I am following with interest the story of the Wisconsin governor who wants to do away with the public employees unions right to collective bargaining, because unions are too expensive, despite the fact that the unions are willing to concede to all of his demands; agreeing to increased contributions to pension plans and healthcare premiums. [...]

I can’t help but think that Cathie Black has been brought in to destroy the public school system. The system is not great, but some people learn to work within it.  Good principals are thoughtful and frugal and prudently roll over part of their annual school budgets to offset midyear DOE budget cuts that have [...]

From BASIC BLACK, The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life): “Be persistent.” “persistence pays–whether you’re hoping to land a job interview, a new account, or anything else.  So pick up the phone and call your potential employer to ask where they are in the hiring process, and whether there’s anything you [...]

February 12th, 2011 Dear 5th Grade Students– You have successfully completed your interview at _________________ Middle School! Our school ranks candidates based on your performance in each part of your interview–the Math Game, the Group Interview, and the Exit Ticket.  Like all screened Middle Schools, our rankings are submitted to the Office of Student Enrollment [...]

My Kid’s school produced “Macbeth” with a cast of 8, 9, and 10 year olds. I thought it was fantastic and I was thoroughly entertained.  (Please don’t tell the kids that I find deadly serious children hysterical!) The hour-long version of Macbeth, “a play about making tough choices”. As one of the two narrators explained [...]

My Kid has a middle school interview first thing in the morning. My Kid is still working on her essay. My Kid needs to go to bed. The Ada Lovelace t-shirt and microscope necklace are all laid out. It’s a math and science school she’s interviewing for.

I got to go out this evening for a little night of clown at a Zora Space, a fairly new coffee house/wine bar/art space on 4th Avenue in Brooklyn. I went to see the results of Deborah Kaufmann’s class,  A Culminating performance for a Pochinko-inspired clown. It was fun to see some clown peeps and [...]

We will interview as many students as we have the capacity to (of the students whose parent/guardian ranked us as #1 or #2 on the middle school application).  If you do not rank us #1 or #2, we will not invite your student to interview, and we may not even receive your name from the Office of Student Enrollment.  We [...]

There is a story in the Daily News today about a Brooklyn boy with mild autism who has been functioning in mainstream classrooms for years.  But, now he’s in 5th grade at the Achievement First East New York Charter School, which means he won a Waiting for Superman lottery and got into a “good school”, a [...]

Yet another favorite babysitter is leaving the country due to a boyfriend who has failed her deeply  in the good boyfriend department… Stupid, stupid, stupid boyfriend… Damn!…