http://dianeravitch.net/2013/11/24/lecker-toxic-stress-hurts-children/
Primo Is An Arduino Robot That Teaches Kids Programming Logic Through Play
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Irene Moskal-Del Giudice is Vintage Schiller Park
After the Village of Schiller Park Board meeting on October 3, 2013, I had the opportunity to chat with Irene in the Village parking lot for an extended period of time. During that discussion I came to the realization how fortunate for Schiller Park residents that Irene and her husband chose to settle in Schiller Park in 1957. She and her husband James Del Giudice have been extensively involved in the community and St. Beatrice parish. But after James, her husband, passed away in the late 1980’s, Irene continued her civic and parish participation.
Few people realize that it was through Irene Moskal-Del Giudice’s efforts that Washington School became the first school sound proofed adjacent to O’Hare International Airport. In fact through her efforts a program was established that has now resulted in 137 schools being sound proofed adjacent to the O”Hare International Airport to date.
Irene Moskal-Del Giudice served as a member of Triton’s Board of Trustees from 1989 thorugh 2013, and a Schiller Park resident since 1957. She also is a former Triton employee and retired from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office in 2006 after 18 years. In addition to Triton’s Board, Del Giudice was a long-time member of the Schiller Park District 81 School Board, where she was a proponent of sound-proofing the schools, and a Schiller Park trustee.
Irene and I have not always politically agreed and have been political adversaries at different times in our lives, but we both agree that we care about Schiller Park and its residents and at times have seen solutions through different prisms.
I believe that even those who have disagreed with Irene over the last 50 years consistently agree that she has worked tirelessly for the good of Schiller Park as well as the Triton community.
We all have to agree that Schiller Park is a better place because Irene has participated in the community and worked tirelessly for its residents.
In June of 2013, Irene not resting on her laurels has been elected as the president of the Polish American Congress.
The newly elected president of Polish American Congress has promised to focus on building ties between newly elected Polish-American officials in Chicago land suburbs and to rebuild prestige on political arena. As well, she encourage participants to invite new candidates in order to build future for Polonia in the land of Lincoln.
The Polish American Congress-Illinois Division is an umbrella organization for many Polish American organizations in Illinois that have thousands of members. They support common objectives of the Polish American Community in Illinois.
Now Irene who could retire and relax sees her continuing mission as working for the good of humanity.
Thank you Irene Moskal-Del Giudice for being who you are………….continue your good works……………don’t be afraid to disagree with anyone of us.
We need to hear your unfiltered concerns and admonishments.
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Tagged Del Giudice, DelGiudice, Irene Moskal-Del Giudice, O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission, PAC, Polish American Congress, president, Schiller Park, Schiller Park School District 81, school soundproofing, schools, soundproofing, Triton College, Triton College Board of Trustees, trustee, Village of Schiller Park
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Gesell Institute: The Common Core Standards are Wrong for Young Children
In light of the adoption by Illinois of the Common Core Standards and its application and usage now at Schiller Park School District 81, this is an insightful article
The Gesell Institute of Human Development issued a statement in 2010 that was completely ignored, but its warning bears hearing.
In March 2010, the Gesell Institute released this statement. It fell on deaf ears.
The core standards being proposed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers are off the mark for our youngest learners. We at Gesell Institute call for a new set of standards for Kindergarten through Grade 3 that adhere to solid principles of child development based on what research says about how and what young children learn during the early years, birth to age eight. The proposed standards for Kindergarten through grade 3 are inappropriate and unrealistic. Policy must be set based on hard data and not on unrealistic goals surrounding test scores.
If the achievement gap is to be closed, child development must be respected and scientific research surrounding…
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the message it sends
This is a story that has a moral, a moral that most school districts do not understand. It is best explained in the words of this writer in this reblog post : ” So if finding the “right” bag of Goldfish helps to make her feel safe in a world that largely does the opposite, well, damn it, this family is headed to the ends of the earth (or every exit in between Ipswich and Boston) to find it.
There’s always going to be the concern about the message that all of these machinations send to my kid. Questions about the long-term lessons that she’ll take from our efforts. A debate about whether or not we’re coddling her, or not preparing her for the “real world,” whatever that might be.
But at the end of the day, here’s the message that I see in this story … that she’s so desperately loved that the people around her will go to ridiculous lengths to make her happy (just as we do for each other, because, ya know … family.)”
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Schiller Park School District 81 Music Boosters Present a Pancake Breakfast On Sunday, March 10, 2013
The Schiller Park School District 81 Music Boosters are Presenting the 11th Annual Pancake Breakfast on Sunday, March 10, 2013, from 9 am to noon at the Linoln Middle School Cafeteria (9760 Soreng Avenue, Schiller Park). The tickets are Adult (13 and over) $5 and Child (Under 13) $3. The ticket ensure one meal and one raffle chance for a Grand Prize Raffle (Kindle Fire HD 32 GB 7 ” Tablet).
The proceeds of the Pancake Breakfast go to benefit the District 81 music programs. The District 81 Bands and Choruses will be performing. Come out on Sunday morning and support the children and the District music programs while having an enjoyable breakfast and great entertainment. Enjoy seeing your neighbors and supporting a great cause. Please support and enjoy the talented children of the community.
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Congratulations to the Educators of Washington School in Schiller Park School District 81 For a Job Well Done
Little Mermaid Cast Picture—Washington School
It was clearly evident Friday night, February 15, 2013, to all of those who attended the Washington School musical, “The Little Mermaid”, that the entire community should be proud of the staff and students of their schools for the promotion of the arts in their educational experience. The awesome abilities of the staff of the District in supporting and training the students for the musical were self evident in the quality of the performance by the students. Clearly, the evening would not have been such a success without the commitment and skill of the educators in preparing the students to perform.
The community should be very thankful and appreciative for the opportunities that have been afforded to the students who attend Schiller Park School District 81.
What is the value of the arts education that the District has made available to our children ?
An “arts education” brings every subject to life and turns abstractions into concrete reality. Research demonstrates that students who receive their education in an artistically promoted environment:
- are more prepared for the global workforce as adults
- increase their academic success
- have higher self esteem
- achieve higher test scores
- develop higher success rates in group collaborations
The District needs to be recognized and thanked for encouraging the students’ creative and artistic expression, and development of interest in visual arts, music, dance and drama. The Board of Education has done an excellent job of supplying the resources to achieve this significant success.
Finally, the children of the District have truly distinguished themselves in their performance and their commitment to excellence.
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Schiller Park School District 81’s Washington School Students Perform in the Disney Musical, “The Little Mermaid”
Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”
The Schiller Park School District 81, Washington School students, are putting on the school’s musical production of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” tonight, February 15, 2013, at 6:30 PM at the Lincoln Middle School’s Little Theatre. Everyone is invited to see our talented students in action. The energy and efforts of the school staff and students in putting together these productions is awesome. Anyone attending will have a truly amazing time. It is hard to believe that the performers are 4th and 5th grade students when you witness the professionalism in the production and the performance. Last year’s performance of the Disney “Beauty and the Beast” was quite memorable. Anyone attending will find it a great way to start a weekend.
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Stanley Kubrick on Interest versus Fear
Not much time to post today, but I’ve been meaning to post this excerpt from John Baxter’s biography of Stanley Kubrick:
Kubrick’s three years at [Taft High School in the Bronx], from 1943 to 1945, were the unhappiest of his life. IQ tests rated him above average, but formal learning bored him. Alex Singer recalls, “Stanley and I had boundless curiosity, but not about the things they were teaching.” Kubrick agrees. “I think the big mistake in schools is trying to teach children anything. Interest can produce learning on a scale compared to fear as a nuclear explosion to a firecracker. I never learned anything at school and I never read a book for pleasure until I was nineteen years old.”
His school days were dominated less by a search for learning than by fear: “Fear of getting failing grades,” he wrote later, “fear of not staying with your class.” He got Fs by betraying his lack of interest in set books like George Eliot’s Silas Marner and failed English totally one year, forcing him to make up the lost grade during the summer. When he graduated, it was with a mediocre 70.1 average, his only high marks those in Physics.
Grades, however, don’t tell the whole story. Kubrick could and would work if his interest was engaged: this was the man who, despite his disdain for George Eliot, created in Barry Lyndon the cinema’s best adaptation of Thackeray. Once he left school and was no longer required to do so, he read voraciously.
I suppose this is anecdotal evidence of the worst kind. Maybe Kubrick was just an oppositional prima donna, or a unique “genius” from whose experience we shouldn’t generalize. But it’s not as if the world is made up of a lot of people who are basically the same and a few who are different. Isn’t everyone different from everyone else? Who are these standardized students who learn equally well whatever is dished up, regardless of whether they are interested? I’d like to meet them!
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Tagged education, Grades, John Baxter, standardized testing, Stanley Kubrick, teaching
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