Tina Juarez
In her writings and in whatever other form she can be heard, Juarez argues for the abolition of the "A-B-C-D-F" comparative grading system in schools, in favor of a system of "charting" each learner's progress with the intention of making certain all students are successful in the school's academic program. Her most recent writing effort is The School at Box Canyon, which, Juarez says, "is sort of Animal Farm of the American southwest. But whereas Orwell's allegory satirizes government, my book is a satire of education, especially the grading system invented to separate the 'educable from the uneducable,' the 'sheep from the goats,' and used without modification in our schools for most of the past two hundred years."
Currently the principal of Walter Prescott Webb Middle School in Austin, Juarez is a past president of the Austin Hispanic Public School Administrators Association. She serves on numerous advisory boards relating to teen pregnancy and runaways and has been a member of a Texas Education Agency task force on AIDS education. When not performing her duties as an educator or researching another writing project, Juarez and her husband, Bill, enjoy travelling. They have been to Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, and the United Kingdom, but some of their most memorable trips have been spontaneous drives to out-of-the-way places along the backroads of Texas, Louisiana, and New Mexico. Among her other interests, Juarez enjoys hiking, gourmet cooking, classical music, opera, reading, and taking care of her five cats.
Reviews
Added 1999
To stay up to date on new books by this author, consider subscribing to The Children's Literature Comprehensive Database. For your free trial, click here.
If you're interested in reviewing children's and young adult books, then send a resume and writing sample to marilyn@childrenslit.com.