Issam Khoury, of Pennsylvania State University, discusses the role of higher education in understanding the “other” and preventing acts of terrorism.

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Adam Clare, of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, says we should not be afraid to embrace the Internet for learning.

Click here for the Toronto case he references about a student being expelled for starting a study group on Facebook. (See, The Hall Monitor’s looking out for you and keeping you up on the latest education news!)

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But this is just too funny!

Kids, let this be a lesson that spelling tests actually are for your own good and teachers aren’t just trying to torture you.

I think I’ll pass on today’s cafeteria special…

Here is Ibtesam Hussain talking about early-childhood education in her native country of Saudi Arabia.

Among other things, she discusses the role of Islam and the increasing demand for early-childhood programs as more women enter the workforce.

Hussain — who wants to be the next Oprah Winfrey — is quite a character and it was a real pleasure to meet her.

(Be sure to watch or scroll ahead until at least the 3:50 mark, where she demonstrates a typical lesson for the youngsters.)

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Many thanks to Ibtesam Hussain, who yesterday gave me this bookmark created by a kindergarten student in Saudi Arabia. I absolutely love it!
(Please stay tuned for a video of Ms. Hussain talking about early-childhood education in her native country. It will be posted this afternoon.)

Hon. James Roberts, Liberia’s Ministry of Education: 

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Christopher Ashford, Academy for Educational Development: 

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But sorry to say, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for the videos to start going up. My computer equipment really isn’t cooperating with me today. My apologies.

Well, no, it’s not Saturday night yet…

But I am writing live from New York — from the 52nd annual meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society.

The meeting, which is being held at the Teachers College at Columbia University all week, features some 300 panel sessions. And let me tell you, these panels each sound so interesting it’s tough to pick just one to attend at a time!

There’s discussions on everything from curriculum design in Africa to higher education in China to the integration of immigrants in the United States and much, much, much, much more.

I arrived early this morning (although when I went to post a good-morning greeting to you all I had some problems logging in and obviously wasn’t able to post until just now…) and chose to attend a discussion about educational change in Liberia.

After years of fighting, the country’s educational system must be rebuilt. UNICEF is among those providing funding and working with Liberia’s Ministry of Education to make that happen. I have recorded video interviews on this topic and will post them as soon as they finish uploading.

On that note, please stay tuned to the blog today and over the next few days as I post video interviews on everything from early-childhood education in Saudi Arabia to the debate over teaching English in Korean schools to affirmative action policies in Brazil and much more. I hope you enjoy.

The Katonah-Lewisboro school district has announced that Cristy Harris will be named principal of Lewisboro Elementary School and Jonathan Kaplan will become principal of Katonah Elementary School, subject to Board of Education approval.

Read on for the full press release…

Do you dare?

That’s what the cafeteria staff at the Rye Neck Middle School will be asking students as they stage a “Fear Factor Tasting” tomorrow in the dining hall.

Organized by the PTSA MS Health and Wellness Committee in collaboration with the management and staff of the Rye Neck dinning hall, the event will give students the chance to eat exotic foods such as mangoes, artichokes, coconut milk and much more.

Mmmm. Sounds good to me!!

Here’s some of the foods on the menu…

Property taxes could rise despite rate cut in Port Chester school district

Anger management training offered to Rockland teens

Harvard Law, Hoping Students Will Consider Public Service, Offers Tuition Break

Passing Eighth Grade Gets a Little Harder

Bill Would Bar Linking Class Test Scores to Tenure

Making the Transition from Serviceman to StudentUS Border Schools Get Tough on Mexican Students

Law Opens Opportunities for Disabled

Principal Recruitment Another Move in Reform

Teachers Union Gives Backing to Slot Machine Initiative

What—if Anything—Should Colleges or Students Do About a Malicious Campus Gossip Site?

Grants to Help Pay for Advanced Placement Tests

The following individuals and teams have earned the chance to compete at the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta, after taking home honors this past weekend at the Westchester Science and Engineering Fair.

Congratulations!

(Click here for the story.)

Individual winners:

• Caitlin Curnyn, Yorktown

• Riya Goyal, Harrison

• Alicia Darnell, Pelham

•Caitlyn Lia, Ossining

• Mary Williams, Ossining

• Daniel Barson, John Jay

• Elizabeth Cai, Briarcliff

• JJ Luceno, Yorktown

Team winners:

• Greg Robins and Oliver Donson, Ossining

• Alex Simnock and Talia Arnow, Fox Lane

• Neela Pathiyil and Ashvin Ricci, Ossining/Valhalla

• Max Hammer and Max Maron, Ossining

The New Rochelle High School chapter of the National Art Honor Society inducted 25 new members during a ceremony held Wednesday morning, March 12 at the school. The students qualified for members based on three measures: Artistic Scholarship and Achievement; Character, and Service.

New inductees are Joshua Ackerman, Natalina Aiello, Diane Barnabie, Mariona Brull, Huma Channan, Jessica Flores, Hannah Ford, Linda Garaycochea, Mayha Gouri, Michelle Goldstein, Amber Guilias, Kimberly Hewitt, Jasmine Jacob, Sherin Jacob, Cassandra Lederman, Ben McKnight, Pamela-Laurice Miclat, Ilana Mittleman, Laura Pena, Fawad Piracha, Charles Reyes, Devin Romeo, Chinny Sharma, Mona Lisa Tan, and Daria Wigand.

Grace Fraioli, art teacher at New Rochelle High School and advisor to the high school’s chapter of the National Art Honor Society, outlined the chapter’s standards and activities. To be considered for membership in the National Art Honor Society, students must maintain a constant high grade point average in the art program, be recommended by teachers, counselors, and the community, and undergo a review of their artwork. Students are required to donate time in service to the Community. This year one of the chapter’s community service goals is to raise funds to purchase a heifer to give to a community to help build its own sustainability. In addition, members provide art lessons to the children at the Children’s Huguenot Library. Service has also taken the form of visiting the elderly during the holidays, sending art supplies to artists and schools following Hurricane Katrina, donating to Artworks for Youth to support art education in South Africa, orphaned children in Nicaragua, and the UN’s Adopt a Minefield program.

For the first time, the National Art Honor Society presented an award to a dedicated member who has shown excellence and a dedicated spirit to the pursuit of art, who furthers creative abilities and talents of the Society’s members through their leadership, and who brings art to the attention of the school and the community through their invaluable community service. Advisor and art teacher Grace Fraioli presented the award of $100 to Jessica DeMoura, who is co-president of the New Rochelle High School chapter of the National Art Honor Society.

The theme of this year’s induction ceremony was “Decades.” A slideshow “Good Hearts Club” by inductee Joshua Ackerman illustrating activities of the high school chapter of the Art Honor Society was shown. Superintendent of Schools Richard Organisciak, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Dr. Diane Massimo, New Rochelle High School Principal Don Conetta, and Coordinator of Art and Music Dr. Dominic Guastaferro congratulated the inductees and commended all members. Reena Kashyap, artist and Director of the Clay Art Center in Port Chester was guest speaker at the ceremony. Board of Education President Cindy Babcock Deutsch, and Board members Mrs. Mary Jane Reddington and Chrisanne Petrone attended the induction ceremony.

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Students at Putnam Valley Elementary School dressed up in the style of the 60s to celebrate week two of their six-week-long reading festival, Parp-A-Palooza. (The name reflects the 2008 Putnam Valley PTA’s Parents As Reading Partners (PARP) program.)

How can you go wrong with tie-dye? Here’s some of the most colorful pics:

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According to the Larchmont Gazette, the Mamaroneck school district is speeding up its plans to install surveillance cameras at the high school:

“There is $60K included for this purpose in the superintendent’s proposed budget for 2008-2009, but given the sense of emergency created by the bomb threats, the district wants to get started sooner. The Mamaroneck School Board voted on Wednesday, March 12 to begin implementing a process that would allow spending funds from the 2007-2008 budget for the cameras.

Before authorizing any expenditures, however, the board will be briefed further by the assistant superintendent for business operations, Meryl Rubinstein, on which systems are available and what they will cost.”