Over the years, I’ve read and reviewed several of the twenty books of fellow author and Returned Peace Corps Volunteer “Lorenzo” Lihosit. He was a volunteer in Honduras and married a lady from Mexico, and I was a volunteer in Guatemala and married a señorita from there. I used his Peace Corps Experience: Write & Publish Your Memoir to write my first book, Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond, proofed his Oral History from Madera, California, and agreed with the Madera Tribune, “The best of its kind in print. Like Volume 1, the author offers real-life stories by citizens of Madera, California. They seem to speak directly to us, seated at our kitchen table, waving their arms while laughing. This book is a must-read for those interested in the California Central Valley.”
I was pleased to read and review Volume 4, a literary tapestry of change in the Madera public school system woven with real-life stories. He explores the last 60 years of the Madera public school system in the heart of Central California and all the tremendous changes based on population, new technology, and epidemics. His story is told through the eyes of students, teachers, school administrators, bus drivers, dental assistants, neighbors, friends, and family members.
The book was inspired by what his teachers taught, “…that our society was an improvement over the ancient world because of universal literacy and free public education.” He opines how our society has forsaken books, which is why he felt that a conversation about public schools might be helpful “…to relight my great grandfather’s lantern and my grandmother’s hope.”
The book receives input from the broader Lihosit family, including his sons, Anson and Ezequiel. Anson’s story begins when he’s in kindergarten. Both brothers were involved with sports and a series of fundraisers. One of the events to raise money for Lincoln Elementary School was an annual jog-a-thon, where the students ran or walked around a ribboned-off oval. Pledges were based on the number of laps they completed, which for Anson was 40 laps.
Some of the school projects were family affairs, like one that required the students to wear costumes each day for their Greek and Roman classes. This included making a model of a Roman home, which the author and Anson worked on in the evenings. They chose a “rich guy’s” house and built a corrugated cardboard model. Many stories reflected the strong connections between the public schools, parents and the community.
The impact of public education and upbringing would produce a second generation of Peace Corps Volunteers and authors. Anson was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Panama from 2015 to 2017, where he brought his love of baseball to connect with the young people of his community. He opened his sports bag on the sideline of a Panama softball field and declared, “I want to play.” And he did. His book Peace Corps Epiphanies: Panama is filled with cross-cultural misunderstandings and unnumerable adventures, par for the course in any Peace Corps experience. Peace Corps Epiphanies: Panama by Anson K. Lihosit, Reviewed by Mark D. Walker – Million Mile Walker
The story of Frank Espinosa II, the Principal of Madison Elementary School, reflects some of the unique components of public education in the Central Valley. He describes a voluntary program called “dual language immersion,” which means the students finish equally proficient in two languages by the eighth grade. Although most parents want their kids to learn Spanish, it might also be Hmong.
The Principal shares his philosophy of language learning, which is as accurate today as it was then:
Research illustrates that people who understand more than one language are able to understand nuances of perspective. For instance, English offers one way through its construction to problem-solve, while other languages provide different alternatives. Bilingual students have an advantage. It usually takes students five to seven years to become proficient in multiple languages. The idea is to build both vocabulary and understanding. Our staff believes in this, and many of them are immigrants or first-generation Americans. I enjoy working here.
Although the photo on the book’s cover has great sentimental value to the author, it’s grainy and seems out of focus. That and the white line on the border make it unworthy of such an excellent book. However, the extensive thirty-page appendix includes some drawings, interesting background information, and photographs that add to the history of public education. Included are maps, a list of the school district trustees since 1965, overview photos of the elementary schools, bibliographic notes, and an index.
This book is important for anyone interested in the history of the Central Valley of California’s public education system and culture. Still, it’s taken on new meaning, given the radical change impacting public education in this country. All three of my children attended public schools in one of the best districts in the state, but a new survey rates Arizona as the worst state for public education, 51st, below Alabama, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
Arizona’s school voucher program will grow to $429 million next year, benefiting private schools and homeschoolers. Meanwhile, 47 of the state’s 207 districts are at high risk of exceeding their budgets. And, if that’s not bad enough, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, a staunch supporter of English-only immersion, is aiming for the growing number of dual language programs in Arizona. This is despite our extensive border with Mexico, our major trading partner, and almost a third of the population being Hispanic. We could learn a few things in Arizona from this timely story of the growth and changes of public education.
About the Author
The author was born in the southern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, in 1951. His family later moved to Arizona, where he graduated from grade school, high school, and Arizona State University. He reluctantly served in the U.S. Army Reserves during the closing years of the Vietnam War and enthusiastically volunteered for the Peace Corps (Honduras, 1975-1977). His travels and work have taken him from the salmon-spawning Nushagak River Basin in southwestern Alaska to the fertile Argentine Pampas. His continuing studies have included master’s coursework in urban planning at la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in Mexico City, art and creative writing at Skyline College in San Bruno, California, and education at California State University Fresno.
His eclectic literary work includes poetry, short stories, travel essays, memoirs, history, and how-to. Most recently, he published a series of art essays accompanied by more than 150 sketches from his travels. Several of his books were nominated for Peace Corps Writers’ awards, including Best Travel Book of the Year (2012). Another received a U.S. Congressional Commendation (2011). Some of his work is listed in the U.S. Library of Congress Peace Corps Bibliography, and his Peace Corps literary donations are in the John F. Kennedy Library Archives.
Although an urban planner by trade, the author has had a passionate interest in education. He taught English as a Second Language in Mexico City, as well as back home in Phoenix, Arizona. He later volunteered as a San Francisco Bay Area grade and high school aide. At 48, while working as an urban planner, he returned to night school to earn a California Teaching Credential. He worked as a substitute teacher in grades K through 12 for two and a half years. After retirement, he taught art as an after-school activity and volunteered at a local grade school as a teacher’s aide, helping the children of immigrants learn the 3Rs. His local school board awarded him “Volunteer of the Year” recognition in 2013 and 2017.
The Reviewer
Mark Walker was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala and spent over forty years helping disadvantaged people in the developing world. Walker’s three books are Different Latitudes: My Life in the Peace Corps and Beyond, My Saddest Pleasures: 50 Years on the Road, named Best Travel Book, and The Guatemala Reader: Extraordinary Lives and Amazing Stories. He’s written 80 book reviews, and of his 30 published essays, two were recognized by the Solas Awards for Best Travel Writing. He’s a contributing writer for “The Wanderlust Journal,” “Literary Traveler,” and “The Great Writers You Should be Reading.” His column, “The Million Mile Walker Review: What We’re Reading and Why,” is part of the Arizona Authors Association newsletter. His honors include the “Service Above Self” award from Rotary International. He’s a Board member of SEEDS for a Future, Advance Guatemala, and the Arizona Authors Association. His wife and three children were born in Guatemala. You can learn more at www.MillionMileWalker.com