Monroe College School of Education Tackles Topical Issues, Brings Real-world Classroom to its Students

With the start of Monroe College’s third full semester of its 11-month academic calendar, the School of Education invited in experts to speak to students and staff about two topical issues facing today’s educators and school administrators. An optimistic note on the state of today’s schools was celebrated, May 23rd, when Monroe students and prospective students gathered to honor a group of outstanding educators. Keynote speaker was Tahira DuPree Chase, Ed.D. , director of curriculum and instruction for Greenburgh Central No. 7 School District. The honorees were not selected for how they scored in a numbers rating system but for having a powerful influence on their lives. “A Symposium for Educational Leadership: Celebrating Great Teachers” honored Andrea Coddett, East Ramapo (NY) School District, assistant superintendent for Instruction K-12, Dacia Johnson, Crotona Academy High School, the Bronx, teacher and college mentor; Keith Garcia, The High School of Fashion Industries, Manhattan, community and industry liaison, college adviser, and organizer of fundraisers for college bound students; Russell Chew, Martin Van Buren High School, Queens, parent coordinator and college mentor; David Johnson, Martin Van Buren High School, Queens, U.S. history teacher; Kelson Maynor, former U.S. history teacher at Arturo A. Schomburg Satellite Academy Bronx, HS 446, and current CUNY professor, and Roger Scotland , deputy director for the Mayor's Office, New York City, Citywide Education and Youth Services. Dr. DuPree Chase spoke passionately about the need for just that: passion for any career in order to realize personal and professional satisfaction. “Once you find your passion, one day, you’ll be sharing it with others,” said DuPree-Chase. Directing her remarks to the Monroe College and guest high school students in the room, she asked her audience for the definition of a “noun”. She received a resounding response of “person, place and thing”. “So remember your nouns in life. If you’re not with the right people, in the right place and doing the right things, change.” Recalling the ill-advice that she received from a teacher who essentially told her she would not amount to much in life, DuPree-Chase ticked off a list of her frequent national speaking engagements and her contribution to Common Core Edition reading program, Reading Street© 2013 (Peasron), a kindergarten-grade 6 textbook described by the publisher as “designed to motivate and engage students”. “I was once able to inspire children one classroom at a time. Now, I am inspiring children worldwide. That’s exciting!” In closing, Dupree-Chase reminded her student audience that, “In 2018, when you open the door to your first job, you’ll be opening it to a future of endless possibilities.” The School of Education, which specializes in early childhood education, also recently sponsored a panel presentation on” Educating Educators About School Violence,” in conjunction with Monroe’s School of Criminal Justice. Concerns expressed ranged from whether or not today’s schools are creating fortresses in the name of school safety, while not paying enough attention to the root causes of school violence, to schools failing to fully enforce elaborate safety procedure policies. New York State Regent Harry Philips III expressed displeasure about the use of school suspensions as a way to deal with students with chronic discipline issues and that cutbacks in some “less-essential” academic programs, including art and music, were creating a void in the very areas that could help bring out and develop students with social and behavior issues. According to a report by the New York City School-Justice Task Force, released on May 30th, New York City schools imposed nearly 70,000 suspensions in the 2011-2012 school year, 40 percent more than the period six years earlier. School safety consultant Rosemary Lee shared a story of how she gained access to an elementary school building that she was in the process of evaluating for unauthorized entry vulnerability. She was testing a locked door which was opened to her by a student, even though he did not know who she was. This was just one example of how schools have failed in satisfactorily educating their entire school population, including students, faculty, and staff about not to assisting strangers in trying to gain access to the school building. Retired NYPD police officer, attorney, personal security and crowd control expert, and Monroe College Adjunct Professor John Small, noted that “educators need to connect more to the kids that they are teaching. You can’t expect them to have a sense of what’s happening in the school if you don’t connect with them.” On the highly-debated topic of whether or not teachers should be armed, Small candidly said “a gun in the hands of a police officer is a scary thing”.