ear Readers,

We hope the beauty of the Season brought all of you joy!  Happy New Year!  Athena and I will be co-editing the forthcoming issues of Extra.  Per Steve Pec's suggestion, we subscribed to 5 listserves and are in the process of drafting a call for papers, in addition to soliciting papers from graduate students via professors we know.  We expect, in the coming months, to increase submissions from the above efforts.  Moreover, if anyone is interested in promoting Extra, and would like a copy of our call for papers, just let us know.  Let's make Extra the best!  Our apologies for the delay in posting the Dec/Jan issue. As always, we would like to thank everyone involved with Extra.  Special thanks this month to Meredith Larson for handling the webmaster responsibilities.  Next month, Arthur Kingsland from Australia will take on the role of webmaster-welcome 'mate'!

This month's articles range from a response to a Los Angeles Times story to issues for Minority Women and Higher Education.  First, Jeffery Kealing outlines some of the barriers minority women face relative to white women in pursuit of higher education.  And, for those of you who teach and who remember what it felt like upon entering a classroom full of students waiting to be impressed, you will appreciate Sara Erickson's reflective paper, a paper where she shares her first TA experience as being the most positive in recent time.  Next, and a hot topic among instructors and administrators alike, Amanda McAndrew describes benefits and challenges of service-learning and concludes with effective strategies for faculty.  Further, if any of you frequent bookstores/cafes, and were wondering why children were mobbing your local Barnes and Nobles and Borders a few months ago, rest assured, Maureen Connolly offers an explanation in her review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Then, Maureen brings education 'full circle' in Learning and Change in the Adult Years, a process where the nontraditional student, at age 25 to senior citizen, continues to enroll in postsecondary institutions.  Finally, Dr. Linda Hagedorn and Dr. Reynaldo Baca respond to a story by the Los Angeles Times claiming that the California Community Colleges are failing to transfer students to four-year universities.  Dr. Hagedorn and Dr. Baca argue that a rush to judgment by the Times assumes institutional failure, when in fact, many students have no intention of transferring, other students are taking classes for recreational purposes, and some are there to learn English as their second language.

We trust that you will find these authors' works interesting; and remember you too can affect the system of education in a positive manner by submitting your work to Extra. Athena and I look forward to making Extra an intellectually stimulating experience for all.

Cheers!
Athena and Phil