A Memorable Visit to Lafayette, Louisiana with
Robert Rauschenberg, Christopher Rauschenberg
and Darryl Pottorf
By Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
To speak to and see the master artist Rauschenberg in his hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana alongside his son, sister and friends amidst an opening of his world famous paintings, was an extraordinary experience. READ MORE

SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS

Interviews with Nobel Laureates
Around the Nation
Illustrious CCNY graduates, nobel laureates, recently came together to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the seminal discoveries of Albert Einstein who had visited City College when he came to New York in 1921. Education Update interviewed several of the nobelists about their school days, lives in science and views about stem cell research.

• Dr. Paul Nurse, President, Rockefeller University
  Scientists have a responsibility to the public that goes beyond their science. Scientists must engage the public in a dialogue so that people can understand and make informed decisions about scientific advances that affect society, such as genetically modified foods or embryonic stem cell research. READ MORE
• Kenneth Arrow, Stanford University
  I had two significant challenges. One was to stay the academic course. My parents had undergone great economic insecurity, and I wanted to avoid that. READ MORE
• Herbert Hauptman, SUNY Buffalo
  Winning the Nobel Prize meant acceptance of our work on the part of the crystallographic community that for many years had rejected our work as not valid. To be vindicated in this way was important and meant a lot to me. READ MORE

It’s Time to Stop the Blame Game
By Randi Weingarten
Public officials who falter on a pledge generally have two choices: They can admit the task was too tough and promise to work harder, or they can blame someone else. Sadly, the current school system administration has chosen the latter. READ MORE

Corporate  Leaders  In  Education
An Interview with Peter Boneparth, CEO, Jones Apparel Group
By Nazneen Malik
The Jones New York In The Classroom program, offers both monetary support and access to human resources to combat these problems. Jones Apparel Group employees are allotted up to three hours of paid time off each month to donate their time to communities and schools.
READ MORE

Environmental Education
An Interview with Jake Kheel
By Nazneen Malik
New York City is brimming with natural treasures, of which most people are simply unaware. READ MORE

A Celebration of Father’s Day
Remembering Fathers in Different Ways
By Richard Kagan
Fathers Day is just around the corner. For some families it will be a happy day. For some fathers it will be a lonely day. Dad may be paying child support because of a court order, unable to see his kids. Education Update’s Staff Shares Insights
READ MORE
Education Update’s Staff Shares Insights
READ MORE

Channel 13 Hosts 15th Annual Literacy Conference
By Gillian Granoff
The conference, with 148 participants, brought together adult literacy educators, computer and technology and community outreach professionals, and representatives from New York’s Department of Education. READ MORE

OUTSTANDING TEACHERS OF THE MONTH

June 2005
In 2003, Education Update began the tradition of honoring teachers each month for their outstanding work on the “frontiers” of education.We are now continuing the tradition which will culminate in a ceremony in June 2005 with Chancellor Joel Klein in attendance.
READ THIS MONTH'S HONOREES

FEATURE

Education Behind Bars: Part II of a Series

Rikers High: A Filmmaker’s View of Prison Education By Gillian Granoff “Making documentaries puts me in the enviable position of being able to explore the world and be in places where you wouldn’t ordinarily be; that’s the gift they give to you.” READ MORE

Puppies Behind Bars By Mitchell Levine In 1997, Gloria Gilbert Stoga began New York’s first such inmate program in Bedford Hills Prison, Puppies Behind Bars (PBB), bringing in dogs to bond and be trained by long-term prisoners in explosive detection and support for the blind. READ MORE

Integrating Ex-Inmates Into Society By Liza Young Even with the discontinuation of Pell Grants in correctional facilities for adults, there are those whose belief in the value of higher education and the power of the individual to continually improve goes beyond funding crises. READ MORE

Interview with Dr. Michelle Fine By Nazneen Malik “College in prison is a powerful intervention and relatively cost effective,” says Dr. Michelle Fine, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Urban Education, and Women’s Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. READ MORE

Island Academy: HS Students Face the Challenges of School in Jail By Liza Young All major subject areas are taught at the Island Academy, with teachers certified in each specific area. There are additionally arts programs as well as vocational educational programs... READ MORE

Zydeco Music & Jamming with Mama
By Herman Rosen
Zydeco, a foot-stompin’, hand-clappin’ music is an integral part of the culture of Lafayette, Louisiana. It is considered black, Creole music, with French lyrics and comes from a song called “Les haricots sont pas sale” or “The snap beans aren’t salty.” READ MORE

COLLEGE & GRADUATE SCHOOLS

Mayor Bloomberg’s Proposed CUNY Capital Budget
By Matthew Goldstein, Chancellor, CUNY
We celebrate further progress in CUNY’s renewal with the announcement by Mayor Bloomberg of the largest community college capital construction program in the history of the University.
READ MORE

“How a Cowgirl got to the Supreme Court”
By Nazneen Malik
Although Justice O’Connor is the first woman to be appointed to the United States Supreme Court in our country’s then 205 year history and became the first woman majority leader in the Arizona State Senate, her road to success was littered with many obstacles. READ MORE

Reflections on Visiting the Extermination Camps: 2005
By Howard Maier
We heard detailed survivor testimony about their horrific experiences, we saw crematoriums, gas chambers and many graves. On the other hand we were exhilarated by being among thousands of youth carrying Israeli flags and singing songs in Hebrew. READ MORE

The Triumph of Truth & Justice: CCNY Sponsors Talk by Dr. Deborah Lipstadt
By Joan Baum, Ph.D.
Dr. Deborah Lipstadt spoke to an overflow crowd of City College administrators, faculty and alums last month at The Sky Club at the Met Life Building about why she felt compelled to write a book on her trial: History on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving (Ecco / HarperCollins) READ MORE

Marymount College’s Mortimer Levitt Essay Writing Contest
By Liza Young
Mortimer Levitt is 98 and still inspiring thousands. Not only does Mr. Levitt provide philanthropic support to educational institutions, he inspires students and educators alike with his wit and his passion for living. READ MORE

SPECIAL EDUCATION

The Tennis Balls that Helped Deaf Children
By E. Oxman
When you first realize you are having a child your imagination runs wild. Mine envisioned all sorts of things as I lived nine months with blissful anticipation. The fact that tennis balls would become important to me in raising my first-born child never entered my mind.
READ MORE

Barbara Corcoran Speaks at the NYU Child
Study Center
By Richard Kagan
Dyslexia is a learning disorder that can be overcome. That is the message that Barbara Corcoran, Founder and Chairman of the Corcoran Group, imparted at the Adam Katz Memorial Lecture Series held at the New York University Medical Center recently. READ MORE

Helping Children with Hearing Impairments
By Dianne Foutch, M.A.
It wasn’t too long ago when a student who was identified as having a hearing impairment was automatically relegated to a life of silence.
READ MORE

GUEST EDITORIAL

Is Corporal Punishment Alive and Legal?
By Martha McCarthy, Ph.D.
The use of corporal punishment in public schools attracts strong supporters and even stronger critics—few people are neutral. Surprisingly, the United States stands almost alone among industrialized nations in allowing corporal punishment in public education. READ MORE

METROBEAT

Moving in the Right Direction
By Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
I’ve always believed that if we set high academic standards for our city’s students, and surround them with the right support and encouragement, they will achieve more than we can ever imagine.
READ MORE

Father’s Day
By Matilda Raffa Cuomo
Surprisingly, the United States is one of only a few countries in the world that sets aside one day of the year to honor fathers, and it took a woman, inspired by a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909, to think of the idea. READ MORE

Teacher, Scholar, Manager, Entrepreneur?
Those Who Hire Principals Often Don’t Understand the Job
By Jill Levy, CSA President
Having been part of the public education system in New York City for 34 years, I find the question of who is leading our schools of paramount importance. Yet, no one has defined leadership as it applies to our schools. READ MORE

Scandal At The State-Operated School For The Blind Exposes State Ed’s Neglect Of Multiply-Disabled Kids
By Assemblyman Steven Sanders
I have called for a criminal investigation as well as for two federal probes, by the Justice Department’s Office of Civil Rights and by the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general, into the recent scandal involving serious neglect of multiply-disabled children and young adults at the State-operated New York State School for the Blind in Batavia, NY. READ MORE

MUSIC ART & DANCE

“Dancing Through Barriers” at Dance Theater of Harlem: An Interview with Keith Saunders
By Joan Baum, Ph.D.
Saunders, who went to Harvard when he was 18, got interested in Afro-American and modern jazz dance, after taking just one course, and was eventually accepted at DTH, where he rose through the ranks. READ MORE

Executive Director of the Lincoln Center Institute Shares Insights
By Scott Noppe-Brandon
For this column, I thought I’d stray a litle bit from my usual concerns, namely the state of arts in education. Just a little bit, mind you: I want to talk about a favorite television program and, after all, being aware of the impact a powerful medium can have is part of my work.
READ MORE

MEDICAL UPDATE

Health Effects of Omega-3 Polyunsaturated
Fatty Acids
By Artemis P. Simopoulos, M.D.
There are two families of essential fatty acids, the omega-6 and omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). They are essential because human beings cannot make them and they must be obtained from the diet. READ MORE

CHILDREN'S CORNER

From The New York Botanical Garden
Q & A With Dr. Christina Colon About Seeds 2 Curricula: Plant Adaptations
Garden Adventure SEEDS: Science Exploration and Education Discovery Series, is a unique classroom curriculum developed by The New York Botanical Garden to educate children about science and improve their math and literacy skills. READ MORE

BOOKS

Packed Crowd Hears Book Winners at Bank Street College Awards
By Joan Baum, Ph.D.
The 33rd annual Irma S. and James H. Black (ISB) Awards for Excellence in Children’s Literature, hosted by Bank Street College of Education, reached hilarious heights last month when 2004 ISB winner Mo Willems brought down the house with his acceptance speech.
READ MORE