From Harvard to Brooklyn Classroom

 

Photo: Joel Klein, Chancellor of Education, New York City

credit: http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Klein 

posted by Jeremy Willinger

Collaboration has defined The New American Academy since its inception. The Academy’s education plan, based on a model developed at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, focuses on partnerships and innovation, allowing each student to progress individually while receiving close attention from top educators.

Says Joel Klein, Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, “The New American Academy is an innovative, potentially very powerful way of providing education to children. It is both brilliant and scalable, and holds out the hope of changing K-12 education in major ways.” 

The Academy, led by headmaster Shimon Waronker, stresses close personal mentorship. Students are paired with teachers from kindergarten through the fifth grade, and novice instructors are matched with master teachers. The pairing of those first beginning their career with seasoned professions, as cited by the New York Post, is “the first for teachers, where promotion from one title to the next is based on merit—not length of service.”

Though 60 students may seem like a large number for each classroom, four teachers are assigned to each, encouraging deep relationships between teachers and students and providing instructors the ability to target lessons to each child’s learning style. Waronker looks to open as many as 50 additional schools modeled on the New American Academy by 2012. As with the original, technology will be integrated in all components of a child’s schooling, and each student will be exposed to trilingual education—English, Spanish, and French.

Part of the continuing education program for all involved at the Academy is exposure to relevant topics of etiquette. Renowned etiquette coach Lyudmila Bloch from www.etiquetteoutreach.com will make an etiquette presentation to students on August 13^th, and deliver a workshop on business skills for educators on the 28^th. 

These sessions illustrate both The New American Academy’s dedication to the mental and emotional development of their students and staff, and the school’s collaborative process with leaders in education beyond traditional channels. Bloch’s goal is to “Teach children new ways of thinking and interacting, by introducing behavioral skills early. Appealing to the emotional core of a child is where we need to begin when teaching age-appropriate behavior.”

By introducing this innovative, proven educational model, Waronker and his staff challenge the status quo, while spotlighting a solution that works across all demographics and conditions. The New American Academy’s program marks the beginning of a new era in learning as well as a future that is brighter than ever for New York City schoolchildren and the world they will inherit.

Photo credit: The New York Times/Shimon Waronker at JH CIS 022

http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimon_Waronker

http://www.americanacademy.org

Why to be grateful?

 

THE GOODNESS OF LIFE

                 Copyright © 2004 Ralph S. Marston, Jr.

Though there is much to be concerned about, there is far, far more for which to be thankful.

Though life's goodness can at times be overshadowed, it is never outweighed. For every single act that is senselessly destructive, there are thousands more quiet acts of love, kindness, and compassion.

For every person who seeks to hurt, there are many, many more who
devote their lives to helping and to healing.

There is goodness to life that cannot be denied. In the most magnificent vistas and in the smallest details, look closely, for that goodness always comes shining through.

There is no limit to the goodness of life. It grows more abundant with each new encounter.  The more you experience and appreciate the goodness of life, the more there is to be lived.

Even when the cold winds blow and the world seems to be covered in foggy shadows, the goodness of life lives on.  Open your eyes, open your heart, and you will see that goodness and kindness everywhere.

Though the goodness of life seems at times to suffer setbacks, it always endures.

For in the darkest moments it becomes vividly clear that life is a priceless treasure. After all, God gave it to you. And so the goodness of life is made even stronger by the very things that would oppose it.

Time and time again, when you feared it was gone forever, you found that the goodness of life was really only a moment away. Around the next corner, inside every moment, the goodness of life is there to surprise and delight you.

Take a deep breath moment to let the goodness of life touch your spirit and calm your thoughts. Then, share your good fortune with another. For the goodness of life grows more and more magnificent each time it is given away.

Though the problems constantly scream for attention, and the conflicts appear to rage ever stronger, the goodness of life grows stronger still,
quietly, peacefully, with more purpose and meaning than ever before!

Why Teach Character Education and Etiquette in Our Schools?

 

By Jeremy Willinger

Part 1

What makes a child extraordinary? Parents and teachers both have a vital role in shaping their children’s future. We teach etiquette lessons that help them learn the difference between right and wrong and, by helping them to focus on their actions, how to interact with others.

In today’s public and private school system, there is a strong emphasis on the three R’s, but educators must consider adding an E to this alphabet - etiquette. Teaching children to make smart choices will help them to become compassionate and loyal individuals, and can greatly reduce future problems they may develop or encounter. Moving way beyond the proper usage of forks and knives, twenty-first-century etiquette offers a blueprint for weaving the fabric of our future society.

The goal of character education is to raise emotionally balanced, socially compassionate, and caring individuals with a solid value system. Those educators who focus mainly on test scores are in for a rude awakening when larger issues arise (the child is cheating on tests, or stealing from classmates, for example).

Courses on etiquette and character development can sweep potential minefields by imparting the building blocks of successful emotional growth: integrity, honesty, empathy, leadership, and responsibility, to name just a few. If your child grows up to be a doctor but is greedy and uncaring, that advanced degree counts for very little, for you would have failed miserably in nurturing a true human being.

Recent studies have shown that emotional intelligence (EI) is as central to a child’s success and fulfillment as good grades and a college degree. Etiquette seeks to enhance the EI of children by encouraging them to express and discuss their emotions, thereby improving their social sensitivity and public behavior.

Along with increased self-confidence and the ability to relate to others, students of etiquette develop enhanced social skills and experience far less anxiety when handling peer pressure. The potential for school violence can also be reduced by practicing the responsible behavior stressed in etiquette education.

The effects of etiquette and character training are immediate and longlasting. Public school children, after having taken only two training sessions in character education, demonstrate a marked improvement in self-confidence, social skills, and other beneficial qualities.

Considering the life-changing benefits that etiquette training offers, the reluctance of many educators to adopt this training seems shortsighted indeed. When public and parochial schools emphasize character education, their graduation rate is 98 percent, compared to the usual 50 percent seen in most public schools. In other words, public schools that fail to offer character-education training are almost ensuring that at least half of their students will be left behind!

For parents, educators and especially our children, etiquette education and character development pay big dividends that last a lifetime, making the E for etiquette result in children who will represent another E – extraordinary.

 Part 2/  Character-Education-how-and-what-to-teach-in-our-schools

If you want to find out more about Jeremy Willinger, please visit:  www.jeremywillinger.com