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New York City
December 2002

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)

 

 

Education Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001.
Tel: (212) 481-5519. Fax: (212) 481-3919.Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of the publisher. © 2002.


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