Article: Participatory Learning: The Adaptive Challenge of Education
Yesterday, I had the privileged to sit in on a professional development workshop for Assistant Principals provided by CARPE-DIEM, a partnership between the NYCDOE and with the Office of Collaborative Programs of New York City College of Technology CUNY. The workshop was taught by Mathematic Professor Estela Rojas who has been piloting "learning communities" as a key strategy to improving student retention and outcomes. The early results of her work with City Tech freshman has been promising, improving continuance by 11% in the first two cohorts. {sa 0262513595} One the train to the workshop, I read...
Article: Feed Me, I’m Starving
Standing in the kitchen, getting ready for a rare outing of just the three of us (his younger sisters were with their grandparents), the request seemed innocuous enough…”Would you read mommy the story you wrote?” Surprisingly, he stated that he preferred she read it herself. And so she did. A few moments into reading it, she pointed out a spelling mistake, and that’s when everything came out. At first, he tried to hold it back, but the force of the tears was too strong. Soon, he was crying...
Article: Hit the Books
Paul de Vries was the class “dummy” for most of elementary school – partly, as he describes, because of severe myopia and dyslexia. By the time he was in 6th grade, he was three years behind in every area of knowledge and skill development. Despite his struggles, he was promoted to the next grade level each year, falling further and further behind. In 6th grade, something changed. Paul’s teacher, Ms. Ethel Smith, took a very special interest in him. She dramatically helped and encouraged him during the second half of the school year and well into summer vacation. During that summer, she helped Paul overcome many of his difficulties with...
Article: Swinging for the Fences
For most of my youth, I never imagined that I would become anything other than a professional baseball player. I’m told that I was throwing a ball from about 18 months old. The only studio pictures of me as a small child feature a flannel, pinstriped baseball uniform. I developed a strong throwing arm by having catches with my friend Phil before I was allowed to cross the street to his house. When nobody was around, for hours at a time, I’d toss the ball in the air, off walls, off roofs…anything to be playing. And before I was old enough for...