Women Shaping History Today

Women’s History Month is a time to reflect on the achievements of women in the past. It is also a time to recognize the achievements of contemporary women who have made outstanding contributions in various fields. Education Update interviewed 10 multi-faceted, fascinating, dynamic, intellectual women who have improved the lives of people all over the world.

The following questions were asked of all the women:
1. What factors were instrumental in your choice of a career?
2. Describe a pivotal point in your career. What direction did you take as a result?
3. What achievements are you proud of?
4. What obstacles have you encountered? How did you overcome them?
5. Who were some of your mentors? How did they inspire you?
6. What advice would you give to young women in our society who are striving for success?
7. What are your future goals?

Written and edited by Joan Baum, Marylena Mantas, Pola Rosen, Merri Rosenberg, Jessica Shi

Edith Everett, CEO, Gruntal & Co., Philanthropist, CUNY Trustee Emeritus (more)

Barbara Gordon, New York State Teacher of the Year 2002 (more)

Astrid Heger, M.D., Founder Violence Intervention Program,
U. of Southern California School of Medicine (more)

Chief Joanne Jaffe, NYPD (more)

Captain Rochelle Jones, FDNY (more)

Rita Kaplan: COO, Kaplan Family Foundation, Philanthropist, Social Worker (more)

Augusta Kappner, President, Bank Street College of Education (more)

Carol Anne Riddell, President NY Press Club, NBC Education Correspondent (more)

Judith Shapiro, President Barnard College (more)

Sheila Wellington, CEO, Catalyst (more)

Should We Abolish The BOE? By Deborah Young
With the new mayoral administration now in place, the longstanding debate over who should call the shots in New York City school district is once again at the forefront of public discussion. Mayor Bloomberg has picked up where Rudy Giuliani left off—pushing for the last say in all decisions affecting the 1.1 million students in the system. (more)

Selfless Giving Women’s History Month & Mentoring
By Matilda Raffa Cuomo and Louisa Efua Essandoh
As recently as the 1970s, women’s history was a topic rarely discussed in classrooms. In March of 1978, an Education Task Force of the Sonoma County, California Commission on the Status of Women initiated a Women’s History Week. (more)

Inside the Superintendent’s Office
Inside District 2 with Shelley Harwayne By Marylena Mantas
“Your children will not just learn how to read and write, they will choose to read and write. Now and forever,” reads a quotation written on a poster hanging on the office door of Shelley Harwayne, Superintendent of District 2. (more)

Celebrate Chocolate Month! (more)

$2.4 Billion Education Budget Shortfall Rings in New Year of Financial Troubles
By Bruce Myint (more)

It’s the Quality of Leadership That Cultivates a Learning Environment By Jill Levy
It is always a challenge to identify and implement the best practices in education. President Bush and the U.S. Congress tried to do just that in their latest version of the federal education legislation “Leave No Child Behind. (more)

Education Update Online Survey Results (more)

NY Academy of Science & Cuny Showcase HS Science Projects By Marie Holmes
Hundreds of high-school students carrying giant pieces of posterboard traipsed through the gates of the City College of New York recently to take part in the 65th annual New York City Science and Engineering Fair. (more)

A New Era At Toy Fair By M.C. Cohen
It was “cyber-optic” city for sporting goods at Toy Fair 2002. It seemed like the unofficial theme of this year’s sporting goods, displayed at Javits Jacobs Center recently, were bats that talk, flying discs with sirens, footballs that look more like UFO’s with flashing lights and the countless number of glow–in–the–dark balls. (more)

Bank Street College Honors Sandy & Joan Weill
More than 400 people attended Bank Street’s annual gala at The Pierre Hotel recently. The event honored Sandy and Joan Weill, who were presented honorary doctorates. (more)

The College of New Rochelle Appoints New Dean of School of New Resources
Dr. Stephen J. Sweeny, President of the College of New Rochelle (CNR), recently announced the appointment of Elza Dinwiddie-Boyd as Dean of the School of New Resources (SNR). (more)

New Presidents Series
Joan Straumanis: President, Antioch College, Ohio By Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
President Straumanis has the unusual perspective of having been a student at Antioch College during its centennial year and coming back as President in its sesquicentennial year after a career spanning three deanships, work at the Department of Education in Washington D.C. and a deep interest in political science and mathematics. (more)

Beyond the stethoscope Poems by D. A. Feinfeld, M.D. (more)

Weill Cornell Medical College Advances
Newborns Learn to Distinguish Speech Sounds While Asleep
EDITED By HERMAN ROSEN, M.D. (more)

Harold Koplewicz, M.D.
Advocate & Champion of Child Mental Health By Bruce Myint
One look at the warm lights and pastel colored interior of the New York University Child Study Center and all the images you have about mental-health facilities begin to fade away. (more)

Shaping Tomorrow’s Leaders: Global Kids By Jan Aaron
Do you want your kids to become world leaders? Then, get them involved with Global Kids, Inc., a non-profit youth organization that “turns today’s students into tomorrow’s community leaders and global citizens,” says executive director, Carole Artigiani. “Our mission is to get kids of all backgrounds and all levels of society to participate in their communities and the larger political process,” she explains. (more)

From the Superintendent’s Seat
Make Travel Time Count By Dr. Carole G. Hankin with Randi T. Sachs
This is the time of year when spring break is right around the corner, and soon after follows summer vacation. (more)

e-Toys and Learning:
Can e-toys find a place in the classroom? By Lorraine McCune, Ph.D.
Reading, Writing and Mathematics ha-ve supplanted play as the primary concern of kindergarten teachers. Gone is the relaxed playful notion that the first year of schooling should be an informal easy entrance into school routines, with an emphasis on skills deferred until first grade. (more)

Logos Bookstore’s Recommendations (more)

Children’s Book Reviews By Selene Vasquez
A tribute to remarkable lives for Women’s History Month: (more)

School Days in 1960 By Tom Kertes
Ruby Bridges is no professional author. Then, again, she doesn’t have to be.
When you tell a story as fascinating, as that Bridges tells in Through My Eyes, a no-frills, less-is-more style is probably the best way to go. (more)

The Brooklyn Children’s Museum Expanding for the Future…of NYC’s Kids
By Carol Enseki (more)

MoMA’s New Comm. Director (more)

Wynton Marsalis and Lincoln Center Release Jazz Appreciation Curriculum
By Marie Holmes (more)

Is The Cultural Pendulum Swinging West To Chicago?
Visual delights at the Art Institute and heavenly singing at the Lyric Opera
By Irving Spitz (more)

A Parent Asks About Amblyopia Carole R., Brooklyn, NY
What are the educational implications of amblyopia? I have a primary–aged student (six years of age) with amblyopia and want to know if this condition would affect his reading and writing. I would appreciate any information you have on this condition. (more)

David Santigo: A Student Deals With Blindness By M.C. Cohen
David Santiago, a Guild School student who is blind, arrives at his school at 8:00 in the morning. As he uses his cane to make his way through the lobby, it’s clear that this 19-year-old student makes a difference in people’s lives. “Good morning,” says one security guard. (more)

Murphy Center at Asphalt Green Reopens (more)

Renee Brown, VP, Women’s Basketball Assn (more)

Vonetta Flowers: Bobsledder (more)

Tiffeny Milbrett: Soccer Star (more)

Chris Witty: Gold Olympic Speed Skater (more)

Mobile Computing Review:
Handspring Visor Edge, Pro & Prism By Neil Schuldiner (more)

Product Review: Klear Screen By Mitchell Levine (more)

Typing Pal Junior By Laura Pretto (more)