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SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY
xxxxEducation Update
is celebrating its seventh anniversary of covering issues, people,
places and events that can help parents and students make more
informative decisions about their lives.
xxxxAs 2002 draws to a close, we
reflect on some of the topics we have covered: children learning
in a homeless shelter, literacy programs around the nation, math
reform efforts, school programs commemorating 9/11, testing revisited
including an interview with Gaston Caperton, how “Leave
No Child Behind” affects developmentally disabled children,
the world of a musical child prodigy and many more vital issues.
xxxxOne of the accomplishments we’re
proudest of is the creation of “Teachers of the Month,”
honoring those individuals who labor each day striving to stir
the imagination of children and help them expand and grow.
xxxxEach month teachers are nominated
by principals, superintendents, colleagues or parents for outstanding
teaching. Education Update chooses 5 or 6, and prints their stories
and photos on a full page dedicated to them. In June, there will
be a culminating ceremony with teachers, principals and superintendents
attending.
Have any thoughts to share, good teaching practices, innovative
programs? Email us and we will print them
With best wishes for a healthy and happy New Year.
Dr. Pola Rosen, Founder and Publisher
Education Update
Dr.
Rae Alexander-Minter,
Vice Pres., Metropolitan College
By Sybil Maimin
Dr. Rae Alexander-Minter gets things done! Smart, enthusiastic,
and blessed with advantage, she is determined that opportunities
be given to others so that they may have a chance to experience
the... (more)
Gen.
Marcelite Harris, Chief of Staff, Dept. of Ed
By Tom Kertes (more)
Reuel
Jordan, Principal, Bank Street School for Children
By Marie Holmes
On the third floor of the modest, red brick building that
houses Bank Street’s School for Children, a small girl with
long blonde braids is wielding a large saw. She holds the
toothed tool, almost taller than she, in the air, leaving
the visitor to wonder... (more)
John
Lee, Superintendent of Queens High Schools
By Adam B. Kushner
Worlds are coming together in Queens high schools under Superintendent
John Lee’s watch. (more)
Looking
at Literacy for Ages 0–3 By
Pamela Wheeler-Civita
As a teacher in a mixed age inclusion-setting classroom for
the very youngest children, what does literacy look like for
my students? Letter and number recognition is not always the
most important goal for these children. It is really more
about the shared... (more)
Literacy
for Preschoolers: The Blue’s Clues Way By
Dr. Alice Wilder
What is literacy for preschoolers (ages 2-5)? They can’t
“read” in the way that adults think of literacy. Yet so much
of what a preschooler does everyday involves literacy-related
skills. (more)
A
Personal Journey to Reach Out & Read
By
Trish Magee
Progress in any field occurs in steps, one after another,
one building on the other. Each new insight builds and expands
on earlier breakthroughs. This is certainly true in the field
of literacy. If you were to ask ten educators who influenced...
(more)
Reading
Reform Foundation Holds 21st Annual Conference
Inside
the New York Hilton and Towers recently, 600 teachers gave
up the Sunday of a three-day weekend to attend the twenty-first
annual conference of Reading Reform Foundation entitled, “Effective
Techniques for Teaching Reading, Writing & Spelling. (more)
Math
in The City: A View from the College Classroom
By
Stanley Ocken & Robert Feinerman
Kim
Brown’s recent article, “Math Adds up at CCNY Teacher Training
Program,” [Education Update, Nov. 2002] paints a warm
picture of Prof. C. T. Fosnot’s Mathematics in the City
teacher training program. We are writing as professors of
mathematics, engaged... (more)
Realistic
Math Makes Sense for Student
By
Eve Torrence
I am a mathematician. I am a college professor. I am a mother.
From all three perspectives I have been following with interest
the controversy over the current mathematics education reform.
Last year I had an experience that finally brought clarity.
(more)
The
Outstanding Teachers of the Month for November 2002
- NEW!
The
Outstanding Teachers of the Month for November 2002 have each
been nominated by their colleagues, students, parents, principals
and superintendents. Education Update has selected six nominees
for their outstanding work on the “frontiers” of education...
(more)
Michael
DiPiano: Teacher, Coach, Transplant Recipient
By Tom Kertes
These days, messages such as “follow your dreams,” “have a
positive attitude,” or “you can accomplish anything if you
just work hard” are so commonplace that they often seem trite.
Except, of course, when they come from a man like Michael
DiPiano. (more)
Afterschool
Educational Options Are Essential for Our Children
By Matilda Raffa Cuomo & Marnie Ponce-White
The
recent aggressive budget cuts continue to affect the infrastructure
of our school system on both administrative and academic levels.
As educators, the increase in accountability and the emphasis
on standardized math and reading scores to measure... (more)
Reflections
on Leadership: 2002 By
Jill Levy
No pessimist ever discovered the secrets of the stars, or
sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the
human spirit.
—Helen Keller
I’m not particularly nostalgic. I don’t pine for the good
old days because I am not certain that the “good old days”
were all that good. But I must admit that I do look back often
to evaluate where I am in relation to the course I have set
for the Council... (more)
Grants
for School Districts
(more)
Dr.
Christine Cea
Inducted into College of Staten Island Hall of Fame
By Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
Recently, the College of Staten Island honored six distinguished
alumni for their successful careers and outstanding service
to the community. Christina Cea received her education as an
adult “grateful to CSI for having programs that allow adults
like myself [married and mother of two young children at the
time] the opportunity to return to school and continue their
growth. (more)
Grants
Offered by Finch College
The
majority of people today find it increasingly difficult to keep
up with the cost of education. At Finch College, the Alumnae
Association Foundation has taken great strides in ameliorating
the situation through the generosity of its members and friends.
(more)
Provost
Podell & Chair of Ed. Sullivan Discuss College of SI By
Joan Baum, Ph.D.
The words “unique” and “collaborative” come up often in conversation
with David Podell, Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs
and Provost at the College of Staten Island (CSI) and Susan
Sullivan, Chair of the College’s Department of... (more)
College
President Series
Dr.
Marlene Springer, President, College of Staten Island
By
Joan Baum, Ph.D.
Colleges may be scooping up corporate heads for their presidencies
but for the last eight years at The College of Staten Island
(CSI) the CEO has been a Ph.D. in English Literature, who has
an MA in American Literature and an additional specialty in
women’s studies from Indiana University, Bloomington. (more)
Treating
Adolescent Addiction: An Ongoing Challenge
By
Drs. Richard Frances & Avram Mack
The use, abuse and treatment of substance abuse in children
and adolescents has been a major focus of attention for parents,
school personnel, law enforcement officers and mental health
professions. The prevalence of Substance Use Disorder... (more)
Drug
Use Condoned on College Campus By
Hope Glassberg
“I got here with a little drug experience, I’ll leave with a
lot more. I’d never hallucinated before I got here; I’d rarely
done a line of anything, definitely never dropped any E. I have
now,” said Mark*, a student at a private college in New York
City. (more)
Pro-Drug
Websites Pose a Danger for Students By
Sandra S. Bennett
Last year physicians at Boston’s Children’s Hospital used the
Internet to search for information about street drugs. They
found that the most popular sites are those that condone and
promote drug use. Gravely concerned, the physicians published
an... (more)
Ecstasy
Is Agony
By Kevin A. Sabet
It was a crowded Saturday night at a local rave. Having passed
out over 4,000 “This Is Your Brain on Ecstasy” post-cards to
ravers waiting to get into the club, I moved over to one side
of the line and saw what appeared to be a 22-year old man...
(more)
Beyond
the Stethescope: THE
SYCOPHANT (Pachyderma adulans) By Dr. Donald Feinfeld
(more)
Welcome
Back, Madame Secretary Elaine Chao By
Dr. Carole G. Hankin with Randi T. Sachs
I
was so pleased when U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao accepted
my invitation to return to Syosset High School and receive our
very first Alumni Award of Distinction. Secretary Chao graduated
Syosset High School with the Class of 1971. (more)
Discovering
Literacy is Like Discovering Language By
Lorraine McCune, Ph.D.
It is sometimes said that “writing is talk written down”. If this
were true, the major problem in learning to read would be linking
up the message on the printed page with something we might express
in speech or sign language. (more)
Dr.
Adler Lectures on ADHD By
M.C. Cohen
In support of the Program for Academic Access For Learning Disabled
Students at Marymount Manhattan College, Lenard A. Adler, M.D,
spoke to a full lecture hall at the school’s Manhattan campus
on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). (more)
Council
Member Eva Moskowitz Hosts Forum on Special Education
By Tom Kertes
If an expression of curiosity and caring at an open forum on
the part of “government” goes a long way toward solving problems,
the “Forum on Special Education” in Community School District
2, headed by Council Member Eva Moskowitz, can be... (more)
NY
League’s Focus on Children
By Bernadette M. Flynn, Ed.D.
At the New York League for Early Learning (NYL), it is recognized
that the early years of a child’s life are very important. The
development of social, emotional, and cognitive and motor skills
are intertwined. (more)
Ask
Dr. Rosen
A
new column answering parents’, educators’ and students’ questions
about special education, in response to the flood of letters
and e-mails we have been receiving at Education Update.
(more)
Logos
Bookstore’s Recommendations (more)
Children’s
Books for Gift-giving
(more)
Jacques
d’Amboise Shares Passion for Dance with City Students
By
Tom Kertes
“Most of them will not become dancers,” National Dance Institute
(NDI) founder Jacques d’Amboise smiles warmly while looking
out at the group of four-to-sixth graders practicing an
unmistakably Russian-flavored routine at the... (more)
Students
and Teachers Benefit from Music Instruction in District
75
By Marie Holmes
Margot
Sorace, sitting at her keyboard, hits a few chords and then
tells the class to stand. Before beginning to play “Santa
Claus is Coming to Town,” which the students are practicing
for holiday concerts and caroling, she gives her students
a brief pep talk. (more)
Glorious
Music Around the City
During the holiday season, New York turns into a musical
wonderland reminiscent of the Salzberg and Vienna of Mozart’s
time. Here’s a guide to help you see, hear and feel the
pulse of the greatest city in the world–our New York.[Ed.]
(more)
Why Technology Students Need Shakespeare
By
Diane Engelhardt
(more)
Thinkwave
Educator By
Mitchell Levine
Although a few New York City schools are still struggling
to meet the October 2001-dated mandates, the vast majority
of our districts now have networks and broadband access
capabilities which were only available to higher education
a brief time ago. (more)
New
York City’s Best Days Are Still Ahead By
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
The newspapers are full of doom and gloom these days. But let’s
get one thing straight: New York remains the greatest City in
the world. It’s no secret City government faces tough budget times.
But that’s not keeping us from going ahead... (more)
Public’s
Turn to Have Say on School Board Reform
By Assemblyman Steven Sanders
A
very important part of the landmark New York City School Governance
Reform enacted into law earlier this year, will be played out
during the next few months. As the State Legislature gave greater
authority and accountability over our schools... (more)
Emperor’s
Club’ Hails Education By
Jan Aaron
Paying tribute to Education Update’s seven years, the
December movie spotlights education. While the Greek and Roman
classics may be rare in today’s classrooms, many modern educators
will identify with Kevin Kline’s plight in Michael Hoffman’s
The Emperor’s Club... (more)
Yentl,
A Heart-Warming Play for the Holidays
By Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
Even if you don’t understand Yiddish, (headphones with simultaneous
translation are provided for those who need them) Yentl transcends
language, time and place. Its theme deals with the place of
women in a society that views them as “married with children,”
the old “Kirchen, kuchen, und kinder”
(more)
Kurt
Thomas Aims to Teach Students Financial Literacy
By
Tom Kertes
Incredible, but true: sometimes spending time with a lawyer
can be a good thing.
“One
day, about five years ago, I was just sitting around talking
to my attorney kind of randomly, about all kinds of things,”
Knicks center-forward Kurt Thomas said. “Then, suddenly, he
stopped me in my tracks by asking one simple question: ‘what
are you doing with your money?’” (more)
LETTERS
TO THE EDITOR...
(more)
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