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I taught elementary school in Modesto California for 27 years. The schools were Title 1 schools and about 90% of the student population received free and reduced lunch. For many of the years I ran an after school chess program for students and we went to over 200 tournaments and 14 national championships. The goal was not so much about winning chess tournaments, although I had many students do very well, it was to give children a chance to see a better world and give them opportunities to to create a better future for themselves. Many of my students went on to become first generation college graduates. However, teaching grew into giving a non-stop series of tests, that did not seem to be related to any cirriculum and the cirriculum itself was mostly recited lessons which seemed to like the ability to be creative. I retired and moved to Panama and did some chess related work here. Then the pandemic hit. In Panama that meant being inside for 23 hours a day. Although I had a big beautiful back yard and had lots of room to be active, I also had a lot of extra time. One day while I was walking I had an idea for a children's book. I thought about it for awhile and a second idea came for a children's book. The first book is "The Little Boy who Cried Wolf: The Complete Story" which is about are current political situation but also about how external influences shape how people think about things. It is designed for parents and children to read together. The second book is called "The Good War" and it is about racism and a families struggle to deal with it. Most of my student population was Hispanic and so over time I saw the impact of how embedded and systemic racism would impact children and families. I have three adopted children from Guatemala and found as they grew older, that they were treated much differently when they were with me, than when they were by themselves. I hope you enjoy the books.
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