MARCH/APRIL 2012
COVER STORIES : WOMEN SHAPING HISTORY 2012
Michelle Obama’s Legacy: A Healthier Generation
By Adam Sugerman
Diet and exercise. To lose weight, we need to burn more calories than we consume. If we eat 2,500 calories, but only burn 2,400, we’re going to get heavier. Simple math, right? The people of our nation, and of the Western world for that matter, are increasingly becoming heavier....READ MORE
Carla Markell: First Lady, Delaware
What inspired you to pursue your current career?
My “career” as First Lady found me, more than I found it. I wasn’t sure how active of a role I wanted to play when Jack first got elected. I heard Michelle Obama speak on her own transition and she said she was getting started by going around visiting various federal agencies....READ MORE
Christine Quinn: City Council Speaker
Growing up, I was only interested in one thing –government and politics – my father always said it was my curse. At the library, I would only check out biographies of important leaders or important women. This gave me, from a very young age, a real sense of the potential that government has to make people’s lives better....READ MORE
Tisa Chang: Founder,
Pan Asian Repertory Theater
After many years as a dancer and aspiring actress I became a creator and director at LaMama ETC in the early 70’s when I asked Ellen Stewart to direct an adaptation of a famous Chinese Peking opera, Return of the Phoenix, into a 5 character, intimate comedy with music using both English and Chinese. This work was a tribute to my mother....READ MORE
Dr. Maria Mitchell: President, AMDeC
When I had the good fortune to witness first hand the depth and breadth of the research resources available in the medical research institutions in New York, I realized that so much more could be accomplished through a better coordinated, collaborative effort. Working with AMDeC offered a unique opportunity to work....READ MORE
Joan Kretschmer, Ph.D.:
Musician, Creator
My love of music has been the driving force of every aspect of what I would call a variegated career in music. As a musicologist, critic, performer, teacher, interviewer, as well as the founder and artistic director of the Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York, I have had a life-long passion for — and interest in — music of all kinds....READ MORE
Dora B. Schriro: Commissioner, NYC Dept. of Correction
My inspiration to go into the field of corrections goes back to my grandparents. From the earliest age, they exposed me to ideas and experiences that opened my eyes to the urban landscape and rural America, and to see firsthand the struggles of good people everywhere. I continued to think about those people and places throughout....READ MORE
Deborah Strobin:
An Uncommon Philanthropist
By Joan Baum, Ph.D.
Sounds cinematic: immediate departure, Vienna overrun by Nazis, comfort gone, friends gone, borders closed, last boat out, but to where? Italy it was rumored. But the destination was a city in eastern China. Between 1938 and 1945 Shanghai was haven, the sole haven....READ MORE
Alice Weiss:
Teacher, Lawyer, Poet
Since I have had at least three of what are usually considered careers, I have had to think through what was consistent throughout the 50 years it took me to make my way through them. Teacher of English and American literature (my last teaching job ending in 1974 was at Colgate University), Louisiana civil rights attorney and public....READ MORE
Cindy Sherman: Photographer, Innovator
By Jan Aaron
All of us fuss about our hair, makeup, hemlines, and home décor. But few are as compelling as artist Cindy Sherman. In her 170-work retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, she astonishes with unforgettable images. Sherman, aided by wigs, makeup techniques, props, masks, and occasionally prosthetic body parts....READ MORE
EDITORIALS & LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS
The MET project: Measures of Effective Teaching
Teacher Evaluation Systems Under Scrutiny
By Mohammad Ibrar
In the fall of 2009, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation initiated the two-year long Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project, which is a research project designed to help determine what teaching and classroom management methods, skills, and techniques can be measured and how they affect a teacher’s effectiveness....READ MORE
Diane Ravitch Speaks at Barnard College
By Leah Metcalf
Diane Ravitch, professor of education history and policy at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development delivered a speech entitled “Is Education a Public Good or a Shoestore?” to a full auditorium at Barnard College....READ MORE
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION: INDIA
Up Close and Personal: Schools in India
By Andrew Gardner
The magazine advertisement made a bold claim: India needs 20,000 new schools each year for the next 10 years. Wow! Ask yourself, how would you build them? How would they be funded? How would you find the teachers? How would you control quality? In light of a newly enacted law asserting all children the right to education, this challenge is reality for the largest democracy in the world....READ MORE
Responsibility and a Dream
By Christina Steel
The beginning of the year holds many reminders to stop and think about Dr. King’s dream....READ MORE
PASE Awards Honor Leaders in Afterschool Education
By Jennifer MacGregor
The Partnership for After School Education (PASE) honored five outstanding leaders in afterschool education recently who have made a difference in their communities and the lives of children they have impacted....READ MORE
Dr. Timothy F. Lisante Prepares for Changes to Juvenile Justice System
By Joan Baum, Ph.D.
The timing could not be better for Dr. Timothy F. Lasante, former principal of The East River Academy for incarcerated youth on Rikers Island, and newly appointed director of the city’s reorganized education initiative for children in the juvenile justice system....READ MORE
Grab the Torch: Leadership, Ethics and Philanthropy
Dave Aldrich is shaping the next generation of altruists with Grab The Torch, a nonprofit he founded in 2007; its hallmark program — Leadership, Ethics and Philanthropy Summer Camp Institute — equips teens with the skills necessary to become the next generation of leaders, volunteers, non-profit executives and well-rounded young adults....READ MORE
'The Intuitive Teacher':
A Series Based on the Works of Dr. Caleb Gattegno
What Students Need Are More Questions Than ANswers
We’ve often heard the expression: “There are no bad questions.” But could this be true?...READ MORE
Superintendents Receive Books from McGraw-Hill
Superintendents from the United States who visited school systems in Israel a few months ago have each been given wonderful books for their fourth grade classes in appreciation....READ MORE
COLLEGES & GRAD SCHOOLS
The Dean's Column
Enriching Mathematics Instruction, Rather than Teaching to the Test
By Dean Alfred Posamentier
With the impasse about teacher evaluation dominating our thinking about education, and the controversy over using test results to determine a good teacher, it might be time to take a step back and consider another way that one of America’s most tested subjects — mathematics — can be more effectively taught....READ MORE
President Obama Recognizes Hunter Grad Mildred Dresselhaus With Award for Scientific Achievement
By Devin Callahan
President Obama has named Dr. Mildred S. Dresselhaus as one of two recipients of the Enrico Fermi Award, a prestigious award for scientific achievement....READ MORE
Hunter College Audience Enthralled
By Dr. Pola Rosen
Before a large and enthusiastic audience recently, cultural icons Steven Pinker and Rebecca Goldstein appeared as the first speakers in the Hunter College Writing Center’s 2012 “Great Thinkers Of Our Time” series....READ MORE
Queens College Program Helps Abused Start Anew
By Richard Kagan
Dr. Carmella Marrone is the founder and executive director of Women and Work, a 15-week course taught under the auspices of Queens College, that serves disadvantaged women and gives them a new start....READ MORE
Greek Games at Barnard College
By Kirstyn Crawford
We are approaching the second year of the revival of the Barnard College Greek Games, a long-standing tradition that brings pride to our students....READ MORE
Education Update
Intern
Wins
Prestigious Award
Dominique Carson, a journalism and Italian major at Brooklyn College and intern at Education Update, was recently inducted into the Brooklyn College Wall of Fame. She was the only student selected for the prestigious honor this semester....READ MORE
Brown University: Interview with Prof. Kenneth Wong (Part II)
By Gillian Granoff
The Obama administration established innovation grants and improvement grants to affect change on state and local levels....READ MORE
NEW WRITERS
College Students Share Writing Talents: Editing a College Newspaper
By Scout MacEachron
Running a college newspaper is a difficult job. Running a college newspaper at a school for students with ADHD, dyslexia and other learning disabilities is even harder....READ MORE
NEW WRITERS
A Different Path to Success
By Ethan Arberman
My name is Ethan Arberman. I am 21 years old and I was born and raised in New York City....READ MORE
SPECIAL EDUCATION Join Us As We Speak Up for Kids
By Harold S. Koplewicz, MD
More than 20 years ago I had a patient named Jesse. He was a textbook case of adolescent depression — withdrawing from friends, failing at school, not living up to his considerable potential — but he had another answer. “I’m not depressed. I’m just tired and lazy.”....READ MORE
Beyond the Classroom: Searching for Success
By Dr. James A. McDaniel
Environmental factors are overlooked in managing and changing behaviors of children with ADHD, LD and NVLD....READ MORE
Reelabilities Film Festival Generates ‘Reel’ Awareness
By Karen Kraskow
The Reelabilities Film Festival features individuals who faced enormous hurdles and came out winning....READ MORE
Enabling the Blind to See: Visit to the MoMA
By Mohammad Ibrar
Imagine walking into an art museum and not having the ability to see the art on display....READ MORE
MEDICAL UPDATE
The ETHICS COLUMN
Unvaccinated Children & the Duty to Warn
By Jacob M. Appel, M.D., J.D.
Despite a strong scientific consensus favoring the health benefits of childhood immunization against serious infectious diseases, approximately 1 in 10 American children remains entirely unvaccinated....READ MORE
Eating, Exercising and Losing Weight: Simple Math, Right?
By Bertha Dolly Sugerman,
ARNP, BC-C, WCC
For the past decade, I have been a primary care provider with certification in wound care....READ MORE
LAW & EDUCATION
Who is Your Lawyer?
By Arthur Katz, J.D.
A parent, a student or your school lodges a complaint against you, and you are asked to attend a hearing or meeting in connection with the complaint. Since the complaint relates to your duties in a school-related activity, you report the request to the school and ask for assistance at the hearing. Subsequently, the school’s lawyer meets with you and during your hearing sits at the table with you....READ MORE
CAMPS
Usdan Center Announces Final 2012 Open Houses:
Sunday April 22 And Sunday May 20 From 11am -2 pm
New Programs Include “Illustration And Book Design” And “Summerstock”
Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts (www.usdan.com), the nationally acclaimed summer arts day camp chosen as a 2012 “Best Class or Camp” by TimeOutNY/Kids, announces its final two free Open Houses for its 45th season....READ MORE
Usdan Center Receives Grant From The
Linda And Isaac Stern Charitable Foundation To Establish 2012 Isaac Stern String Scholarship
A scholarship in the name of Isaac Stern, the violinist, educator, humanitarian, and savior of Carnegie Hall, will soon be presented to a violin student at Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts....READ MORE
CAREERS
Education Update has launched a new section called Careers to provide insight and guidance to recent college graduates. Several graduates share their responses to the questions below.
• Stefan Wind, Graduate Student By Lydia Liebman
• Willy Rodriguez, Musician By Lydia Liebman
• Matt Vashlishan, Musician By Lydia Liebman
On the Scene with Benjamin Stimson, a Rising Director
By Mohammad Ibrar
An interview with Benjamin Stimson revealed that taking the unconventional path is difficult, but it can lead to success....READ MORE
BOOKS
Black Cowboy: An Educational Memoir by Lisa Winkler
By Mohammad Ibrar
Lisa Winkler, a former journalist and educator, has written a captivating story about an African-American man traveling on horseback across the unbeaten paths of the United States in the 21st century. She has had her share of horseback riding, country life, and civil rights activism....READ MORE
BOOK REVIEW
‘Diagnosis and Design for School Improvement'
By Merri Rosenberg
Scarcely a day goes by without another discussion in the public space, whether in the paper, on a local news program or the Internet, about improving student performance on high-stakes testing and ensuring that teachers are up to the task....READ REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
‘Taking Charge: Leading With Passion and Purpose in the Principalship’
By Merri Rosenberg
Pity the school principal. Buffeted by pressures from politicians, parents and teachers, and confronted by unyielding, highly public expectations to improve student performance, principals have a demanding, almost impossible role to fulfill in many school communities....READ MORE
BOOK REVIEW
‘The Politics of Latino Education’
By Merri Rosenberg
The growth in America’s Latino population has been undeniably significant in recent years. According to recent data, Latino students account for two-thirds of the increase in public school enrollments between 1993 and 2005....READ REVIEW
Bank Street Children’s Book Awards
By Yuridia Peña
The Children’s Book Committee at the Bank Street College of Education honored five children’s book authors and an illustrator for their literary works in fiction, non-fiction and poetry....READ NORE
Lifetime Achievement Award: Vicki Cobb
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) held its annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia. Vicki Cobb is the winner of the prize’s Lifetime Achievement Award for more than 85 nonfiction books for children....READ MORE
CHILDREN'S CORNER
FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT’S DESK
Unrealistic Expectations Can Hinder Children from Discovering Their Greatest Talents
By Dr. Carole Hankin
Children develop interests and cultivate talents when they are exposed to a wide variety of opportunities over the course of their elementary, middle and high school years....READ MORE
National Advocacy Group Organizes Screen-Free Week 2012
By Josh Golin
On April 30 through May 6, 2012, children around the world will celebrate Screen-Free Week by turning off television, video and computer games, and handheld devices — and turning on life....READ MORE
MUSIC, ARTS & DANCE
John Chamberlain at the Guggenheim Museum
By Sybil Maimin
“Crush,” “squeeze,” “compress,” “twist,” “crumple,” “fold,” are words that come to mind when describing the work of John Chamberlain, the sculptor commonly associated with creating and exhibiting “car wrecks.”...READ MORE
SPORTS
St. John’s U.: Red Storm Women’s Basketball Team Rises Up
By Richard Kagan
It may be that the St. John’s men’s basketball team often gets the headlines; however, as the regular season winds down and the post-season tournaments beckon, it’s the women’s basketball team that is generating real positive buzz.....READ MORE
LIU Holds Off Bryant’s Upset Bid, 75-70
By Richard Kagan
When the season is completed and hopefully the team has met some of its goals, the Long Island University Blackbirds can look back at the Bryant University game as a victory LIU will certainly take....READ MORE
METROBEAT
Parades in New York City
By Dr. Pola Rosen
Chinese New Year Parade, Thanksgiving Day Parade & Veterans Day Parade...READ MORE |