Home About Us Media Kit Subscriptions Links Forum
APPEARED IN


View All Articles

Download PDF

FAMOUS INTERVIEWS

Directories:

SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS

HELP WANTED

Tutors

Workshops

Events

Sections:

Books

Camps & Sports

Careers

Children’s Corner

Collected Features

Colleges

Cover Stories

Distance Learning

Editorials

Famous Interviews

Homeschooling

Medical Update

Metro Beat

Movies & Theater

Museums

Music, Art & Dance

Special Education

Spotlight On Schools

Teachers of the Month

Technology

Archives:

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

1995-2000


DECEMBER 2005

From the Superintendent’s Seat:
For My Father
By Dr. Carole G. Hankin
with Randi T. Sachs

In this column we share information and advice on parenting, and how to be the best advocates for our children. This week, my family and I said goodbye to our very strongest advocate, my father. Dad passed away just a day before he was to turn 93. He had a very good life.

I am an only child, and was definitely the apple of my father?s eye. I never had to share my parents with anyone. But Dad, and Mom who left us much too soon, showed me how to love my children and what was the most important values to give them. He had the pleasure of watching my three children grow to adults with families of their own, and he rejoiced in the birth of each of his nine great grandchildren.

People often ask me how my school district has been able to become so outstanding. I certainly did not do it alone. Parents are an integral part of their child?s education. They have to be passionate about wanting the best education for their children and they have to encourage their children to want it for themselves.

My father was my biggest supporter. He always encouraged me to do my best and to accept only the best from others. He valued education and supported me and my husband in choosing education for our careers. And he never stopped I lead an active and very busy life. As superintendent of a district with ten schools and 6,800 students I have a great many responsibilities and challenges. While my father recognized my abilities to manage my professional life and raise my family, he never stopped being my father. I will miss him calling to remind me to take an umbrella when rain was predicted, and all the other ways he kept me grounded in the details of life by caring for me so lovingly.

My father was one of the very lucky people who maintain their minds and their knowledge throughout a long life. He set an inspiring example for me, my husband, our three children, and their spouses to emulate. Watching him age so well and so gracefully has been a factor in why I am fascinated with the workings of the brain, and motivates me to foster programs in Syosset that help give brain development a boost in the early school years, to serve our students well long after they leave our schools.

As parents, we hope to be rewarded for the love we give our children. The greatest rewards are the love they give us in return and the pride we feel in their successes and happiness. My father gave me the greatest gifts a parent can give. He gave me love, support, motivation, and tenderness. I dedicate this column to his memory.#

COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE

Name:

Email:
Show email
City:
State:

 


 

 

 

Education Update, Inc.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of the publisher. © 2009.