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Showing posts with the label Brooklyn

A Discussion on the State of the Union at Scalzi Skate Park / #socialentrepreneurship #socialchange

A pessimist approached me in conversation yesterday. He said to me, ā€œfor two years, you have been talking about bringing people together at the skatepark and nothing has happened. He continued, ā€œI look around and nothing has changed. There is no one here and no one knows about what you do.ā€ I sat and waited for him to finish. He was not done. ā€œSkateboarding is not about bringing people together. ā€˜Scooter kidsā€™ come in and take over with no respect. The students you bring in are not skaters, they have nothing to do with skateboarding. To them, skateboarding is a fun thing they do at a scheduled hour. They are not ā€˜thrashers.ā€™ You failed Bill and you the true skaters do not even show up at the park anymore. Bringing in  ā€˜special needs peopleā€™ to skateboard is dangerous too. This is not a place for them. They should not be allowed to skateboard here. In here, it is possible to die. The ā€˜special needs kidsā€™ will never be true skateboarders. It is not right what you have d...

Call Us Servant Teachers of Steel / #AllIn for Your Heart / #Brooklyn #SuccessAcademy #NewYorkTimes #dignity

Today is Monday, November 2, 2015. Am I concerned like others about the health of the charter school education culture at ā€˜Failure Academyā€™ in Fort Greene, Brooklyn?ā€¦ I mean ā€˜Success Academyā€™ as they call themselves? Let me begin by venturing forward that the onus is on the educators, on the education culture and the system that stems from it to adapt and morph to the students, rather than the students to it. It is the mark of a true clinical educator to humble themselves to the ground, if it must be, in order to support the complete growth of the student. Not the students to the education system. This is how the best of us do it. This is empathy with all pistons firing. This is what it means to be ā€¦.#HotterThanFireforOthers. Yet, it appears that high-mindedness and apathy rule the day in the overly-principled halls of madness existent in the minds of the administration of these Brooklyn charter schools. This foundational truth is lost on people such as: CEO of t...