Page 409 - Demo

BY LIZ KOCHThe tables were turned. Parents and teachers sat in the small chairs at P.S. 279 on Dec. 3 and played the role of pupil for the night while administrators, principals and even school psychologists stood before the blackboard, handed out ditto sheets and played the role of teacher.%u201cMy daughter seems to have developed a very negative attitude recently,%u201d one mother told P.S. 46 Principal Barry Finkelman. He nodded understanding^ and pointed to one of several signs he had pinned up in his temporary classroom for the night. %u201cWhat the mind conceives and believes the mind will achieve,%u201d the sign said.%u201cBuilding Bridges Between the Home andSchool,%u201d was an evening of education forparents of youngsters in this Heights, Ft.Greene, Clinton Hill district. Sponsored byCommunity District 13, Community SchoolBoard 13%u2019s Gifted and Talented AdvisoryCouncil and its Curriculum Committee, theevent was held for the first time this year andincluded 25 workshops geared to bringparents into the education process of theirchildren. The mini-courses held that nightranged from %u201cEvery Child is a Winner,%u201d to%u201cJunior High School %u2014 The TransitionalYears,%u201d to %u201cParents as Gifted Partners:Teaching Thinking at Home.%u201d Not onlyparents sat in on the novel event, buteducators from other school districts as well.%u201cWhat is unique about this night is that it isdestroying the myth about educators in NewYork City,%u201d District 13 SuperintendentJerome Harris told some 125 parents andeducators who gathered in the auditorium ofP.S. 270 on Emerson Place that night. %u201cTheseworkshops are all led by principals, viceprincipals and administrators who have aninterest in what they%u2019re doing here,%u201d he said.Harris called on the parents to play a moreactive role in the education of their childrenand not leave the schools to take care of thewhole process. %u201cWe have seen the enemy andhe is us,%u201d Harris said. %u201cIf your kid is nosmarter than you when he%u2019s your age thenhe%u2019s going to be in trouble because we live inan information society,%u201d Harris stressed.The 25 workshops were broken down intotwo sessions each lasting for an hour and witha question and answer period at the end. Forsome parents it was not enough to comealone, they brought their children too. In%u201cJunior High School %u2014 The TransitionalYears,%u201d a number of anxious mothers, their6th graders preparing to make the big leap,listened attentively as Martin Schwartz, principal of J.H.S. 117K and Audrey Hubbard,coordinator for Satellite III described thechanges in a youngster%u2019s life as they madethe transition from grammar school to juniorhigh.You have to be very concerned not onlywith the subject content but also with what%u2019sgoing on in their head,%u201d Schwartz told theparents. %u201cIt is an age where there is a lot happening. It%u2019s a rapid change period with agreat deal of liveliness,%u201d he said.Hubbard outlined the changes involved inthe transition from increased responsibilityfor school work to greater peer pressure anda need for acceptance to the simple fact thatjunior high school students needed to interactwith six teachers every day, rather than one.%u201cThe students, however, still function aschildren regardless of their appearance.They want some structure and they wantsome control and they want to be loved,%u201d shesaid.Hubbard also warned that grades coulddrop from sixth grade to seventh grade.%u201cWhat happens, do they just lose interest intheir work?%u201d aksed a concerned PatriciaRobinson whose 6th grade daughter attendsP.S. 305. %u201cWell, seventh graders have atendency to over-socialize becauseeverything is new,%u201d Hubbard pointed out.After the workshop, Robinson had nothingbut praise for the newly instituted workshopprogram. %u201cI brought my children with metonight and they%u2019re goi>\workshops. When we g- home they can tellme what they learned,' she said.In another workshop, %u201cEvery child is aWinner,%u201d parents heard P.S. 46 PrincipalBarry Finkelman emphasizes positive attitude over I.Q. as the key to success inacademics and life.%u201cYou are not bom with a positive attitudeand good self-esteem, it%u2019s taught,%u201d saidFinkelman. Finkelman teaches a course forthe children at his Fort Greene school ondeveloping a positive self-image. %u201cOften inlife when adults have problems they relateback to the fact that they did not have apositive self-image,%u201d he said.Mary Jacobs, whose three youngestchildren are still in school, was effusive withpraise for the workshops. %u201cI think they%u2019rewonderful,%u201d she said. %u201cI think it%u2019s especiallyhelpful for my older kids,%u201d she added.Instructors that night were equally enthusiastic about the success of theContinued on Page 8P arents and kidsjoined coordinatorAudrey H ubbard(above, right) andM artin Schw artz(below, right), principal of JH S 117K in%u201cJr. H ig h School:Transition Years,%u201done o f 25w orkshops at P.S.279, opened withrem arks by D istrict13 S uperintendentJerom e Harris (left).(Phoenix/K ochPhotos)Parents Get A Taste Of School Daze:Pbrents Go To ScHcoi To Losrn Whst Kids Ars DoingHoliday Shoppers In Brooklyn Get A Fair Start On Christmas BuyingD aw n Kilts (left) and Tania Harsh offered holiday decorating item s and advice at the U nitarian C hurch%u2019stradition al U nifair on D ecem ber 6. The fair also offered holiday shoppers a host of bargain gift item s, suchas th e clothing exhibited by Sara Faison (center). W ith hard cash from the custom ers and helping handsfrom volunteers like Richard C oate (right), th e fa ir will benefit th e church long afte r the holidays are gone.(Phoenix Photos by Larry Spiegler)D ecem ber 11,1986, TH E P H O E N IX , Page 7