Perspectives in Improving Public Education Around the Nation
Advice to President-Elect Barack Obama from National School Boards
The National School Boards Association (NSBA) just released its vision for “A New Era in Education” to President-elect Barack Obama’s education advisors....READ MORE

The Tisch Family Visits With President-Elect Obama
Special to Education Update
Staunch Obama supporters Emily Sussman, an attorney and her mother Laurie Tisch visited President-elect Obama recently....READ MORE

Howard Gardner Shares His Wisdom at New York University
By Rich Monetti
Recently, Howard Gardner brought his theory of multiple intelligences to NYU....READ MORE

Creating New Job Opportunities and Protecting Jobseekers in Economic Downturn
By Mayor Michael Bloomberg
I’ve often said that just because we are in the midst of a fiscal crisis doesn’t mean we can afford to walk away from our long-term obligations to the city....READ MORE

Addressing Issues In The Classroom
By McCarton Ackerman
A formal discussion at NYU recently, addressed how issues at home are affecting the chance of success for many children inside the classroom....READ MORE

GUEST EDITORIAL & LETTERS

GUEST EDITORIAL
Cultivating Emotionally Intelligent School Leaders
By Dr. Bonnie Brown
We are witnessing a tremendous transformation in the field of education as baby boomer administrators are retiring in large numbers and new leaders are taking over our schools...READ MORE

Letters to the Editor - DECEMBER 2008
...READ MORE

SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS

Fighting for Fairness
By Randi Weingarten
Just about everyone is feeling the pinch of the current economic crisis, and that includes governments, corporations and individuals alike....READ MORE

Teachers College Conference on Education Equity
By Marisa Suescun
How do you eliminate (not just “close,” but truly eradicate) that most prevalent and persistent of challenges to educational equity, the achievement gap?...READ MORE

Wings WorldQuest Honors Women in Science; Reaches Out To Students
By Joan Baum, Ph.D.
How did the 19th century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow get himself into The Explorers Club recently?...READ MORE

Knicks Poetry Slam Attracts Record Number of HS Students
By Judith Aquino
Philippa Christian, a high school senior at Brooklyn College Academy, recently felt her stomach flip when she saw hundreds of students lined up by the registration desk in Madison Square Garden....READ MORE

Taking A Trip With 2000 Chinese Kids
By Jan Aaron
We eight Americans and our Chinese associates piled off our mini van at the famous Panda Breeding Center in Chengdu, China, just as 2,000 local primary school kids arrived for field trips....READ MORE

Chancellor Klein Congratulates Student Winners of PS Architecture 2008
Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein recently congratulated the winners of PS Architecture 2008, a new architectural photography competition open to New York City public school students of all grades....READ MORE

Gilder Lehrman Institute Of American History Announces Summer Seminars For Teachers
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History recently announced that it will sponsor forty one-week teacher enrichment seminars across the U.S. and England for educators at every level....READ MORE

GRACE OUTREACH
Tamara Tells Her Story:
From Teenage Pregnancy to GED Victory
When I was in high school I had to overcome some obstacles such as dealing with teenage pregnancy....READ MORE

COLLEGES & GRAD SCHOOLS

THE DEAN'S COLUMN
A Source for Mathematical Insights:
The Hands of A Clock
By Alfred Posamentier, Ph.D.
The clock can be an interesting source of mathematical applications....READ MORE

Cooper Union Lecture Features Preeminent Educator Stanley Fish
By Alberto Cepeda
What should be the function of colleges and universities in molding the minds of its alumni?...READ MORE

Can Employees Express Political Views in Public Schools?
By Martha Mccarthy, Ph.D.
It is well established that public educators have a First Amendment right to participate in the political process outside school, including campaigning for candidates and running for office as long as such activities do not interfere with their job performance or present a conflict of interests....READ MORE

The Liberty LEADS program in Bank Street College’s Division of Continuing Education
By Farhad Asghar
At the Bank Street College of Education, its Division of Continuing Education conducts much of the college’s outreach efforts through a multitude of direct service and professional development programs....READ MORE

The Beach and Our Litter
By Lauren Shapiro
“You drop a bottle in the water in Merrick, and it washes up at Jones Beach,” said Tim Byrne, Co-Director of Operations at Jones Beach, as we observed volunteers picking up those bottles—and more....READ MORE

CCNY Chemistry Professor David K. Gosser Jr. To Receive Top American Chemical Society Teaching Award
Dr. David K. Gosser Jr., Professor of Chemistry at The City College of New York (CCNY), was named a co-recipient of the 2008 James Flack Norris Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Teaching of Chemistry....READ MORE

CSI President Honored with Latino Trendsetter Award at UN
College of Staten Island President Tomás D. Morales was honored at the Seventh Annual Latino Trendsetter Awards and Scholarship Gala at the United Nations recently....READ MORE

Western Sahara Human Rights Defender Wins 2008 RFK Human Rights Award
Aminatou Haidar is the 2008 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award Laureate....READ MORE

Sarah Lawrence College Center for Continuing Education Hosts Open House & Faculty Talks
The Sarah Lawrence College Center for Continuing Education (CCE) will host an Open House on Monday, December 1 at 11:30 am at 45 Wrexham Rd. on the SLC campus....READ MORE

Montclair State University Announces Two Fulbright Awards
Montclair State University recently announced that two faculty members are recipients of Fulbright Awards: Robert W. Taylor, professor of Earth and Environmental Studies, and Phillip G. LeBel, professor of Economics in the Department of Economics and Finance....READ MORE

Michael Williams Named Dean, Graduate School Of Business at Touro College
Dr. Bernard Lander, founder and president of Touro College, has announced the appointment of Dr. Michael Williams as dean of the Graduate School of Business for Touro College....READ MORE

Mary McDowell Center For Learning To Open A High School In September 2010
The Board of Trustees of the Mary McDowell Center for Learning has approved the creation of the Mary McDowell Center for Learning High School, with a 9th grade to begin in September 2010....READ MORE

Lehman College Celebrates 40 Years
Lehman College and the Lehman College Foundation sponsored a special benefit for student scholarships recently at Bridgewaters in downtown Manhattan....READ MORE

SPECIAL EDUCATION

FROM NYU CHILD STUDY CENTER: ASK THE EXPERT
Eating Disorders
By Glenn Hirsch, M.D.
What are eating disorders?...READ MORE

Parents’ Quest for a Cure
By Benjamin Seckler, M.D. & Tracy Kramer Seckler
We have just returned from Cape Cod, where we were the guest speakers at the CombinatoRx corporate retreat....READ MORE

Dyslexia in the Prison Population
By Dr. Kathryn Currier Moody
This is the year that the American prison population topped its own record at 2 million inmates....READ MORE

Cooke Center Presents Workshop On Inclusive Education
Presentation Celebrates National Inclusive Schools Week
In celebration of National Inclusive Schools Week, the Cooke Center for Learning Development will present a workshop for educators on inclusive education titled “Inclusion: Asking the Hard Questions.”...READ MORE

Toys“R”Us Toy Guide For Differently-Abled Kids
Recently Toys“R”Us, Inc. debuted the 2008 edition of the Toys“R”Us Toy Guide for Differently-Abled Kids, an easy-to-use toy selection guide for anyone who loves and cares for a child with special needs....READ MORE

MUSIC, ART & DANCE

Tisa Chang: Theater Pioneer
By Lisa K. Winkler
Thirty-one years after founding the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre, Tisa Chang still likes to be in her theater at curtain time....READ MORE

Shogun Macbeth: A Production of the Pan Asian Repertory Company
By Loretta Azzarone
Recently, about 25 of our classmates attended a performance of “Shogun Macbeth”, produced by the Pan Asian Theater and our very own classmate Tisa Chang, founder of the Pan Asian Repertory Company....READ MORE

Director Mike Leigh Praises Teachers!
By Dorothy Davis
During the Q&A following his delightful new film “Happy-Go-Lucky” at The New York Film Festival, Director Mike Leigh (“Vera Drake,” “Topsy-Turvy,” “Secrets & Lies”) described Poppy Cross, his lead character (played by Sally Hawkins) as a person “who can deal with things in life, looks things in the eye, is open, can tackle things in an extremely grounded, sensible, focused, way....READ MORE

Wynton Marsalis Teaches Children Jazz At Lincoln Center
By Judith Aquino
On a recent Saturday afternoon at the Rose Theater in the Time Warner Center, many children squirmed in their seats while a baby wailed from the balcony....READ MORE

Kaleidoscope Quilts:
The Art of Paula Nadelstern
This is the American Folk Art Museum’s first one-person exhibition highlighting the work of a contemporary quilt artist....READ MORE

MetroBEAT

Using Technology to Make New York City Safer, Cleaner and More Livable
By Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Digital cameras, camera phones, smartphones....READ MORE

New York is Leading the Nation in Education Reform and Poverty Reduction
By Mayor Michael Bloomberg
New York City has been at the center of the nation’s attention recently—because we are showing the courage, creativity, and leadership to take on some of the country’s most complex challenges....READ MORE

Making City Government Accessible to All New Yorkers
By Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Some 200 different languages and dialects can be heard on the streets of New York....READ MORE

New Schools Serve More than 11,000 Students
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein recently announced that 18 new school buildings with 11,471 classroom seats have opened....READ MORE

CHILDREN"S CORNER

FROM THE SUPERINTENDENTS’ DESK
Deciding What Stays and What Goes
By Dr. Carole G. Hankin
It can be difficult to strike a balance between preserving the many mementos of our sons’ and daughters’ childhoods and finding ample space in our homes to do so....READ MORE

MEDICAL UPDATE

Hazards of Cigarette Smoking on Display at the New York Public Library
By Lauren Shapiro
After his mother developed lung cancer, Dr. Robert Jackler’s scholarly interest in the tobacco industry became personal....READ MORE

Radiation Before Surgery Improves Pancreatic Cancer Outcomes
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers and one of the most difficult to treat....READ MORE

Crohn’s Disease Surgeries Make Steady Advances
Thousands of Americans suffering from the chronic inflammatory bowel condition known as Crohn’s disease are leading longer, healthier lives due to innovative new surgeries, according to experts at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center....READ MORE

BOOKS

Logos Bookstore’s Recommendations
By H. Harris Healy, III, President, Logos Bookstore
It is December and the Holidays are here. It is a good time to make the gift of music to friends and loved ones, even oneself to enjoy at holiday time and year round....READ MORE

Review of Controversies In The Classroom: A Radical Teacher Reader
By Merri Rosenberg
Given the recent positive change on the political landscape, perhaps there will be a more receptive audience for the underlying message of this provocative book than might have existed during the past eight years....READ MORE

Enjoy Page After Page of Holiday Cheer Through Reading!
By Selene Vasquez
Lusciously delicious visuals tell a story of the roly-poly Gingerbread Baby who longs for riotous adventures....READ MORE

Review of Those Who Dared: Five Visionaries Who Changed American Education
By Merri Rosenberg
I imagine that no matter what one’s profession or field happens to be, nearly everyone would agree that strong, inspiring, visionary leaders are essential in moving an organization forward, to something better....READ MORE