Hispanic Heritage Month Resources

Siena Resources

The Siena School blog has other Heritage Month spotlights related to innovative dyslexia education, including Native American book recommendations, Mexican writer and activist Victor Villaseñor, Chicano artist Ignacio Gomez, African American writers and dyslexia advocates LeDerick Horne and Marcia Brissett-Bailey, and others.

Learn more about Siena’s commitments and ongoing initiatives for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.

The Siena School proudly serves students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences in grades 3-12 on campuses in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Oakton, Virginia. 

Spotlight on Victor Villaseñor

September 09, 2022
By Joe Fruscione, Communications, Content, and Advancement Coordinator

“I wanted my children to see examples of real Mexican heroes, since I grew up thinking Mexicans could only wash dishes and work in the fields.” —Victor Villaseñor, on his book Rain of Gold

National Hispanic Heritage Month 2022

As part of National Hispanic Heritage Month this year, Siena is honoring Victor Villaseñor for his decades of successful work as a writer, speaker, and activist with dyslexia.

The National Council of Hispanic Employment Program Managers (NCHEPM) chose Unidos: Inclusivity for a Stronger Nation as the theme for National Hispanic Heritage Month 2022. Since 1988, National Hispanic Heritage Month has spanned September 15–October 15 each year. The September 15 start date coincides with the independence day anniversaries for several Latin American countries, including Chile, Honduras, Mexico, and Costa Rica. 

Image by Irene Matos Chan.

A Latin Writer with Dyslexia

Born in Carlsbad, California, in 1940, Villaseñor has been a prolific author of fiction, nonfiction, and children’s works since publishing his first books, Macho! and Rain of Gold, in 1991.

Perhaps unusually, Villaseñor was an avid reader and writer well into adulthood before he realized he’s dyslexic. 

Villaseñor was diagnosed with dyslexia in his mid-40s, when his sons were also being tested. As he remembers his conversation with the learning specialist who diagnosed his sons and him,

“Do you see rivers between the words?” she asked.

“All the time,” I said. “I look at a page and I have to take a big breath to stop the rivers from coming down the page between the words from the left up high to the right down low. And you mean other people don’t see these rivers moving on the page?”

She shook her head, “No, they don’t. Oh, I’ve never had someone so far off the charts. It’s incredible, it’s a miracle that you ever learned to speak or read. And to write, to become a professional writer, is beyond my comprehension. How did you do it?”

I couldn’t talk anymore. Finally somebody understood what I’d gone through to become a writer.

Since then, Villaseñor has published numerous other books, including the memoirs Burro Genius and Crazy Loco Love and Mexican folktales for children such as The Stranger and the Red Rooster and Goodnight, Papito Dios. (See here for his bibliography.)

In addition to his prolific writing and public speaking, Villaseñor has also done a lot of advocacy and community building through such efforts as Snow Goose Global Thanksgiving, an annual music festival with shared food that takes place on the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Villaseñor also runs workshops for teacher training, Indigenous history, and biographical/autobiographical writing.

For more information about Villaseñor, see these videos on his website, as well as this profile from the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity.

What makes me a special kind of author and public speaker is that I didn’t learn how to read until the age of 20. And because of that, I didn’t get educated into Western civilization and so I was able to retain my grandmother’s Indigenous Native American Sacred Knowledge. —Victor Villaseñor
 

National Hispanic Heritage Month Resources

There are ample online resources to learn more about National Hispanic Heritage Month and upcoming events and exhibitions commemorating it:

  • Learn more here about National Hispanic Heritage Month from the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The website includes resources for teachers and information about past and present exhibits of interest.
  • See the United States Census Bureau’s overview of National Hispanic Heritage Month.
  • Visit the National Archives website for a wealth of information about National Hispanic Heritage Month, including video resources, online exhibits, and digitized materials from Presidential Libraries.
  • While the National Museum of the American Latino is still under construction, visit their website to learn more and watch a video message from Museum Director Jorge Zamanillo. In the meantime, the Molina Family Gallery at the National Museum of American History is open to the public and features multimedia storytelling and physical relics. Take a virtual tour here.

Resources from Siena’s Blog

Learn about Siena’s commitments and ongoing initiatives for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. And, see Siena’s blog for related material from earlier this year, including spotlights on filmmaker Ann Hu from AAPI Heritage Month, poet Amanda Gorman from Black History Month, and Olympian and activist Meryl Davis from Women’s History Month.

The Siena School proudly serves students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences in grades 3-12 on campuses in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Oakton, Virginia. 

“The beginning of all wisdom is to understand that you don't know. To know is the enemy of all learning. To be sure is the enemy of wisdom.” —Victor Villaseñor, Burro Genius
 

Recent Posts

12/5/24 - By Haley Scranton, LCPC, Counselor at The Siena School
11/12/24 - By Joe Fruscione, Communications, Content, and Advancement Coordinator
9/27/24 - By Maya Kratzke, Middle and High School Dean of Students
9/6/24 - By Joe Fruscione, Communications, Content, and Advancement Coordinator
6/27/24 - By Joe Fruscione, Communications, Content, and Advancement Coordinator
5/29/24 - By Haley Scranton, LCPC, Counselor at The Siena School

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