Until tonight I thought my difficulties with the New York City Department of Education were all mine –not being a bureaucrat, disliking forms and standardized tests and all that–  But, after sitting through the vote of the mayor’s Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) I no longer believe that decisions are made in the best interest [...]

I have many clown friends who play fast and loose with their text.  But, clown is not the same as stand-up comedy.  I’m not a mime, but I prefer to be silent, or at least not say very much as a clown in front of an audience. This might be due to my journalism studies. [...]

The thing that I was afraid would happen has happened. Today My Kid brought home a letter informing us that she was invited to interview at a middle school on a particular Saturday morning which happens to be the same time that she is scheduled to take the test to see if she qualifies for [...]

The Impact Statement produced and cited by the DOE to prove that there is room to implant a charter school into the building currently occupied by PS 9 and MS 571 says that PS 9 currently has three kindergarten classes when in fact there are six.  Given the current demographic of the neighborhood, I would [...]

I was in journalism school passing through the big editing room and paused to watch the rocket launch on multiple television screens.  Against the beautiful blue sky  the smooth white trail of smoke from the rocket suddenly split into a sickeningly jagged Y.

There are posts on various online local parents list-servs about tonight’s rally to protest the closing of Middle School 571, Upper Bergen School AND/OR to protest the co-location of a Brooklyn East Collegiate Charter School in the same building as P.S. 9. On the Fort Green Kids List, Stephanie posts: Rally 5:00 pm Public Hearing [...]

While sitting in a diner in Chelsea today, I overheard a couple at the next table who seemed to be in their 60′s.  They were talking about current and former careers including high school guidance counselor.  One of them said he got into the field because of his preference for one-to-one contact with students and [...]

Here is the text of a speech Cathie Black gave to the parents and students of the $50,000.00 per year Connecticut boarding school that her own two children attended followed by the text of the speech she gave at her Brooklyn debut before an audience of public school parents, teachers and students at the Panel [...]

Cathie Black was booed at a public meeting at Brooklyn Tech last night. Seriously? Are you kidding me? I didn’t see it myself, although I wish I had. I was attending the PTA meeting at my own child’s school, where I mostly kept my mouth shut.  But, then I went to the wine bar with [...]

A teachable moment is an unplanned opportunity that arises when a teacher has an ideal chance to offer insight to his or her students. Well, this is a teachable moment for Cathie Black. There was a bit of a backlash when Mayor Mike Bloomberg announced his appointment of media executive Cathie Black as New York [...]