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Capital Region BOCES
Archive for 2017
My second- and fourth-grade sons are currently participating in an after-school art program at their elementary school. After each class, they share funny anecdotes about something one of the other kids said or did. And each Tuesday, they are excited to go to school because they know they have art after school. This is significant […]
If John Hancock had simply printed his name at the bottom of the Declaration of Independence, would we remember who he was? The president of the Continental Congress is famous for his bold script, but would today’s students be able to read the entire document he signed? Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island is among […]
For a parent, there is nothing more devastating than the loss of a child. It’s an ache that never goes away. In 2005, my brother and sister-in-law buried their oldest son, Sean, just before his 20th birthday. My nephew battled drug addiction throughout most of his adolescent years. His parents quietly forged a war against […]
The summer before I entered fourth grade, a new girl moved into my neighborhood, just a few houses down from me. Her name was Tanya and she was from Sri Lanka. She spoke very little English, except for “hi,” “bye,” “yes,” “no,” and “thank you.” There wasn’t much dynamic conversation going on between us that […]
There’s a music video in my head that hasn’t been created yet. The late David Bowie and the legendary, nuanced rock band Queen had an iconic collaborative song with a hyper-thumping bass line later sampled by the infamous Vanilla Ice. You know what song I am talking about. In my video, a camera pans across […]
Today, although to a lesser degree than in the past, women remain underrepresented in the STEM workforce, with the greatest disparities occurring in engineering, computer science and the physical sciences. According to a 2016 report by the National Science Foundation, female students’ achievement and participation in science and math in grades K-12 was on par […]
“They grow up so fast.” – every parent, ever. Whether it’s the first day of school, high school graduation or marriage, you would be hard-pressed to find a parent that wouldn’t swear their child has grown up in the blink of an eye. If it seems as if today’s children are growing up faster than […]
It was a pretty big deal. My 8-year-old daughter was dropped off that morning at her very first soccer camp. She’s been playing in a youth recreation league for a few years. It’s the kind of league where the coaches don’t keep score, but where you sometimes hear parents whispering summations to each other on […]
Kindness matters. It just does. Many school districts are looking for creative ways of sharing messages of acceptance, respect and kindness with their students and faculty. But as we’ve learned, instilling a culture of kindness in our schools, which then extends to the world beyond, is not something that happens overnight. “Kindness changes the brain […]
My second-grader recently went on a school field trip to the zoo to learn about bats. His teacher prepped his class leading up to the visit, asking the students to read books and magazine articles about bats. My son peppered me with bat facts. When the day of the field trip arrived, my son was […]