Graduates Celebrate a Rite of Passage by Tom Kertes
While it may be fashionable to see today’s younger generation as self-centered and money-minded, many of this year’s college graduates prove the stereotype wrong. These young people are testaments to perseverance and have managed to retain a healthy dose of idealism. (more)

Bank Street Commencement Explores Ways to Improve Education by Tom Kertes
Everything at the Bank Street College of Education originates from the belief that education is the most essential process in people’s lives and has an unmatched impact on our society as a whole. (more)

A Cappella and Dinosaurs at Barnard’s Graduation
by Sarah Elzas
“I am your child; remember me. Oh, Lord, remember me.”
Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon repeatedly sang this gospel line while standing at thepodium on Barnard College’s Lehman Lawn. (more)

J-School Grads Breathe Sigh of Relief… And Search for Jobs by Botumroath Lebun
Students at the Columbia University School of Journalism say that now they are graduated, they are not only broke, but some add that they were dissatisfied with the education they received at the institution that regards itself as the top-rated journalism program in the country. (more)

Ten Future Teachers Receive Scholarships from MCC by Sarah Elzas
“Within this room are the elements of your success: power, the press, money (I’m going to say it), and the love of teachers and parents,” said Superintendent W.L. Sawyer to the students gathered in the cafeteria of the Richard Greene High School for Teaching. (more)

SURR SchoolsReach Toward Excellence by M.C. Cohen
The Sixth Annual Award Program of the Reading and Mathematics Institute, entitled “Commitment to Excellence for All Students”, was indeed an excellent occasion. (more)

Joining the Circus at School by Sarah Elzas
Dancing stilts, unicycles, silly clowns, kazoo bands buzzing... Is this the circus? Almost. (more)

Student Profile: Neesha Milligan (more)

Channel 13: Watch and Learn by Tom Kertes
Consider these two facts: 1) the quality of parenting one receives in early childhood has the greatest impact upon a person’s growth and quality of life, and 2) parenting is the only skill that isn’t—and has never been—taught in schools. (more)

In Brief
Parent Satisfaction Survey; New Head of Hunter College Campus Schools; Middle Schools Taskforce; Fourth Grade ELA Results (more)

June in History compiled by Chris Rowan (more)

Geography Corner by Chris Rowan (more)

Open Houses at CUNY Community Colleges (more)

Interview: Dean Arthur Rubenstein, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
A Curricular Face-Lift at Mount Sinai by Jacob M. Appel
For years the faculty at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine thought of their 33-year old institution as young, at least in relation to the 149-year old Mount Sinai Hospital. Arthur H. Rubinstein felt otherwise. (more)

Pain Killers, Addiction & Pain Management by Dr. Richard Frances and Nancy Helle
While only about two to three percent of the 34 million people who have chronic pain develop a major addictive problem from pain medication, there are many more who are addicts—several million—who abuse painkillers when they can get them for any reason. (more)

Buying Prescription Drugs Online? Caveat Emptor
With hundreds of drug-dispensing websites in business, how can consumers tell which sites are legitimate? (more)

The Teachable Moments of Spring: Growth is Universal by Lindsay Salz
The magic of spring can be a wonderful vehicle for teaching young children many new concepts. (more)

In Honor of Teachers by Dr. Carole G. Hankin with Randi T. Sachs
As Superintendent of Syosset Schools for the past 11 years, I have interviewed too many teachers to count. While I evaluate teacher qualifications—their professional and life experiences—I also make sure to ask myself one question: “Would I like to be a student in this person’s class.” (more)

Blues’ Clues’ Goals
Blues’ Clues videos are very popular with young children, but parents watching them may not always know the education goals of each episode. (more)

Virtual Y Receives National Recognition
After nearly three years of reorganizing, improving, planning and measuring the quality of their After-School Program, the Virtual Y site at P.S. 22, a public elementary school on Staten Island, became the first after-school program in New York City to meet the National School-Age Care Alliance (NSACA) standards. (more)

Bank Street Children’s Book Awards: Another Important Election
What makes a children’s book award most meaningful? If children themselves vote on it. (more)

What Is Good for the Best Is Good for the Rest
Nothing’s Impossible: Leadership Lessons from Inside and Outside the Classroom by Lorraine Monroe (more)

Understanding Adult LD
Facing Learning Disabilities in the Adult Years: Understanding Dyslexia, ADHD, Assessment, Intervention, and Research by Joan Shapiro and Rebecca Rich (more)

Therapy and Self-Help in America
In Therapy We Trust: America’s Obsession with Self Fulfillment by Eva Moskowitz . (more)

The Outdated Language of Children
The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren by Iona & Peter Opie (more)

Beat the June Heat and Read by Selene S. Vasquez (more)

Mayor’s Budget Would Slow City Spending on Schools
From the New York City Independent Budget Office
After four years of increasing city funding for the Board of Education (BOE), the Mayor’s Executive Budget for fiscal year 2002 would hold city funding essentially flat. (more)

Court Rules against Curriculum Censorship
A three-judge panel of the second U.S.Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the efforts of three Catholic families to censor the curriculum in the Bedford Central School District in Westchester County. (more)

Funding for Girls in Non-Traditional Subjects: The Go Girl Act
Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) introduced a bill last month authorizing $50 million in grants during fiscal year 2002 to encourage girls, grades 4 through 8, to succeed in math, science, engineering and technology courses, and pursue jobs in these fields. (more)

Learning from Milwaukee: School Choice by Mayor Rudy Giuliani (more)

Love & Chess: The Luzhin Defense by Jan Aaron
Alexander Luzhin, the main character in The Luzhin Defense, one of Vladmir Nabokov’s lesser novels, is an idiosyncratic Russian chess grand master, here played with stunning intensity by the great actor John Turturro. (more)

Royal Treat: King Hedley II by Jan Aaron
August Wilson’s King Hedley II, directed by Marion McClinton (Jitney), plays more like an opera than a play. (more)

The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden: Could Its Troubles Be Over? by Irving Spitz
Over the past few years, the Royal Opera House (ROH) has been plagued by debt, scandal and bad publicity. But the appointment of the latest American Arts Administrator, Michael Kaiser, as chief executive in 1998—the third such appointment within one year—seemed to put the ROH back on track. (more)

Opera Quiz Kid by Sarah Elzas
Opera has become cool, at least at Long Island City High School (LICHS). (more)

Professionalize Supervision of Mentoring Programs by Assemblyman Steven Sanders
Today there are countless mentoring programs run by social service, academic, health and community institutions which match youngsters with caring adult volunteers. These adults serve as positive role models and provide extra support, guidance and friendship in a young person’s life. (more)

Friends at the Robert F. Kennedy School
There is hope for some emotionally disturbed students who have been unsuccessful in mainstream educational environments. (more)

Ask the Eye Care Specialist: Protecting Your Eyes From The Sun by Lori Brenig, MPH (more)

Waterproofing Kids at Asphalt Green by M.C. Cohen
Led by the charismatic, triple gold-medal Olympic swimming champion, Rowdy Gaines, and the entertaining MC-ing of Bill Evans, an ABC News meteorologist, the Sixth Annual Big Swim was a “splashing” success. (more)

Title IX and America’s Schools by Sybil Maimin
There is good news and bad news regarding the status of women’s sports in schools since passage of Title IX, the portion of the 1972 Education Amendments that prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funds. (more)

A Bacchanalian Feast in the Napa Valley by Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
The Napa Valley, a verdant checkerboard of vineyards, picturesque towns with sophisticated restaurants, comfortable inns nestled in the hills and art galleries combined with local wineries make for a marvelous California vacation. (more)