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Are you tired of a summer reading list filled with Chaucer’s medieval English and Shakespeare’s iambic pentameter?  While these books are very important to your educational development, they aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and they might leave you yearning for something a little more interesting or relatable.  How about delving into the world of YA (Young Adult) fiction where tales of the future, romance, mythical beings and science fiction abound.

Growing up in the artsy neighborhood of Soho, it is no surprise that Ian Rusten set his sights on a career in the arts. While he enjoyed subjects such as history and English, “I liked drawing even more,” he says. However, after teaching English in Korea after college, he caught the teaching bug and went on to earn an M.A. in Education and an M.A. in History, both at Hunter College. “It’s funny; teaching as a career just never really occurred to me,” he says. His students are glad that it finally did.  

One of my favorite places to be is the kitchen, and one of my favorite things to do is cook. I love the sounds and smells of delicious food permeating throughout the home.

When I was in the sixth grade, I wrote a long tirade to my grandmother complaining about my teacher’s terrible penchant for assigning too much homework. Now a teacher myself, I assign homework every day of the week, including weekends.

Like many of us, high school students are often attracted to stories with characters going through similar struggles and life changes. I have found some success teaching Alan Sillitoe's novella The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1959), whose 17-year-old protagonist from a working class home, Colin Smith, has been caught burgling and is sent to a reform school. Discovering Smith’s gift for running, school officials enter him in a cross-country competition.

Ask Charlie Sitler for his favorite mathematician and he’ll be glad to tell you: Georg Cantor (1845-1918). “I crossed paths with his ideas at Fordham College. Cantor proved that there were actually different types of infinity—a veritable hierarchy of infinities, if you will. It was mind-blowing! Encountering Cantor’s theories made me want to teach math even more.  I wanted everybody to know there was so much more to math than y = mx + b.” When did you know you wanted to teach?

Happy π Day!  If you are a numbers geek, you might already know when this day is celebrated. If you don’t, it’s on March 14, which has been designated as National Pi Day (made official by Congress on March 12, 2009).  Pi Day is celebrated all around the world and has a special place at 91��������, as well.  I started celebrating it a few years ago, as it was the perfect opportunity to share my love of math, pi, and pie with the students at 91��������.  

As a child of educators and as an educator myself, I’ve always had an interest in the topic of education.  Even before I became an administrator, I would read any article or snippet about teaching that caught my eye.  Recently, the subject of teens and mentoring seemed to be popping up everywhere I looked.  From a study done by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health  to a

If you’re reading this blog, you have probably already heard about the College Board’s changes to the SAT.  For those of you who aren’t familiar with the changes, here’s a summary:  Starting in Spring 2016, the SAT will go back to the 1600-point format.  They’re getting rid of vocabulary words that are largely out of use and hard-to-understand math questions, the essay is becoming optional, and the overall focus of the exam will be on decoding the presen

I love springtime.  Having successfully shoveled my way through yet another winter at 91��������, I look forward to the budding trees outside of my office window and the sunlight that fills our garden.