In
Honor of Women’s History Month
First
Catholic College for Women: College of New Rochelle
By
Joan Bailey, Ph.D.
The
College of New Rochelle began its historic mission in higher
education in 1904 when the State of New York recognized it as
the first Catholic college for women in the state. In the century
since, CNR continues to respond to the contemporary needs of
women and helps its students, women and men, transform and transcend
the traditional roles of women and men. Education at CNR honors
women’s perspective and experience.
. .more
Title
IX Comes of Age: Eliminating Gender Discrimination
by
Martha Mccarthy, Ph.D.
It
seems appropriate when celebrating women’s history to
address developments pertaining to Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972, a landmark piece of legislation designed
to eliminate gender discrimination in educational programs that
receive federal funds.
. . more
Outstanding
Teachers of the Month
- March 2004
Education
as the Key to Progress
by
Matilda Raffa Cuomo
In
the second edition of my book Who Mentored You: The
Person Who Changed my Life, seventy-eight prominent
people recalled how mentors contributed to their
success in life by influencing and advising them
in their earlier years.
From
the Principal’s Desk:
Developing the Habit of Reading
by
Nigel Pugh
Every
student should be required to read a self-selected book daily. Students
must be given opportunities to learn how to select appropriate books,
and be given time at home and school to read, write about and discuss
these books. Like literate adults, students need to develop the habit
of reading.
The
Grace Institute: Helping Underserved Women
By
Sarah N. Lynch
When
Carolina first came to the United States about
13 years ago, she had a lot going for her: she
could speak four languages and she held a BA in
journalism. But despite these skills, there was
something missing: she had never used a computer
before in her life.
$1
Million Gift to Bronx Kids & LD Kids in NYC
By
Paul Friedman
The
Morrison & Foerster Foundation will grant
a total of $1,000,000 to five nonprofit organizations
across the country over and above its customary
giving. All five of the projects chosen for these
unique grants seek to address the needs of children:
providing educational services to learning-disabled
low-income youth throughout New York City and
to low-income preschool children in the Bronx;
assisting recently emancipated foster youth in
Northern California’s East Bay in finding
housing and learning how to live independently;
offering drop-in emergency weekend services to
homeless youth in Los Angeles; and providing
early intervention treatment for autistic toddlers
and young children on the San Francisco peninsula.
New
York Academy of Science Sponsors Science Fair at CCNY
By
Adam Sugerman
The
Great Hall at City College at 137th Street and
Convent Avenue was buzzing with hundreds of students
voices, judges listening to presentations at each
exhibit, and students conferring with each other
about their projects. Students were chosen randomly
by this roving reporter to explain their hypotheses,
their choice of project and their mentors.
Identifying
Young Einsteins
by
Marie Capurro, M.Ed.
For
most students, school provides an opportunity to learn. Unfortunately,
this is not true for all students, particularly the gifted
and talented. Although gifted and talented students have
great potential to make positive contributions both as children
and as adults, educators and policy-makers often fail to
recognize that for genius to thrive, it must be nurtured.
International
Perspectives
From Mt. Fuji to Kawasaki, US Educators Learn in Japan
by
Sharon Kaplan, Ed.D.
During
a break in my morning workshop I noticed many of the participants were
gathered in front of a large picture window with their cell phones
in hand. As I approached, I realized they were not using their cell
phones to talk, but were taking pictures of a breath-taking sight.
Mt. Fuji, some 60 miles away, was radiating against a bright blue sky.
Fields
at Bank Street College Urges Mayor to Drop 3rd Grade Retention
Plan
Manhattan
Borough President C. Virginia Fields called on
Mayor Michael Bloomberg to drop a controversial
plan to retain 3rd graders if they do not pass
tests in reading and math. The meeting, which was
held at Bank Street College of Education, centered
around Fields’ opposition to “social
promotion,” urging the mayor and education
officials to revisit the plan and establish a panel
of experts to explore ways to better address the
issue.
$1M Grant to Boys & Girls
Clubs of America
The grant, funded out of the Department of Community Affairs, was presented
at the Clifton Boys and Girls Club. McGreevey underscored the importance
of his new initiative, New Jersey After 3, by focusing on the success
of programs like Boys and Girls Clubs.
“ By giving children a safe place to go after school to learn and be inspired,
the work of the Boys and Girls Clubs is making a difference in the lives of thousands
of children all across New Jersey,” said McGreevey.
McGreevey
Creates Education Commission
In an effort to ensure New Jersey families’ hard-earned dollars
are being used to provide their children with a quality education,
Governor James E. McGreevey today signed an Executive Order creating
the Education Mandate Review Study Commission. The Commission will
be tasked with evaluating and identifying State mandates that are wasteful
and inefficient, and recommending changes or eliminations of the bureaucracy,
so more dollars are going towards improving education.
Honoring
Foster Care Volunteers
Governor James E. McGreevey recently focused on his commitment to protect
New Jersey’s most vulnerable children by honoring community volunteers
and organizations, which have contributed meaningfully to the foster
care community. He urged more people to become foster parents. “New
Jersey is blessed to have individuals and organizations, such as those
we are honoring today, who have worked tirelessly to improve the lives
of children in foster care,” said McGreevey. “Today, which
we officially proclaim as ‘Foster Children’s Day,’ we
are asking others to follow in their footsteps by joining their efforts
and even by opening up their hearts and their homes to foster children.”
Johns Hopkins Study Shows Audiobooks
Help LD Students
Students with learning difficulties showed a 38 percent
increase in content acquisition reading scores after using
RFB&D’s AudioPlus® textbooks on CD, a published
study in Learning Disabilities Quarterly reports.
Department of Ed. & UFT Agree
on Special Ed Reform
Consistent with last April’s announcement of the special education
reform plan, the approximately 960 teachers who, under the old system,
were working exclusively outside of the classroom as education evaluators
have returned to the classroom, and school psychologists are now performing
the evaluation tasks for which these education evaluators were responsible.
Shakespeare,
Einstein, & The Bottom Line: A Teachers College Event at
AMNH
By
Joanne Kontopirakis
Professor
of Public Policy at the University of California
at Berkeley and author David L. Kirp joined Richard
Heffner, the Host of Channel 13’s “The
Open Mind” at the American Museum of Natural
History (AMNH) recently, under the aegis of Teachers
College to discuss Kirp’s recently released
book, Shakespeare, Einstein, And The Bottom Line:
The Marketing of Higher Education.
College
President's Series
Dr. Lucie Lapovsky: Humanitarian Economist at the Helm of Mercy College
by
Joan Baum, Ph.D.
Although
the mission of Mercy College sounds pretty much
like statements from other private, independent,
comprehensive institutions, its dynamic president,
Dr. Lucie Lapovsky, quickly distinguishes its pursuit
of access and excellence. Mercy’s goals constitute
not a wish list but a record of achievement. With
an easy-going manner that’s worn only by
the confident, President Lapovsky notes the expansion
of campuses, an increase in enrollment, a dramatic
rise in retention and the tripled graduation rate,
not to mention the innovative programs begun or
enhanced over the four years she’s been president,
many validated by significant awards from foundations
such as Ford and Sloan.
CCNY
Pres. Gregory Williams Honored by Gov. Pataki
Gregory
H. Williams, President of The City College of New York, was
honored by Governor George E. Pataki at the New York State’s
9th Annual African-American History Month Kick-Off Celebration
in Albany recently.
CCNY-Led
Weather Expedition Receives Explorers Club Award
The
prestigious Explorers Club of New York has presented
its Flag Award to City College weather expert Edward
E. Hindman and his faculty team for leading a group
of CCNY and Bronx Community College students to
the 10,500-foot Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL) in
the northern Colorado Rockies recently.
Iraq
Roundup for College Students
By
Adam B. Kushner
Any
demographer can tell you why there are more commercials for
Viagra during the evening news broadcasts than for Play station:
young people—even many thirty-somethings—simply
don’t follow current events. Yet, by the unwritten
rules of suffrage, people older than 18 are expected not
only to understand the world, but also to elect representatives
based on that understanding.
So
You Want To Be A Psychology Major
By
Sarah N. Lynch
Although
she always had a strong interest in psychology, it was not
until college that Lisa Son really began to explore the research
side of psychology.
Product
Review
Musical Spanish
By
Pola Rosen, Ed.D
Sad
to say, but true: when students are asked to name their least favorite
academic subject, study after study has shown that “language
study” ranks high in their lists. What should be an incomparably
broadening cultural experience seems to have become, in the minds of
many, a sterile exercise in rote memorization and “drill and
kill.”
American
Students Study Abroad in Growing Numbers
Despite
a weak economy and post-9/11 concerns, American students
continue to regard study abroad as a critical component of
their higher education experience. The number of U.S. university-level
students receiving credit for study abroad in 2001/02 increased
4.4% from the previous year, reaching a record total of 160,920,
according to Open Doors 2003, the annual report on international
education published by the Institute of International Education
(IIE) with funding from the State Department’s Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Going
to College in Canada: Team Teaching Examined
By
Nile S. Kurashige
From
a student’s perspective, there are both benefits
and disadvantages to multiple professors teaching
one class. Benefits include an exposure to more
professors and ideas as well as a variety of teaching
styles. A professor with the greatest expertise
can teach each content area. The student thus benefits
by exposure to the latest research, especially
important in upper level courses. Differences in
approaches to the subject matter may lead to a
broader understanding of the material.
Pace
U Reopens World Trade Institute
Two
years after its operations and conference centers were destroyed
in the attack on the World Trade Center, the World Trade
Institute of Pace University (WTI), a major institute for
international trade education, has reopened its doors at
new facilities on Pace’s campus in downtown New York.
From
the Superintendent's Seat:
Supporting Success at Every Stage
By Dr. Carole G. Hankin with Randi T. Sachs
We learned a few weeks ago that for the second year in a row, a student
in our District has been named an Intel Finalist. Three others were
named Semi-Finalists. Daniel, the Finalist, is one of only 40 students
in the nation chosen to compete in Washington, D.C., in March for what
is often called “the Junior Nobel Prize.” He told me he
was thrilled and surprised to have won this honor (which includes a
$5,000 scholarship that will help go toward his Harvard tuition), and
how he was really hoping to go on to further success. The level of
achievement our students reach is amazing, and we can see how important
it is for parents and schools to nurture their children’s interests.
IF
YOU ASK DR. McCUNE:
About Learning From Your Students
by Lorraine Mccune, Ph.D.
In every course that I teach I ask my students to find a child to observe
for 6--10 weekly visits during the semester. When they ask what to
look for, I tell them to use their human radar, perhaps think about
what we are studying (how children learn…their attachments to
adults, etc.). Rather than an observation protocol, I believe that
attending carefully and sensitively to a student and thinking about
the child’s experience is an extraordinarily enriching process.
I ask the students to write about each observation…not taking
notes during, but rather after their time with the child. This helps
them to focus on what they notice.
Best
Socially Responsible Toy Products
By Stevanne Auerbach, Ph.D., (Dr. Toy)
Children greatly benefit when you provide toys and products that offer
them the opportunity to learn more about social issues and community.
These products will help your child to learn more about caring about
environment, animals, and themselves. Children gain from understanding
about the world around them.
SEEDS
Teaches More than Just Plants
A new classroom curriculum, Garden Adventure SEEDS (Science Exploration,
Education and Discovery Series) for kindergarten and first grade, premiered
last spring to select educators with resounding success. SEEDS teaches
about plant parts while strengthening inquiry, literacy, and numeracy
skills. Subsequently, SEEDS rolled out to more than 30 schools, close
to 100 curriculum units were sold, and approximately half a dozen teacher-training
sessions were conducted.
Ethical Challenges in Pediatrics
by Joanna R. Leefer
Developments in genetics, reproductive technologies and other disciplines
have brought new challenges in every area of medicine. This is particularly
true in pediatrics. New advances in all areas of treatments have created
complex ethical questions for the provision of care and for research
with children.
Weill
Cornell Faculty Elected to Institute of Medicine
Two outstanding physician-scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College
have been elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy
of Sciences, one of the highest honors bestowed by the scientific community.
They are Dr. Flint Beal, Chairman and Anne Parish Titzell Professor
of Neurology and Neuroscience and Dr. Jean Pape, Professor of Medicine
in the Division of International Medicine and Infectious Diseases at
Weill Cornell Medical College. Dr. Pape serves as Director of the Cornell
University Infectious Diseases Research and Training Unit in Haiti.
The
National Museum of Health and Medicine
by Janet M. Burns
Museums play a vital role in public education, awareness, and understanding.
The National Museum of Health and Medicine (NMHM) has a particularly
long history of serving the public in this capacity in its 142-year
tenure as the nation’s only medical museum. In fact, the NMHM’s
specimens and artifacts were the first museum collection in the country
and are currently the only in Washington, D.C. to be registered by
the U.S. Department of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark.
Since it’s founding, the museum has remained dedicated to documenting
the evolution of health and medical issues in American society, and
to sharing its collections with as many people as possible.
Latest
Preventive Tests for Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment
at Beth Israel
by Gina Pozadas
Continuing their commitment to early detection of cardiovascular disease,
the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the Heart Institute at Beth
Israel offers cutting-edge screenings that identify new risk factors
as key to assess the risk of developing heart disease, which remains
the nation’s number one killer. The EBT heart scan and advanced
cholesterol testing, used to test those with an intermediate risk level,
can predict and prevent up to 95% of heart attacks and are often covered
by health insurance.
Attorney
General Demands More Private Medical Records of Women
In an ominous attack on women’s reproductive health and their
right to privacy, the Justice Department first demanded that at least
six hospitals across the country turn over patient medical records
on certain abortions performed there. Now U.S. Attorney General John
Ashcroft is demanding that Planned Parenthood affiliates in Pennsylvania,
Kansas, mid-Missouri, New York City, Los Angeles, San Diego and the
Washington, D.C. metropolitan area turn in hundreds of private medical
records from the clients they serve.
Women
Physicians Honored in New Web Site
A new Web site from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) promises
to become an invaluable resource for students, educators and anyone
else with an interest in medical history.
A Winner? Maybe ... A Champion? Not Necessarily!
Observations of a Chess Mom on Ultimate Success
By Cathi Belcher
I’m a Chess Mom. For the last ten-plus years my kids have been
playing some serious games. They’ve won some tournaments and
titles, and lost some; but more than this, they have experienced a
world which has taken them traveling beyond their wildest dreams, both
geographically and personally. They’ve also learned a lot of
lessons from this mind sport, which can at times become an obsession.
As a mother, it is interesting to see what really goes on at tournaments,
and to discover – thru observation—that winning a lot of
games does not necessarily make a player a champion.
What
Does It Take to Become U.S. Champion?
By Courtney Hader
What does it take to become a US Champion? The students at P.S. 116
can tell us! Elizabeth Berg, Spencer Berkman, Jane Handorff, Paul Handorff,
Nitai Leve, Marc Anthony Parrino, R.J. Parrino, and Alex Streopoulus
make up the P.S. 116 chess team. They have recently been named the
US Champions in the K-5 Section, with Marc Anthony Parrino becoming
the co-champion. To become a great chess team it takes determination,
discipline and practice. It also takes the ability to get back up when
you are knocked down. As many of our students and parents know, it
has taken years of hard work to become champions, but it has been fun.
Chess
in Education: a Perspective
by Gary Ryan
Kids love chess! If you are a kid, you already knew that. It’s
a no-brainer. If you are a parent or teacher, you might be surprised.
But it’s true. Boys and girls really like chess. And not just
a little bit, but a lot.
Logos Bookstore’s Recommendations
By H. Harris Healy, III, President, Logos Bookstore
In the later stages of winter as one may become more tired of the daily
routine at work and somewhat unmotivated in purpose and direction,
a great book for a wonderful pick me up in the workplace is The Six
Fundamentals Of Success: The Rules For Getting It Right For Yourself
And Your Organization by Stuart R. Levine, former CEO of Dale Carnegie
and Associates, as well as a former New York State Assemblyman, and
currently Chairman and CEO of Stuart Levine & Associates LLC, an
international consulting and leadership training company.
Baruch
Professor Writes “Bankable Business Plans”
Reviewed by Merri Rosenberg
While this isn’t a substitute for an M.B.A., it’s certainly
a helpful and practical shortcut for would-be entrepreneurs who are
clueless about how to put together a business plan that will attract
investors.
“Succeeding
At Your Interview:
A Practical Guide for Teachers” by Rita S. Brause, Christine
P. Donohue and Alice W. Ryan
Reviewed by Pola Rosen, Ed.D.
In 2004, many college graduates are embarking on new teaching careers,
seeking personal fulfillment as well as a way to contribute to society.
Indeed, a wonderful advertisement recruiting new teachers in New York
City asks who will remember your name in years to come; your 4th grade
students. Be a teacher.
‘March’ to
the Beat of Great Books!
by Selene S. Vasquez
Poetry: Ages 3 thru 6
Delightfully familiar poems and rhymes, such as “Baa, Baa, Black
Sheep” and equally lovely though less familiar words from Wordsworth,
Tennyson and Blake. Colorful illustrations of sweet faced youngsters
and baby animals in soft pastel hues. A treasure of rhythmic language
for the young at heart.
A Stellar Music
Lineup of Tradition & Innovation: Carnegie Hall
By Joan Baum, Ph.D.
A week later than originally planned, Carnegie Hall announced its 2004--5
season, combining a well attended news conference about the spectacular
events that will be seen and heard in Stern Auditorium, Weill Recital
Hall and Zankel Hall with a memorial tribute to Carnegie’s young
and dynamic executive director, Robert J. Harth, whose untimely death
shocked the arts community. Speaker after speaker—Sanford I.
Weill, chairman of Carnegie’s Board, Ara Guzelimian, the hall’s
artistic administrator, the illustrious conductor Pierre Boulez, diva
Marilyn Horne, and renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma—spoke warmly and
admiringly of Harth’s vision and in effect dedicated the new
season to realizing his hopes and goals.
Falstaff at the Vienna Staatsoper: Another Triumph for Bryn
Terfel
By Irving Spitz
Verdi’s last opera, Falstaff, which premiered in 1893, when he
was just a few months short of his 80th birthday, is a summation of
his creative genius. The masterful libretto written by Arrigo Boito,
himself a composer, was based largely on Shakespeare’s Merry
Wives of Windsor but also incorporated material from Henry IV. Indeed
it can be said without question that Verdi and Boito succeeded in creating
one of the greatest operatic adaptations of Shakespearean material;
its only serious rival being its predecessor, Othello. Falstaff was
written after Verdi’s second opera, the comedy Un Giorn Di Regno,
was a resounding failure.
A Kick in the Teeth
By Randi Weingarten, President, UFT
Mayor Bloomberg has said repeatedly that he wants voters to judge him
on how well he improves New York City’s public schools. Research
shows that the most important factor in improving schools is having
a qualified teacher in every classroom, so it would seem logical for
the Mayor to make his first priority the recruitment and retention
of good teachers.
Chancellor
Concedes School HIV & AIDS Curriculum is in Critical
Condition
Assembly hearing highlights where education is truly a life or death
matter
by Assemblyman Steven Sanders
Last month, as chairman of the Education Committee, I co-chaired a
public hearing to assess HIV and AIDS education in the city schools,
and testimony of Chancellor Joel Klein himself, as well as of others,
revealed that the curriculum is outdated and not in compliance either
with state or city regulations. Similar gaps were identified in the
broader curriculum known as Family Living and Sex Education.
Gambling
with Destiny: Rethinking NYS Funding Priorities
by State Senator Liz Krueger
Over the past several months, the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE)
and the Alliance for Quality Education (AQE) have been calling on the
state legislature and Governor Pataki to provide a $2 billion down
payment in response to the state court of appeals mandate that education
funding inequities be remedied. In response, the Governor has dedicated
$325 million of revenues generated from “video lottery terminals” to
increase education funds. In so doing, the Governor continues to disregard
the rights of our children. Banking on state sanctioned lottery terminals
to fund public education is yet another example of misguided priorities
and bad public policy.
Whatever
Happened to Childhood?
By Jill Levy
I thought I learned my lessons well in developmental psychology, but
apparently I’m wrong.
That is the conclusion I must draw based on the recent decision by
corporate America to re-institute a retention policy for NYC third
graders. Although all research proves that holding children back doesn’t
work in the long-run, and despite the fact that we tried it in New
York City and it failed, the newest managers of the NYC public schools
think that they can make it work.
St. John’s U Offers Distance Learning Degree
Addressing the need for highly qualified school administrators, St.
John’s University will offer a fully online Master of Science
and Professional Diploma in Educational Administration, the first in
New York State and the only one to use full-time University faculty. “This
program is designed to provide needed flexibility without reducing
quality, eliminating the necessity to travel to attend classes at particular
times and places, while engaging participants in high levels of online
interaction with each other and the professors,” said Jerrold
Ross, Dean of the School of Education.
Product
Review:
Digital Frog International’s ScienceMatrix
By Mitchell Levine
Although some theorists like Clifford Stoll may be skeptical about
the ultimate benefits of our school system’s emphasis on multimedia
delivery of curricula, almost everyone agrees that this currently reigning
paradigm is going to remain the state of the art for the foreseeable
future. That’s not necessarily a bad thing: in many ways, technology
can really spark student interest in a way that more traditional methods
haven’t. Few people from my generation have strongly nostalgic
memories of our freshman biology lectures. No one liked plying Formaldehyde-saturated
viscera with a trocar in my class, and mentioning cytoplasm, Golgi
apparatus, or endoplasmic reticulum to them is rather unlikely to garner
even a fleeting glimmer of recognition.