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November 06, 2010
DEPUTY CHANCELLOR MISSES REVEALING COMMENTS MADE IN FAR ROCKAWAY
By Profesor Martin Danenberg
"El Quijote del GED"
Former Supreme Court Justice states to an audience that Americans should be tolerant of building a Mosque at Ground Zero.
Sikhs ask for education and tolerance, hoping all schools have books about the Sikhs.
Department of Education of the United States says bullying is a violation of civil rights.
Deputy Chancellor Eric Nadelstern of the Department of Education of the City of New York was present at various schools on the Rockaway Peninsula and he met with and spoke to parent leaders, presenters, and others at the event in P.S./M.S. 42 Q. His speech about the progress made in the last 56 years since Brown vs. Topeka was well received by the parents. He seemed to be telling the audience that no matter what happens out on the streets or what has happened over the last 56 years, it is either the school's fault or the school's success that we should look at only, with the emphasis on the word only. This comment was not made by the deputy chancellor at all and it is my conclusion after hearing him speak. As I sat there, I thought about the communities of the past and our communities seem much better today, except for the violence and killings taking place at this moment. This is a difficult time to take over such an important position.
On that note, things changed a lot after Deputy Chancellor Nadelstern left (and we know he really could not stay so he should not be held accountable for that). As soon as Brett A. Scudder started his power point presentation on bullying, parents came forth to tell about horrible things that have taken place in their families (in the past and now). There were victims and a past aggressor talking about transformation through education, but nobody was sure that education is the only solution because sometimes people are forced to use violence. Those parents needed answers from Deputy Chancellor Nadelstern and they can be addressed now or soon to help those parents and the entire district. The deputy chancellor is new at the job and I am sure that he is committed to doing something powerful to help those people and others throughout the district.
Just as important was the participation of members of the Sikh community who have been concerned about the escalation of hate and violence against their community since 9-11. Just as the children are targets of bullying and violence, so are the Sikhs. Their statement tells us that they practice Divine Universal Love (they should not be feared for this), they should not be taken for Al Qaeda, and they feel that what happened on 9-11 was a "disgrace to humanity." Numbers of Sikhs have been victimized, including the burning of a man's turban and the cutting of a young woman's hair (recently). This powerful message has to be delivered to Deputy Chancellor Nadelstern, too. This powerful message has to go out to the City Council of New York, as well.
My GED talk included my efforts to get two former heavyweight champions together to support the national GED campaign (can you guess who they are?) and that the Dominican Republic has my power point presentation (that Deputy Chancellor Nadelstern can now bring to all schools that have Spanish dominant student) and people there are waking up and learning English, too. We know that not enough parents and children are learning English fast enough. That has been going on for the last 56 years and during the years of the current Department of Education of the City of New York. Not only did the schools need to be improved, but also the Office of Immigration and other agencies of the City of New York should mobilize the people of the city.
What was. What is. What will be and what could have been are all connected together. If I had had my way there would have been more high school diplomas and GED diplomas in the communities that need that the most. Instead the city can only point to slight gains. How many people actually earn a GED in Far Rockaway? The numbers are down again in New York City and families are getting hurt.
MARTIN N. DANENBERG
7 BLAZER DRIVE
ISLANDIA, NEW YORK 11749
631-348-1341
martin@mygedhotline.com
New:
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Profesor Martin Danenberg November 6, 2010 06:27 PM