Coach Bill / Dad, Entrepreneur Special Educator, American Political Scientist, Writer, Musician.

Today is Monday, November 2, 2015. Am I concerned like others about the health of the charter school education culture at ‘Failure Academy’ in Fort Greene, Brooklyn?… I mean ‘Success Academy’ 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 ….#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...

“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would be utterly contemned.” Song of Solomon 8:7 I was born in La Jolla, California with a silver spoon in my mouth, though I have gotten to points where i had no spoons:) My late-father was a U.S. Marine and a soldiers soldier..he became a 101st Airborne Ranger, a Screaming Eagle as they call themselves. Mom is a math teacher of teachers. Dad would wake me up at 5:30 every morning to do calisthenics and run before school. He’d get me out of bed and gently walk me to the shower. He’d turn it on and leave. Of course, I would sleep standing up on leaning on the towel rack and he’d have to come back in and prompt me to go into the shower. In the middle of our run we would stop at the church and pray, then continue running. Mom is Cuban-American and was/is the family therapist for my sisters and I. She was always my strongest advocate through ...

Today is Thursday, October 29, 2015. There is hopeful news, but let us take it with a grain of salt. The image of the garbage shown here illustrates that OUR efforts to revitalize Scalzi skatepark are not just wheels spinning in the mud. Truly, it has been a community effort that has encompassed not just physical actions that are easily recognized, such as almost zero new untasteful graffiti, but also a decrease in the amount of garbage found within the skatepark and its immediate periphery outside the gate and its circumference. This could very well be attributed to the mega-storm last night, which would make it rather unappealing to stick around at night at the skatepark, but it could all be attributed to the community outreach by an untold number of stand-up individuals, including skaters of all ages, parents and the Stamford Police. There was indeed new graffiti that I spotted in a hidden corner, which will be taken off (as soon as I get new funds..gotta pay rent:).  ...

It takes 10-20 years for a public school teacher to make at least $100,000 a year in salary. It takes less than a second for a stock broker to make millions if their timing is right. Teachers guide and grow hearts and minds yet get paid a sliver of what people who grow money in the stock markets get paid. Most of us educators are content also because we reap what we sow… and that is worth more than millions in the bank.  Teachers bring their hearts to work and consider how to reach individuals deep inside hoping to positively disrupt and steer children and adults in healthy ways, yet they are recompensed with low-pay and long hours of work. Taking summers off is actually time for them to recoup their energy. It is an emotionally taxing job. I am self-employed so I don’t take any time off. I usually work Christmas day (thankful for it), the first day of the year, and if I can muster it, seven days a week. I can’t do enough. Many educators feel like this to a deg...

Being a teacher requires equal measures of ‘know-how,’ nurturing love and innovation, in order to stay relevant and effective in repeatedly producing successful educative outcomes. My graduate degree is in Special Education from Fairfield University and my bachelor’s is in Political Science from UMass-Boston affording me a special mix of insight for a Special Educator and Executive Function Skills Coach who works with children and adults with attentional deficits, behavioral concerns or identified as being on the autism spectrum. Does it give me somewhat of a special micro and macro lens at viewing and understanding my work? I believe so, though it does not mean I am always right. Just ask my ex-wife. Like the artists of old I have had three main families, or patrons for half a decade each of whom has been my base of financial support throughout my time in the U.S. northeast. A Muslim family, a Jewish family and a Christian family.. all with at least one child on the a...

What great things can be accomplished when we come together as a community? Decency regains territory and our shared destiny becomes brighter. No more tears fall, but faces are lifted up with smiling hearts filled with courage, grit and determination. Coming together are hearts and minds under a common cause, like a river that flows without end. Surely, yesterday morning the skatepark I frequent daily was wrecked, yet a wave of dedication swept over by end of day. Things have changed. We are in new territory now and there is no going back. Children and parents are establishing their positions within the park by their mere presence. Experienced skaters are emboldened and ripping every which way. You should see some of them. It is a marvel to watch them hit breathtaking speeds as they perform hard to pronounce maneuvers. If that is not all, we now have a second female skater in our midst. She is quite young but makes up for that with her persistent desire to skateboard. He...

I t was made clear to me last night in the darkness of Scalzi skatepark in Stamford, Connecticut why there is hesitancy to bring in night lights. “The crowds it would bring…” I realized that the skatepark would be inundated with people from far-flung places. As skateparks go, Scalzi is definitely not top-of-the-line, yet it is one of the best in the region along with the one in New York City just outside of Chelsea piers.  Last night I stayed longer than usual and saw the park transform, and not for the better. A small crowd of middle school boys and girls drinking, smoking and going into the bushes.   I remember picking up used condom wrappers outside the skatepark fence, leaflets talking about the spread of AIDS and I wondered what would happen to them if they were pushed out and a new crowd would come in. Where would these kids go? What would happen to them? Surely, they would find some other place to party and unwind. So I stayed a bit longer in the darknes...