SPECIAL
EDUCATION
Would
You Recognize a Troubled Teen?
One of the difficulties parents and educators face when dealing
with adolescents is recognizing the difference between
a teen going through the normal rebelliousness of adolescence
and a teen who is heading down a destructive path. READ
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TEACHERS OF THE MONTH
Outstanding
Teachers of the Month - June 2003
READ
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SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS
Bank Street College
Offers Insights About 9/11
by Tom Kertes
“Due to the film’s raw power,” Bank Street
College provided “a small, secure place for group
discussion” after
the showing of “Our School.” Not one person
took advantage of the considerate offer. READ
MORE
Chess-In-The-Schools: The Royal Game
by Tom Kertes
The thousand-year argument continues to rage about chess
being a sport (or not). But there can be no argument about
the avalanche of benefits playing chess provides to public
school children. READ
MORE
Healthy Children Healthy Futures
by Matilda Raffa Cuomo
and B.J. Carter
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the number
of obese children continues to rise. Recent data from the
National Center of Healthy Statistics shows that nearly 9
million children and adolescents ages 6–19 are overweight.
READ
MORE
Deaf and Hearing Students Perform
Together as Part of Digital
Arts Program
The show will go on at Community School District 25 with
a student production that combines live performances and
digital demonstrations of classic works such as “The
Crucible” and “Romeo and Juliet.” The Digital
Arts program stems from a Teaching Matters initiative called “Digital
Storytelling” that uses technology to help students
understand and appreciate classic literature. READ
MORE
Graduating High School:
A Triumph in Learning English
by
Adam Sugerman
At the TESOL convention in Baltimore this year, I witnessed
enthusiastic groups of professionals who were committed to
teaching English while recognizing and supporting efforts
to help students preserve their own language. It reminded
me of one particular soon-to-be high school graduate. READ
MORE
Harlem Children Society:
An Experiment with K-12 Science
Education
by Sat Bhattacharya, Ph.D.
I am a research scientist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer
Center in New York City. I constantly train and teach young
medical students, physicians and other personnel. As a service
to the community, I began to extend my services to the public
schools in Harlem, giving bright and motivated young kids
an opportunity to become initiated directly into the world
of science. READ
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Schools Chancellor Klein
Welcomes Support for Reform Efforts
Eight city, community and parent organizations held a press
conference at the Department of Education’s headquarters
in the Tweed Courthouse to express their support for the
Children First reform initiatives.
READ
MORE
Report Shows North Carolina
Leading the Nation in Closing
the Achievement Gap
North Carolina is a national leader in student achievement
gains by African-Americans, Latinos, and white students on
national exams according to a report released recently by
the Washington, DC-based, The Education Trust. The report,
Education Watch, details student achievement and other indicators
of student performance in the 50 states. READ
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An Appeal for The Children of PS 169 In Manhattan
P. S. 169, The Robert F. Kennedy School, is a special education
middle school located on 88th Street between Park and Lexington
Avenues. The students who attend the school are learning
disabled and emotionally disturbed. Some of them are autistic.
Most are economically disadvantaged. READ
MORE
Diane Ravitch: Censorship of Language Attacked
by Sybil
Maimin
The battles over what we teach our children continue, and
Diane Ravitch, author, advocate, and professor of education
at New York University, has taken a strong stand against “the
new literary terrorists from both the left and the right” who
demand that certain words and concepts not appear in the
texts our children use in school.
READ
MORE
Behind the Silver Screen With Reeves Lehmann
by Jacob M.
Appel
The film program at the School of Visual Arts has changed
dramatically since Reeves Lehmann attended college in the
1970s. “Back then there was a much, much smaller student
population,” he recalled.
READ
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COLLEGES
Students
with Strong Technology Skills
In Demand Amidst A Challenging Economy
by Diane Engelhardt
It doesn’t take more than reading the daily newspaper
to know that the technology sector is in distress. We’ve
seen headlines about companies failing as the stock market
remains in a slump and funding sources remain on the sidelines.
But does this obvious weakness among technology companies
mean that there is no longer a demand for workers with
technology skills? READ
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Diversity in College Admissions:
A Common Sense Approach
by Luke D. Schultheis
While the worthy debate over affirmative action and quotas
in college admissions attempts to reconcile philosophical
and political objectives, it does not completely address
how to make higher education accessible to many minority
students. READ
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Colvin New
Director of Hechinger Institute
on Education & Media
at Teachers College
Richard Lee Colvin, an award-winning education writer with
the Los Angeles Times, is the new director of the Hechinger
Institute on Education and the Media at Teachers College.
Colvin joined the Institute last summer as deputy director.
He succeeds Gene I. Maeroff, the institute’s founding
director, who will remain with the Institute as a senior
fellow. READ
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Xiang Lanxin Named Kissinger Scholar at
Library of Congress
Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has appointed Xiang
Lanxin, professor of international history and politics
at the Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales
in Geneva, Switzerland, as the new Henry Alfred Kissinger
Scholar in Foreign Policy and International Relations at
the Library of Congress, effective Sept. 2. Billington
made the appointment upon the recommendation of a six-person
selection committee consisting of members of the academic
community and high-ranking foreign policy experts. READ
MORE
Graduation is Sweeter the Second time Around: NYIT
It’s never too late in life to go back to school or
to begin a new career track. Proof of that are two recent
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) graduates—both
African-American women of a certain age—who received
advance degrees this spring. READ
MORE
New York State Judicial Institute Opens at Pace University
School of Law
Thirty years ago, only 13 organizations were providing education
to help U.S. judges keep up with pressing social issues that
had an impact on their courts. READ
MORE
Polytechnic University Announces Establishment
of Honors
College
The faculty of Polytechnic University voted overwhelmingly
to approve establishment of a new Honors College. The inaugural
Honors College class, the Class of 2007, will enter Polytechnic
in September, 2003. READ
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Stanley Teitel:
CCNY Alumni Association’s
Educator of the Year
by Alfred S. Posamentier, Ph.D.
At the National Arts Club, The City College of New York Education
Alumni Association honored one of its outstanding graduates,
Stanley Teitel (’71) with its Educator of the Year
award. Mr. Teitel is currently principal of Stuyvesant High
School, a position he has held since 1999. READ
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PARENT GUIDE
Fatherhood
Initiative In Twelve Communities
The Department of Youth and Community Development announced
that 12 community-based organizations have been awarded contracts
under a new Fatherhood Initiative. “This is a significant
new program that we are introducing” DYCD Commissioner
Jeanne B. Mullgrav remarked, “father absence is very
visible and well documented, both in the vast numbers and
in the detrimental impact that it has on children.
READ
MORE
About Writing…
The way to improve student writing is to ask students to
write… and then ask them to write some more! If
students do enough writing it begins to feel like a natural
thing to do… a way to express who you are… a
lot like talking, but more formal. READ
MORE
In Praise
Of Parents: It’s
Tradition!
by Dr. Carole G. Hankin with Randi T. Sachs
This month and last month, we honor the most important people
in a child’s life: mom and dad. Many of us follow long-time
traditions on how to spend the day. If you are the parent
of a child you may have challenge of maintaining traditions
you’ve kept in honoring your own parents and helping
your children become involved in their owns traditions of
showing their own appreciation. READ
MORE
MEDICAL UPDATE
Dental Professor
wins
County College’s Top Teaching
Award
A dental professor recognized as a role model in teaching,
departmental leadership and dentistry has won the top instructional
award available to Camden County College faculty READ
MORE
Dog Bite Prevention
Children make up 60 percent of the 4.7 million bitten by
dogs each year. Dog bite attacks occur year round and can
be harmful and sometimes deadly. READ
MORE
Ludwig W. Eichna, M.D., 94,
Medical Educator and Innovator
by Herman Rosen, M.D.
Dr. Ludwig W. Eichna, former Professor and Chairman of the
Department of Medicine at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in
Brooklyn, was memorialized at a recent ceremony at Downstate
Medical Center. READ
MORE
Mount Sinai School of Medicine:
Fastest Growing Research
Program in NYS
Mount Sinai School of Medicine is ranked 22nd among the nation’s
125 medical schools in receipt of funds from the National
Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH awards to Mount Sinai School
of Medicine in Government FY02 totaled $142.2 million. READ
MORE
Mothers Giving Birth Donate Record Number
of Life-Saving
Umbilical Cord Bloods
Mothers giving birth at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill
Cornell Medical Center and The Brooklyn Hospital Center—both
members of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System—voluntarily
donated a record number of life-saving umbilical cord bloods
to New York Blood Center’s National Cord Blood Program
last year, representing 41 percent of the Program’s
one-year cord blood donations. READ
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MUSEUMS
Children’s
Museum of Manhattan Begins 30th Anniversary Celebration
with 4 Interactive Exhibitions
The Children’s Museum of Manhattan (CMOM) presents
NYC’s most exciting and enriching schedule of fun,
hands-on activities and exhibitions as well as live performances
that kids and families can enjoy all summer. Kids can always
meet a new friend or see an old one while doing cool things
at CMOM this summer. READ
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Museum on the Water is the Location for Summer Fun
by Krista
Kohlhausen
Looking for a place where you and your students can spread
your wings and discover first hand what it’s like to
travel on the sea, fly in the air, and float in space? Then
join us on the Intrepid Sea•Air•Space Museum this
summer for an exciting, enriching experience. READ
MORE
BOOKS
Logos
Bookstore’s Recommendations READ
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Math Wonders
to Inspire Teachers & Students
by Merri Rosenberg
As someone who last took a math class nearly 30 years ago
as a high school junior, I have to confess that this wasn’t
the kind of title that I’d normally pull from the shelves.
READ
MORE
Poetry Contest Opens
International Library of Poetry has announced that $58,000
in prizes will be awarded this year in the International
Open Poetry Contest. Poets from the New York area, particularly
beginners, are welcome to try to win their share of over
250 prizes. READ
MORE
Children’s
Book Reviews:
Summertime is a Breeze with these Fine Books.
Read and Enjoy!
by Selene Vasquez READ
MORE
MUSIC, ART & DANCE
Music in the Subways
by Michelle
Accorso & Pola Rosen,
Ed.D.
It was 9:30 am, a bit past the morning crush of riders
heading to work on a typical day in New York City. At the
downtown platform of 86th Street and Lexington Avenue,
Richard Mirayes, playing acoustical guitar and singing
to the admiration of some passers-by, was impervious to
the screeching of the trains. Trained at Santa Monica College,
he started lessons at the age of 8 and by age 12 was playing
drums in bands. At age 14, he began to record and sing
in the background to Frankie Valle. READ
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MOVIES AND THEATER
Together Features Beijing Symphony
by Jan Aaron
First we meet Liu Xiaochun (Tang Yun), the 13-year-old
prodigy violinist featured in Chen Kaige’s, Together.
He is living in a provincial town where his father, Liu
Cheng (Liu Peiqi), is bringing him up. From here, the two
travel via calm, idyllic waterways to hectic Beijing. Because
the teen won a music competition, they are heading to
an audition at a music school there. READ
MORE
METROBEAT
Fifteen
New Reading Resources
In Arts, Language Arts, Science, & Social
Studies Added To “Free” Website READ
MORE
Your Neighborhood Parks
Have A Lot To Offer This Summer
by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
With the warm weather months upon us, more and more New Yorkers
are getting out to our parks to enjoy ballgames, picnics,
concerts and other forms of recreation. In addition to great
zoos and botanical gardens, New York City has by far the
largest system of city parks in the nation, with more than
1,500 parks, beaches, playgrounds and gardens covering more
than 26,000 acres. And we’re working hard to add to
New York’s network of parks in every borough, and to
make our existing open spaces even more beautiful and inviting.
READ
MORE
Legislature Makes the Right Choice for Schools.
Veto Overrides Restore $1.1 Billion
to Education
by Assemblyman
Steven Sanders
Year after year, Governor Pataki has tried to slash education
spending, and year after year, the Assembly restores it.
In fact, prior to this year, the Assembly had successfully
restored $2.8 billion of the Governor’s education cuts.
READ
MORE
CAMPS AND SPORTS
Asphalt Green
by Carol Tweedy
Asphalt Green is the premier health and fitness non-profit
in New York City, serving 42,000 people each year. The
sports and fitness activities offered are available to
12,000 neighborhood children absolutely free and depend
on generous contributions in order to support the free
community activities. READ
MORE
Surf Camp
The summer surf camps located in Wrightsville Beach, North
Carolina are like no other programs in the world. For a
week, your child will be immersed in the “Sport of
Kings” while learning about incredible coastal ecosystems.
All surf camps have a student to instructor ratio of 3:1,
and are staffed with avid surfers educated in marine sciences.
READ
MORE
TECHNOLOGY
Avaion Software’s
FatFinger 2.4
by Mitchell Levine
As great as laptop computers are for mobile education,
they still have some disadvantages for practical deployment
in a contemporary educational setting. Since the concept
of the “one to one computing standard”—or
one mobile device for every student, teacher, and administrator—is
to ensure equal opportunity for techno-literacy, it’s
an unfortunate fact that the very classrooms that most
need access to the technology, have the least space to
make use of it. READ
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Otterbox Armor 3600
by Mitchell Levine
Almost anyone who’s become a serious handheld user
has noted a number of wonderful things about those fascinating
little digi-boxes: their convenience, versatility, and profound
impact on their personal productivity. Unfortunately, one
big liability is usually quickly evident—their delicacy.
Making them fast, capacious, and flexible apparently doesn’t
leave a lot of technical capital left over for making them
rugged. READ
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Texas Public Schools Improve Scoring
in the “Difficult to Teach” Sciences of Anatomy
and Physiology
As a wide- open healthcare field prods a growing number of
students to seek careers in the industry, educators are finding
more effective tools and techniques to teach a traditionally
difficult subject. READ
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EDITORIALS
Graduation: A Time to Rejoice,
A Time to Reflect
by Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
June is a month of many emotions. For college graduates,
it’s a time to discover if academic accomplishments
can be translated into meaningful jobs and balancing personal
budgets. For high school graduates, the excitement of college,
new friends and mastery of college level courses lie ahead.
READ MORE