JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 ARTICLES

COVER STORIES

Education Update’s 15th Anniversary Congratulations
It all started with a belief in the power of education to change people’s lives and enable them to “reach the stars through hard work.”...READ MORE

New Education Leader in NYC
Cathleen P. Black Takes the Helm as Chancellor
By Marissa Schail & Jennifer MacGregor
Many New Yorkers were perplexed and surprised when they learned of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s appointment of Cathie Black as the new schools chancellor, a woman with extensive experience as a business and media leader, but with no hands-on experience in education....READ MORE

BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Howard Dodson: 25 Years of Leadership at Schomburg Center
By Joan Baum, Ph.D.
A t the helm for over 25 years of the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture — not just the country’s, but the world’s premier institution of its kind — Howard Dodson Jr. will hardly be retiring when he steps down from his position as director....READ MORE

BLACK HISTORY MONTH
From Slavery to Success: 3 Generations Operate Sylvia’s Restaurant
By Joan Baum, Ph.D.
Sylvia’s is so well known that “restaurant” or “soul food” need not be added to the name....READ MORE

BLACK HISTORY MONTH
America’s Black Patriots
By Joan Baum, Ph.D.
This three-disc film package is quite an achievement — artistically and pedagogically....READ MORE

EDITORIALS & LETTERS

GUEST EDITORIAL
New Chancellor Must Halt the Dropout Rate
By Howard Dodson
Contrary to popular opinion, continuing to raise the test scores in the public school system is not the biggest challenge facing the new chancellor of New York City’s public schools....READ MORE

GUEST EDITORIAL
The Future of New York City Schools is in Good Hands
By Mayor Michael Bloomberg
New York City’s new schools chancellor, Cathie Black, is taking over a school system that has undergone dramatic improvement....READ MORE

GUEST EDITORIAL
Good Teacher Training Equals Heightened Student Learning
By Sandra Priest Rose
Classroom teachers are being penalized for their students’ poor test scores....READ MORE

Letters to the Editor - Jan/Feb 2011
READ LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

SPOTLIGHT ON SCHOOLS

Union Leaders Speak
The Inconvenient Truth About ‘Waiting for Superman’
By Anita Gomez-Palacio
Recently, the education conversation has been dominated by praise for and critiques of “Waiting for Superman,” the new documentary on American education. I usually do not become involved in these public discussions on schools, which happen often now that education has become a “hot” topic for celebrities and billionaires. But the current hullabaloo over this movie caused me to reflect that the charges in this movie could not be left unaddressed....READ MORE

Union Leaders Speak
Pension Shortfall is Wall Street’s Doing
By Michael Mulgrew
New York’s professional hand-wringers are leading the public fight against union pensions and benefits, calling them major causes of the city’s fiscal distress....READ MORE

Union Leaders Speak
Report Calls for the Overhaul of Teacher Education Programs
By Randi Weingarten
NCATE has used research, common sense and the experience of everyday educators to create a blueprint for thoughtful and dramatic improvements in the way America’s teachers are prepared for their careers....READ MORE

College Board Program Highlights Role of School Counselors
By Joan Baum, Ph.D.
Own the Turf, the College Board’s new program aimed at strengthening the image and performance of the nation’s school counselors by way of offering strategic guidelines to help inspire and prepare youngsters for college and careers, is responding to a growing concern that teachers and parents and even guidance counselors themselves can’t do it all....READ MORE

Marymount School Launches Innovative Program
By Judith Aquino
Students at Marymount School, an all-girls high school in the Upper East Side, proved that philanthropy is a lesson best learned through research, creativity and teamwork....READ MORE

Afro-Latin Dance ‘Tour of Schools’ Thrills Students
By Judith Aquino
It was 10 a.m. at a school assembly and teen girls screamed his name as he swiveled his hips and winked at the audience....READ MORE

P.S. 34 Students Learn About FDR’s Four Freedoms
By Jennifer MacGregor
Forty years ago, Franklin Delano Roosevelt addressed the nation and delivered what would become know as his “four freedoms” speech. Students at P.S. 34 in Manhattan, named the Franklin D. Roosevelt Public School, honored that anniversary recently by learning how Roosevelt’s words are still resonating today....READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

On Location in Israel
School Superintendents Delegation Travels To Israel
By Charlotte K. Frank, Ph.D.
As chair of the executive committee of the America-Israel Friendship League, I recently led a delegation to Israel, which included the executive director, Dan Domenech, and superintendents of schools in Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Maryland, Virginia and South Carolina, who are members of the American Association of School Administrators....READ MORE

On Location in Israel
Planting the Seeds for a Better World
By Adam Wertheimer Sugerman
Upon landing at Ben Gurion Airport in the Tel Aviv suburbs, I was impressed by Israel’s efficient use of land....READ MORE

On Location in Israel
Penn Superintendent Shares Views
By Amy F. Sichel, Ph.D.
No Child Left Behind’s requirement to review disaggregated data forced us to, in the words of Jim Collins in “Good to Great,” “confront the brutal facts.”...READ MORE

On Location in Israel
Mich. Superintendent Shares Views
By Rodney P. Green, Ph.D.
Gail and I were privileged to be a part of the Superintendent Delegation to Israel sponsored by the America-Israel Friendship League....READ MORE

On Location in Israel
Impressions of Denasia Gilley, Lehman HS Student Ambassador
Denasia Gilley from Lehman High School in the Bronx said that she will always carry the knowledge she has acquired from her journeys to Washington and to Israel, and she appreciates the cohesiveness in her traveling group, which included students from Israel, New York, Tucson, Virginia Beach, and Bartlesville, Okla....READ MORE

On Location in Israel
Time To Know, An Israeli Company Merges Technology & Teaching
By Gillian Granoff
When I sat down to discuss Time To Know, a groundbreaking education organization that uses technology as a tool to help teachers teach, I’ll admit I was skeptical....READ MORE

On Location in Qatar
Exclusive From Qatar: Pres. Michael Adams, Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), Speaks in Qatar
By Vicki Cobb
World leaders in education and more than one hundred journalists descended on the oil-and-gas-rich emirate capital city of Doha, Qatar, recently, for the second World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE).....READ MORE

On Location in Qatar
CISCO Executive Bill Fowler Speaks
I think the Middle East countries — and of course it’s not fair to talk about them as a bloc because each one has its individual needs, wants, idiosyncrasies — but what they’re doing as a group is creating a level of excitement....READ MORE

COLLEGES & GRAD SCHOOLS

TEACHERS COLLEGE
Dr. Gordon Gee Discusses Transforming Higher Education
By Sybil Maimin
It was an exuberant homecoming as Dr. Gordon Gee, president of The Ohio State University, came back to his alma mater, Teachers College, Columbia University, Ed.D. 1972, to give a talk titled “Transforming Higher Education.”...READ MORE

HUNTER COLLEGE
Leadership Conference Tackles Women’s Roles in Science
By Judith Aquino
CUNY students streamed into the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College last week to listen to distinguished scientists discuss the challenges they face as women at the 6th annual Women’s Leadership Conference....READ MORE

The Dean's Column
The Irrepressible Number 1
By Dean Al Posamentier
There are often unusual phenomena in mathematics that pique one's interest....READ MORE

Barnard College Spends An Eveningwith Heroes, Mortals and Myths
By Judith Aquino
What defines a hero or heroine? Why do we need them?...READ MORE

Baruch College Promotes Student Exchanges among U.S., Canadian and Mexican Universities
The School of Public Affairs at Baruch College recently announced its receipt of a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) that will enable student and faculty exchanges among the School of Public Affairs and seven partnering institutions in Canada, Mexico and the U.S....READ MORE

FINANCIAL AID
Funding for Graduate School
By John S. Myers
Attending graduate school is an expensive endeavor...READ MORE

CHILDREN'S CORNER

FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT’S DESK
‘Gimme a Break!’: Kids, Like Adults, Need a Vacation From Stress
By Dr. Carole G. Hankin with Deborah French
How many times, in the midst of routine chores and daily frustrations, have you said, “I need a vacation!”?...READ MORE

92nd Street Y Wonderplay Conference Focuses on the 21st Century Child and Family
By Judith Aquino
Families today are living fast-paced lives that are increasingly influenced by rapidly changing technological advances....READ MORE

Summit on Child Welfare Brings Experts Across the Globe to New York
International delegates and child welfare experts from an estimated 50 countries gathered recently in defense of the world’s most vulnerable members at WorldForum 2010....READ MORE

SPECIAL EDUCATION

The Necessity of Professional Development
By John J. Russell, Ed.D.
The American Association of School Administrators (AASA), which represents school superintendents from across the country, recently published A Cliff Hanger: How America's Public Schools Continue to Feel the Impact of the Economic Downturn (AASA, 2010)....READ MORE

The King’s Speech: Speech Therapists Analyze How King George Overcame Stuttering
By Dr. Phil Schneider  & Uri Schneider
As educators and clinicians, we focus a great deal on theory, content and methodology, both in training and in practice....READ MORE

Workshop Joins Frontline Educators and Academics
By Beck Lee
Gathered in the stately meeting room of the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies on West 10th Street was a crowd that included dropout counselors, truant officers, special education teachers, and assorted other professionals who work on the front lines with special needs students in our city schools. But there were also an equal number of psychoanalysts in the room, from academics and clinical practitioners, to graduate students with little exposure to inner-city schools. What brought them together?...READ MORE

35th Anniversary of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
By Randi Weingarten
Our nation has made great strides in educating students with disabilities in the 35 years since enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, but we’re not at the finish line yet....READ MORE

Guild Awards College Scholarships to 16 High-achieving Students from Nine States
The Jewish Guild for the Blind (The Guild) recently announced that it will award scholarships of $10,000 to each of 16 college-bound high school seniors who are legally blind....READ MORE

MUSIC, ART & DANCE

The New Israel Opera
From humble beginnings, opera in Israel is now on an international level
By Dr. Irving Spitz
The history of opera in Israel began in 1923 with a performance of La Traviata by a company founded by the Russian conductor, Mordechai Golinkin....READ MORE

The Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra
One of the country's finest cultural assets
By Dr. Irving Spitz
In the mid 1930's, the famous Polish born violinist, Bronislaw Huberman, sensing the looming danger facing Jews in Europe, conceived the idea of recruiting musicians willing to immigrate to Palestine to found an orchestra....READ MORE

Afro-Latin Dance ‘Tour of Schools’ Thrills Students
By Judith Aquino
It was 10 a.m. at a school assembly and teen girls screamed his name as he swiveled his hips and winked at the audience....READ MORE

METROBeat

Union Leaders Speak
Pension Shortfall is Wall Street’s Doing
By Michael Mulgrew
New York’s professional hand-wringers are leading the public fight against union pensions and benefits, calling them major causes of the city’s fiscal distress....READ MORE

BOOKS

Logos Bookstore’s Recommendations
By H. Harris Healy, III, President, LOGOS BOOKSTORE
Wintertime is here and it is a great time to catch up on one’s reading....READ MORE

Books, Not Bombs
By Rachel Gellert
When I sat down to read “Three Cups of Tea,” I found myself unable to move until I had finished the book cover to cover. Greg Mortenson deserves every inch of praise he has every received and more. “Three Cups of Tea” is a beautifully written testament to the inspirational power of determination and strength....READ MORE

CAMPS & SPORTS

The Boy in the Boat: Life Lessons Learned at Camp
By Stephen Wallace, M.S. Ed., And Ben Seifer
As summer begins, parents are finalizing post-school plans for their children. Often, those schedules will include camp for a week, a month, or more. Some kids will attend day programs, others will enjoy overnight experiences....READ MORE

High School Swimmer Overcomes Cancer With Courage
By Richard Kagan
Grace Waller, 18, is a senior at DeKalb High School in DeKalb, Ill. DeKalb is the home of Northern Illinois University. She is scheduled to graduate next spring and in the fall, and will swim for Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan....READ MORE

St. John’s Strong Second Half beats Columbia, 79-66
By Richard Kagan
Just two games into the 2010 regular season, St. John’s faced a challenge....READ MORE

MEDICAL UPDATE

Red Dress Campaign Raises Awareness for Heart Disease
The women of EHE International, a leader in preventive healthcare for 98years, are participating in a national campaign to raise awareness for heart disease....READ MORE

Comprehensive Autism Treatment Center Coming to New York-Presbyterian Hospital
New York-Presbyterian Hospital, along with its affiliated medical schools Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Weill Cornell Medical College, announced its collaboration with the New York Center for Autism to establish the Institute for Brain Development, a comprehensive, state-of-the-art institute dedicated to addressing the pressing clinical needs of individuals living with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disorders of the brain, across their lifespan....READ MORE

Experimental Vaccine Sets Sights on Lung Cancer
An experimental immunotherapy may someday become the newest weapon against lung cancer....READ MORE

ADVERTORIAL

Recruitment of Native-speaking English Teachers (NETs) for Primary and Secondary Schools in Hong Kong
The Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region cordially invites you to apply for the NET positions in the Government, and the Government aided primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong....READ MORE