Olga Vasquez

Olga arrived from Stanford where she been conducting research on children’s learning both in a variety of neighborhood and family settings, as well as in a computer activity for girls organized by Shirley Brice-Heath. Instead of writing up her thesis, as she had expected to do, she got caught up in the idea of starting her own form of the 5th Dimension, one that was specifically designed for the Mexicano community. It was located half a mile away from the Boys and Girls Club 5th Dimension conducted by Mike Cole. The result was La Clase Mágica, the goal of which was to create an ideal learning environment that integrated its activities with its local community. This organization should be carried out in such a way that it might be able to sustain itself if, as she expected, she would be going away before long. It has not gone away a quarter century later. Olga was instrumental, along with Mike Cole, Charles Underwood, and many others in bringing about UClinks.


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