Fulfilling The Dream:
Single Sex Education
The Young Women’s Leadership Foundation, NY
By Kathleen Ponze, Education Director
I believe the most compelling argument for the choice of an all girls school is personalization and whole child education....READ MORE

The Archer School, Los Angeles
By Dr. Diana Meehan, Founder
As anyone who educates can attest, the best teaching focuses on the student and the ways students learn....READ MORE

Girls Preparatory Charter School, NY
By Miriam Raccah, Executive Director & Co-Founder
As a charter school founder, I believe in the power of educational choice to transform lives....READ MORE

Urban Prep Academies, Chicago
By Tim King, Founder & CEO
For those of us involved with urban prep, the most compelling argument for single sex schools is choice....READ MORE

Outstanding Educators
Awarded Prizes
Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education Awarded to Blais, Griffin & Reed
By Dr. Pola Rosen
Twenty-one years ago, Harold W. McGraw, Jr. established a prize to recognize educators who had made a significant difference in the lives of children through innovative approaches in education....READ MORE

Our Time Has Come
By Eduardo J. Marti, Ph.D., President,
Queensborough Community College
Across the nation, 6.5 million student—about 46% of all undergraduates—are enrolled in programs toward an Associate degree....READ MORE

GUEST EDITORIAL & LETTERS

EDITORIAL
Fulfilling the Dreams of Young Women
By Dr. Pola Rosen
According to Margaret Mead, it only takes a few dedicated individuals to make a difference in the world. As a society, we don’t often focus the spotlight on those individuals. One of the missions...READ MORE

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

SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS

Video Games in Schools: Technology in the 21st Century
By Andrew Gardner
We all have the vision of a child, glued to the screen, controller in hand, engaging, uninterrupted, with a video game....READ MORE

PRINCIPALS SPEAK
Dr. Dina Erstejn, Principal 51st Avenue Academy
At our school, the 51st Ave. Academy—”The Path to Academic Excellence,” we have been employing the Core Curriculum and implement it with research-based strategies that teachers study during common planning periods....READ MORE

“The Pill” Founder Carl Djerassi Provokes Through Drama
By Lisa K. Winkler
For Carl Djerassi, the chemist, scientific discoveries are tangible and transparent. For Carl Djerassi, the writer, the ramifications of these discoveries pose challenging questions....READ MORE

NEW AT LINCOLN CENTER
Artistic and Educational Initiatives Planned; Virtual Time Capsule Launched
Lincoln Center announced a yearlong 50th Anniversary Celebration that will begin in May 2009 and continue through May 2010....READ MORE

COLLEGES & GRAD SCHOOLS

Barnard College President Debora Spar Talks With NY Chief Judge Judith Kaye
By Emily Sherwood, Ph.D.
Saying that it has been “lawyer heaven to review the issues that are of such consummate importance to the everyday lives of the people of New York and to establish a body of law that continues on and on into the future,” Hon. Judith S. Kaye, Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, spoke about her career on the bench before a packed crowd of students, judges and other attendees at Barnard College last month....READ MORE

Teachers College President Susan Fuhrman Breaks the Ice with Republic of Iceland President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson
By Dr. Pola Rosen
Teachers College President Susan Fuhrman recently welcomed the President of the Republic of Iceland to the ivy halls of Columbia University as part of the Columbia University World Leaders Forum, created to examine global challenges and explore cultural perspectives....READ MORE

Irish Voices At Marymount
By Dr. Pola Rosen
The Writing Center of Marymount Manhattan College led by Lewis Burke Frumkes initiated its 2008 season of the Clementina Santi Flaherty Irish Voices literary series with Joseph O’Neill, author of Netherland, which was nominated for the Mann Booker prize....READ MORE

President Jeremy Travis, John Jay College Speaks at the Women’s City Club
By Dr. Pola Rosen
Ruth Acker, President of the venerable Women’s City Club, founded in 1915, whose roster of members included Eleanor Roosevelt, recently invited President Jeremy Travis of John Jay College, CUNY as part of a series on changing public policy issues....READ MORE

The Dean's Column
The Place of Mathematical Paradoxes in the Instructional Program
By Alfred Posamentier, Ph.D.
A paradox or fallacy in mathematics generally results from a violation of some rule or law of mathematics....READ MORE

WORDS FROM THE EXPERTS:
Aspen Institute Holds National Education Summit
Walter Isaacson, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute opened the National Education Summit recently by “using a call to action to work in a bi-partisan manner to raise public awareness of the educational challenges faced by our students, teachers, and school leaders....READ MORE

Lowerre Family Gift To Marymount Manhattan College
By Dr. Pola Rosen
Picture a magnificent waterfall cascading down a stone wall, a 5,000 square foot outdoor space surrounded by trees and shrubs, rustic wooden benches and a unique division of space that permits privacy in small enclaves separated by greenery....READ MORE

BANK STREET COLLEGE
The Principles of Becoming an Excellent School Leader
By Leah Ingram with Lisa Palmer
According to Bank Street trustee Thomas Payzant, it doesn’t matter where a school is located—an inner-city neighborhood or next to a cornfield—every child should have access to an excellent education....READ MORE

Class of 2008 Faces Trials and Tribulations
By McCarton Ackerman
Six months after packing up their belongings to tackle the job market, college graduates of the class of 2008 have found themselves feeling the effects of a sagging economy....READ MORE

December Marks Nobel Prize Awards: The Woman Behind Alfred Nobel
By Barbara LowIn
With the time of the December presentations of the Nobel Prizes upon us, it is interesting to note the influence a woman had on Alfred Nobel, to motivate him to initiate these prizes....READ MORE

Hunter College Art Galleries: Infinite Light by Laurent Grasso
Hunter College pedestrian bridges over Lexington Avenue and 68th Street, New York to: Night brings together a selection of contemporary works which explore the theme of night through a variety of approaches....READ MORE

UWF Invites New Yorkers To Their Florida Campus
Located minutes away from the some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, the University of West Florida serves more than 10,000 students at its main campus in Pensacola, Florida, and through its fully-accredited Online Campus....READ MORE

SPECIAL EDUCATION

FROM THE NYU CHILD STUDY CENTER: ASK THE EXPERT
Sports: Getting a Good Start
By Glenn S. Hirsch, M.D.
Kids are getting involved in sports earlier than ever—some even begin a competitive sport by the age of 3 or 4. But sports are one area where the “earlier the better” doesn’t hold true....READ MORE

Inclusion: A Right or a Privilege?
By Dr. Bonnie Brown
Superintendent, District 75, NYC
When we discuss inclusion in the Special Education arena, we are speaking about a commitment to educate students with special needs in their home-zoned schools...READ MORE

Documentary Filmmakers Rally for Disability in Films
By Judith Aquino
“I hope I become obsolete someday,” declared documentary filmmaker Alice Elliott at a recent panel discussion...READ MORE

About Imagine Academy
By Allen J. Frances, M.D.
I applaud and congratulate all of the founders and staff of the Imagine Academy for Autism...READ MORE

MUSIC, ART & DANCE

THE LEGACY OF LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Interview with Jamie Bernstein
By Joan Baum Ph.D.
Of all the interviews you’ve already given about your father, including those that have run on PBS recently, is there something that has still not been asked or not explored as fully as you would wish regarding your father’s place in the classical music pantheon?...READ MORE

THE LEGACY OF LEONARD BERNSTEIN
Alexander Bernstein Follows In The Teaching Footsteps Of His Fabulous Father
By Joan Baum Ph.D.
Leonard Bernstein’s second child (of three), Alexander Bernstein, is a Bernstein natural—the voice, the enthusiasm, the humor, the passion, the dedication all recall the Maestro in pedagogical mode....READ MORE

MetroBEAT

Golden Opportunity to Evaluate Mayoral Control
By State Senator Liz Krueger
Recently I held a Public Hearing on the June 2009 expiration of the New York City Education and Reform Accountability Act of 2002. The hearing was one of a series of hearings being held by the Senate Democratic Conference Task Force on School Governance....READ MORE

MOVIE & THEATER REVIEWS

MOVIE REVIEW
Barnard Film Committee  Reviews “The Class”
By Dorothy Davis
“The Class,” a new French film, directed by Laurent Cantet (“Heading South,” “Time Out,” “Human Resources”) depicts a year in a multi-cultural classroom in a tough Paris neighborhood, and was the surprise winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, is France’s Academy Award nominee, was uniformly praised by the New York press, and was the Opening Night Selection of The New York Film Festival....READ MORE

MUSEUMS AS EDUCATORS

Ancient Scrolls And Enchanting Elephants
By Jan Aaron
Two new museum shows have little in common except excellence....READ MORE

CHILDREN"S CORNER

FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT’S SEAT
Make Video Games a Family Experience
By Dr. Carole G. Hankin
In this day and age, modern technology has been growing by leaps and bounds, and nowhere is this more evident than in our own homes...READ MORE

Book Review:
The Gift by Marcia S. Freeman
By Drew Kushnir
The Gift by Marcia S. Freeman is inspiring for children whose families have moved to America from another country...READ MORE

MEDICAL UPDATE

An Exclusive Interview With Dr. Ash Tewari,
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Robotic Surgery:
“If We Can Think About It, It May Happen”
By Joan Baum, Ph.D.
For Dr. Ash Tewari, it’s all about “bits and bytes,” blood and guts being, for him, signs of surgeries past. For nine years now, Ash Tewari, M.D., M.Ch. [Magister Chirugiae, Master of Surgery], the Director of Robotic Prostatectomy and of Prostate Cancer-Urologic Oncology Outcomes at the Brady Urology Foundation of The Department of Urology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University (just one of several titles and affiliations), has been performing robotic surgery on patients diagnosed with prostate cancer....READ MORE

Avoiding Spleen Removal for Cooley’s Anemia Sufferers
Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College may have discovered the precise role of a gene in one of the world's most common blood disorders, beta-thalassemia, commonly known as Cooley's anemia....READ MORE

BOOKS

Election Books—Perfect For Children Of All Ages!
By Lisa K. Winkler
Electoral college, political action committees, quirks of presidents and the influence of media—explaining these concepts to children can be overwhelming...READ MORE

Review of Dr. Ruth’s Guide To Teens And Sex Today: From Social Networking To Friends With Benefits
Reviewed By Merri Rosenberg
Quick—someone get a copy of this to Sarah Palin...READ MORE

Logos Bookstore’s Recommendations
By H. Harris Healy, III, President,
Logos Bookstore
On Wednesday, October 1, 2008 at 7 P.M., Kill Your TV Reading Group (KYTV) celebrated its 10th birthday with a party and a discussion of The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, a marvelous, fantastical novel incorporating 1930’s Moscow, Pontius Pilate, the crucifixion of Jesus, a diabolical cat/human, other outrageous demons, Satan, himself as well as the title characters, the Master and Margarita...READ MORE

Let Your Thoughts Blossom With Books Galore!
By Selene Vasquez
“WARNING: This book contains obnoxious children. Read at your own risk!” A hilarious alphabetical catalog of bad behaviors in alliterative rhymes. Flamboyant collage style illustrations compliment these dastardly deeds...READ MORE

The Gift by Marcia S. Freeman
By Drew Kushnir
The Gift by Marcia S. Freeman is inspiring for children whose families have moved to America from another country...READ MORE

CAMPS & SPORTS

Hitting the Books or the Courts: Top High School & College Students Decide
By McCarton Ackerman
At this year’s US Open tennis championships, many of the top American junior players found themselves facing a pivotal fork in the road....READ MORE