EQ and IQ critical for children to thrive Lynn Benson, LSW To the Editor:
The article “Finding a way through the pressure,” which appeared on page A1 in The Ridgewood News on Friday, June 27, states:
“Administrators emphasize that in today’s highly competitive world, teaching Ridgewood’s young people about ‘balance’ is all the more important.”
I believe that in addition to “balance,” enhanced EQ (emotional intelligence) is a necessity to deal with life’s pressures.
Too many children are challenged socially and emotionally, and are engaging in reckless and self-destructive behaviors while trying to cope with their struggles. And, it’s heartbreaking how often our headlines are filled with tragedies involving our youth. As a society, we are failing.
Our school systems are designed for IQ. EQ needs equal attention. Our nation’s schools mandate academic, physical and health education. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is equally important.
We, the people are violent and filled with rage: A nation spinning apart on its Independence Day
School shootings, hatred, capitalism run amok: This 4th of July, we are in the midst of a tragic public derangement
JIM SLEEPER FRIDAY, JUL 4, 2014 09:45 AM EDT
By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood And fired the shot heard ’round the world. –Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Concord Hymn,” 1837
For centuries most Americans have believed that “the shot heard ’round the world” in 1775 from Concord, Massachusetts, heralded the Enlightenment’s entry into history. Early observers of America such as G.W.F. Hegel, Edward Gibbon and Edmund Burke believed that, too. A new kind of republican citizen was rising, amid and against adherents of theocracy, divine-right monarchy, aristocracy and mercantilism. Republican citizens were quickening humanity’s stride toward horizons radiant with promises never before held and shared as widely as they were in America.
The creation of the United States really was a Novus ordo seclorum, a New Order of the Ages, a society’s first self-aware, if fumbling and compromised, effort to live by the liberal expectation that autonomous individuals could govern themselves together without having to impose religious doctrines or mystical narratives of tribal blood or soil. With barely a decorous nod to The Creator, the founders of the American republic conferred on one another the right to have rights, a distinguished group of them constituting the others as “We, the people.”
That revolutionary effort is not just in trouble now, or endangered, or under attack, or reinventing itself. It’s in prison, with no prospect of parole, and many Americans, including me, who wring our hands or wave our arms about this are actually among the jailers, or we’ve sleepwalked ourselves and others into the cage and have locked ourselves in. We haven’t yet understood the shots fired and heard ’round the world from 74 American schools, colleges and military bases since the Sandy Hook School massacre of December 2012.
These shots haven’t been fired by embattled farmers at invading armies. They haven’t been fired by terrorists who’ve penetrated our surveillance and security systems. With few exceptions, they haven’t been fired by aggrieved non-white Americans. They’ve been fired mostly by young, white American citizens at other white citizens, and by American soldiers at other American soldiers, inside the very institutions where republican virtues and beliefs are nurtured and defended.
Ridgewood students, educators trying to find a way through the pressure
JULY 1, 2014 LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JULY 1, 2014, 3:22 PM BY LAURA HERZOG STAFF WRITER
This past school year, Ridgewood High School (RHS) Assistant Principal Jeff Nyhuis dealt with a surprising problem.
He had to work with sports coaches to block out unscheduled time – during the summer. Some families have children playing so many summer sports, it’s a struggle for them to find time to vacation.
“It ends up encompassing the whole summer, so no one can really get away,” he said. “It’s ridiculous.”
It’s just one more indication of the P-word: Pressure. It’s a well-known word in Ridgewood.
And it’s a word that Ridgewood’s recent graduates, and RHS’ upcoming juniors and seniors, will learn even more about in the future as they struggle to stand out in a world that can be far more competitive and demanding than RHS. Some concerned educators and parents worry about RHS students who are already struggling too much to be the best in everything, working harder but not necessarily smarter, and sometimes forgetting to enjoy what they are doing.
In recent years, some concerned parents and educators have been fighting back against sources of stress (facing adults, as well as children), and this year was no exception. On the other hand, some parents and educators point out that pressure itself is not bad; challenge and competition can motivate and ready students for a tough world, they observe.
Ridgewood Board of Education approves new administrators
JUNE 27, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014, 2:46 PM BY JODI WEINBERGER STAFF WRITER Print PAGES: 1 2 > DISPLAY ON ONE PAGE
The school board voted on Monday to move forward with hiring new administrators under the condition that Superintendent Daniel Fishbein research whether teacher evaluations qualify as unfunded mandates from the state.
A lengthy Board of Education (BOE) discussion resulted in a 4-1 vote, with trustee Christina Krauss as the lone dissenter.
Fishbein spoke of the long-standing need to replace the administrators let go in 2010 when deep budget cuts set in, but to some BOE members that argument paled in comparison to what they believe is the real issue: increased workloads from the state-required evaluations.
Because of the state- mandated transition to a new evaluation system, administrators’ teacher evaluation “events” have increased from 44 to 109, Fishbein told the board at a previous meeting. But, he emphasized, Ridgewood has fewer administrators when compared to other districts and the need for new hires predates the evaluations.
JUNE 27, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014, 12:31 AM BY SALVATORE TRIFILIO CORRESPONDENT
Ten years ago teachers were armed with little more than a textbook and their enthusiasm to tackle the task of inspiring America’s youth to become doctors, scientists, authors or even teachers themselves.But today, educators like Willard School’s John Altieri have a slew of technologies at their disposal that allow their students experiences that were once just science fiction.
On Thursday, June 12, about 60 students at Willard School took a trip more than 1,400 miles south and nine miles off the coast of Florida, to the world’s only underwater marine habitat and laboratory, all without leaving the comfort of room 122.
“There is only so much an individual teacher can offer, and when we have other people sharing information with these kids, that enhances their education and their experience,” Altieri said.
Altieri’s second-grade class, in collaboration with first- and fifth-grade classes, became the first and only New Jersey classes to join Fabien Cousteau and his crew’s Mission-31 during a half-hour Skype session.
JUNE 27, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014, 12:31 AM BY DANIEL FISHBEIN Print
Each June I reflect on the many great opportunities the Ridgewood Public Schools and the Village of Ridgewood provide our youngest citizens, culminating in the Ridgewood High School graduation at the close of the school year.
While the many school-related activities are too numerous to list, here are some representative highlights from the district this past school year:
The Remedial Early Development (R.E.D.) graduation at the Glen School. This event is more than an important milestone for the students, parents and staff; it is a personal career highlight for me. Friday Friends is a fabulous program where students with special needs meet, learn and play along with their peers.
The Orchard Museum of Art (OMA). Held at Orchard Elementary School each year, the museum is a celebration of the creative process in the fine and performing arts, culminating with a performance — this year Romeo and Juliet — in the school’s unique outdoor amphitheater.
The Ridge Restaurant and 18th century encampment. Ridge Elementary School’s fifth graders open a restaurant every fall to raise money for their June promotion activities. During the school year they also participate in an 18th century encampment, spending 36 hours as recruits in the Continental Army where they sew, cook, drill, set up camp and are spectators at a musket shooting demonstration by Ridgewood Board of Education Facility Manager Steve Tichenor, who is also a military re-enactor.
Hawes ducks. Perhaps you saw the 100-plus Hawes Elementary School ducks running in the Ridgewood Memorial Day Run this year. Their inspiration comes from real-life mother duck Henrietta, who nests each spring in the school’s inner courtyard and, once the ducklings are hatched and ready to swim, marches her brood through the halls of the school, out the door and into the brook beyond.
Up mountains and under the sea at Willard. Willard Elementary School students were treated to an author visit this year by everyone’s sweetheart, “The Sound of Music’s” Julie Andrews. Students also had a Skype session with Jacque Cousteau’s grandson from his underwater lab.
Acting at Somerville. Somerville Elementary School students in kindergarten through fifth grade took action for a cause, participating in a walk for autism and raising nearly $1,000. In addition, fourth and fifth graders put on a lively production of “Shrek the Musical.”
Travel at Travell. Travell Elementary School students traveled the world at their International Expo heritage celebration featuring their community’s cultural foods, artifacts and performances. Fifth graders went to circus school for a week and put on a show highlighting the importance of teamwork and cooperation. The school readied for summer recess with a children’s book swap to encourage reading while away.
Celebrating history at GWMS. George Washington Middle School eighth graders just returned from their annual overnight trip to our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. The school’s sixth graders worked with Civil War re-enactors to gain a better understanding of what life was like in the nineteenth century.
Music and more at BFMS. Benjamin Franklin Middle School had a fantastic concert season, as orchestras, concert bands and choirs all performed to full-house crowds of parents and grandparents. The school community also donated more than 120 turkeys to needy families as a result of their annual Thanksgiving “turkey trot.”
RHS graduated the Class of 2014. Finally, I hope you had an opportunity to see the Ridgewood High School graduation. It is a beautiful community celebration! The real accomplishments of the Class of 2014 happen in the classroom, on stage, on the field of competition or in a studio. Ninety-one percent of the Class of 2014 will attend a four-year college or university this fall. Five percent are headed to two-year colleges. The balance is headed to work, the armed forces or taking a “gap” year.
Ridgewood Education Foundation Commits to 1:1 Technology June 9, 2014
Ridgewiood NJ, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Daniel Fishbein has announced the receipt of a grant of $250,000 from the Ridgewood Education Foundation for the district’s new 1:1 Computer Device Initiative.The Ridgewood Education Foundation (The Foundation) will issue its first disbursement of $100,000 to the Board of Education at its July 23 meeting. Ongoing disbursements of $50,000 will be issued annually thereafter for an additional three years.“The 1:1 computer device initiative is the next step in the District Technology Plan and an important aspect of our goals for twenty-first century learning,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Daniel Fishbein.“On behalf of the Ridgewood Board of Education, I wish to thank The Foundation for their leadership and vision to partner with us in this exciting new program as part of their ongoing commitment and support of the district’s mission of excellence.”
Specifically, the grant will allow the district to purchase and distribute Google tablet Chromebook technology at all levels, K-12, starting in September at the high school and moving into the middle and elementary schools over the next several years.
Chromebooks and the accompanying suite of apps called Google Apps for Education (GAFE) and Google Drive allow users to store and share files from any device that has an Internet connection. As part of the1:1 initiative, the district has provided GAFE accounts to all students. Students in grades 6-12 have also been issued email accounts for internal use only. Using GAFE and Google Drive, students will be able to
access their work at school and home throughout their years in the district. Teachers will be able to provide instant feedback to students on their assignments and easily monitor student contributions to group work. All work done using GAFE is managed by the Ridgewood Public Schools in a safe and closed environment and is the property of the Ridgewood Board of Education
“Clearly from the district’s vision and plan the role of technology will be increasingly important in enhancing academics,” said The Foundation president Jennie Wilson. “The Trustees of The Foundation felt this was an important initiative for Ridgewood schools and vital to twenty-first century learning skills across the district. The vote to fund this grant to the schools was unanimous and very exciting for all trustees. It supports academics and fits perfectly with our mission to enhance education in the Ridgewood Public Schools.”
Congratulations to the Ridgewood High School class of 2014.
RHS grads turning 80 looks back at the class of ’52
JUNE 20, 2014 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2014, 12:31 AM BY DEIRDRE FLANAGAN WARD SOCIAL EDITOR
The reunion may be over, but for a group of committee grads from Ridgewood High School Class of 1952, the party never ends. On a balmy mid-week evening (these kids don’t worry about work the next day because most of them are retired!) the group got together at the home of Anne (Ward) and Hank Allen in Glen Rock for some light fare, delicious libations, lively conversation and birthday celebrations. Marking their 80th birthdays were classmates Roy Tarvin, Claire Carter, Lois Clapp, Nancy Jeanne Alward, Judy Kaiser, Connie Macchi, Bob Croland, Donald Heller, Bruce Crocco, Anne Allen, Joan Van Ry, Carole Frank and Mimi Maxfield. Classmate Jim Craig, who was not able to attend, was celebrated in spirit. In addition to toasting a remarkable lifetime achievement, several members of the group also reminisced about their longstanding friendships; some forged in their kindergarten years, others as neighborhood pals, and then there were the childhood sweethearts.
The committee, although not planning a reunion this year, meets on a regular basis because they enjoy each others’ company – spouses included. A number of the gals additionally branched off to start “The Lunch Bunch” as a social adventure in dining. The venture proved to be so popular it expanded into weekend getaways. And not to be confused with senior citizen outings, these gals take to the road and drive themselves! The group has been very active and diligent in reaching out to classmates over the years, which explains the high attendance rate at reunions and other affairs. They even started a newsletter to keep people up to date and recently initiated a giving back movement by making a donation to the RHS Learning Center. Individually, and collectively, the committee members and longtime friends are testimony to the fact that 80 may be their chronological status, but forever in their hearts they will remain the ages they were in 1952.
Valley supporters continue to attack this blog and the the “mean spirited anonymous posters ” for their utter failure to aggrandize them selfs with an over sized monstrosity .
The Ridgewood Planning Board summed it up best ,“The impacts from this amendment are detrimental to the community,” end of story.
We are told the failure of this plan had nothing to do with the fact that it was ill advised, ill planned, and poorly executed .
And that Valley and its supporters behaved behaved like a bunch of spoiled 2 year old brats with their ,gimme gimme gimme attitude .
Valley in it unlimited arrogance even when as far as to demand the Village comply with their business plan. Apparently that included destroying the character of the Village.
Valley supporters even went as far as to purchase anonymous IP’s from hacker and spammer sites so as to attack residents on this blog I remind you of all the “thats what happens when you buy cheap houses near a hospital” posts .
And while we would love to take al the credit , for blocking the ill suited expansion , groups like CRR did most of the heavy lifting .
The fact that a $100 million dollar hospital could not get this done says far more about management and strategy than anonymous posts .
Unlike the sports people who love send derogatory emails to peoples employers or the schools system that picks on your kids if you speak out of line , the Ridgewood blog has not engaged in any of this “COWARDLY” behavior.
Posters can remain anonymous to protect them selves from unscrupulous bullies , like the RBSA , BOE and Valley Hospital .
Mandates lead to call for new school administrators in Ridgewood
JUNE 23, 2014 LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2014, 1:52 PM BY LAURA HERZOG STAFF WRITER
The Board of Education (BOE) recently renewed discussions on whether the district should add two more administrative positions next school year.
The move is part of the superintendent’s three-year plan, which was announced last year, to ultimately replace seven administrative positions that were cut in 2010, when the district lost all its state aid and had to make big budget cuts.
The new positions would help lighten the load facing the district’s overworked administrative staff, argued Superintendent Daniel Fishbein. The schools chief first proposed the new positions, a science supervisor and a special education supervisor, at a BOE meeting in May.
But some BOE trustees, especially Jim Morgan, had doubts about the superintendent’s proposal, because it would add fixed costs of around $300,000 to the already strained, and rising, budget. Morgan also questioned the necessity of adding administrative positions, because the district is already operating effectively.
BOE Vice President Vince Loncto and trustee Christina Krauss also expressed reservations at the time. BOE trustee Michele Lenhard was absent for the discussion, and BOE President Sheila Brogan expressed support for the new positions.
In light of the opposition facing him, Fishbein came prepared at a June 2 meeting with a data-based argument in favor of the positions. He quantified the workload of administrators, and provided trustees with a list of other districts similar to Ridgewood with larger administrative staffs.
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West had a baby together before getting married. (Photo: Judy Eddy/WENN/Newscom)
A Majority of Young Adults Are Having Kids Outside Marriage. Why That Hurts Kids’ Futures.
Rachel Sheffield June 21, 2014
Rachel Sheffield focuses on welfare, marriage and family, and education as policy analyst in the DeVos Center for Religion & Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation.
Among young adults, first comes baby, then (maybe) comes marriage. This increasingly is the new normal.
According to a new study from Johns Hopkins University, 57 percent of mothers between 26 and 31 are unmarried when their child is born
But not all young adults are having kids outside of marriage. Instead, the key factor appears to be whether a young woman has attended college.
Among mothers without a high school degree, 63 percent of births occur outside marriage. But among college educated young women, 71 percent of births occur within marriage.
Unfortunately, these differences have consequences. “The U.S. is steadily separating into a two-caste system with marriage and education as the dividing line,” says my colleague Robert Rector.
“In the high-income third of the population, children are raised by married parents with a college education. In the bottom-income third, children are raised by single parents with a high school degree or less.”
Similarly, the authors of the Hopkins study found that “American society is moving toward two different patterns of family formation and two diverging destinies for children.”
But one of those destinies is far less promising, leaving a significant portion of the nation’s next generation with less opportunity.
Children in single-parent homes are more than five times as likely to experience poverty. That isn’t simply because of their parents’ generally lower education level. Even parents with lower levels of education are at far less risk of poverty if they are married.
Children raised by their married, biological parents have other advantages. They are more likely to graduate from high school or college, less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors and less likely to become single parents themselves.
So why do many young adults then still have children outside of marriage?
It’s not because they’re anti-marriage: Research suggests that young, single mothers are not hostile to marriage. Yet they don’t believe it is necessary to marry prior to having children. Rather than seeing marriage as a step to achieving a stable family and social mobility, they view it as a capstone that occurs after they have arrived.
Still, , young men and women don’t seem to understand the consequences of the breakdown of marriage. Thus, the first step would be to get the message out about the importance of marriage in building stable families and communities, particularly in areas where this stability is not the norm.
Additionally, leaders at every level should engage in finding ways to strengthen and maintain healthy families. Examples of this include high schools in Alabama that have taught relationship education courses to youth, the community healthy marriage initiative in Chattanooga, Tenn., that provides relationship education and other resources to couples and families, or the state healthy marriage initiative in Oklahoma that operates marriage and relationship education programs for lower-income couples.
Restoring a culture of marriage is crucial to today’s generation and to the generations they will raise. The goal for all individuals, families, churches, communities and policymakers should be to give every child–regardless of economic background–the greatest opportunity to be reared by their mother and father in a stable married relationship.
Former Ridgewood High Junior Athlete Mathew Lorenz wins the 53rd Bud Burns Dixie Junior Golf Tournament in Selma Alabama
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Mathew is the son of the former Principle of Ridgewood High School Jack Lorenz..
The tournament was held at Selma Country Club , previous professional golfers that have won the tournament are Stewart Cink and Bubba Watson.
The tournament coincided with Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey being in town to film a new movie.
Consistency was key for sixteen-year-old Matthew Lorenz, carding three consecutive rounds of 73 strokes.
Lorenz told the Selma Times Journal ,” the tournament felt more unpredictable than his scorecard displayed.
“The tournament was a little up and down at points,” Lorenz said. “I even hit a ball into the parking lot at one point.”
Overall, Lorenz said the tournament was enjoyable, and he thanked those involved in the organization.
“I really enjoyed the course. It really suited my game,” Lorenz said. “This is my first overall win, so it’s probably my biggest win so far. It felt good because the hard work finally paid off.” ( https://www.selmatimesjournal.com/2014/06/18/lorenz-edges-manderson-for-bud-burns-title/)
Lorenz will get his name engraved as the 2014 champ of the Bud Burns Dixie Junior Championship .
The Summer Music Academy provides lessons and performing opportunities for beginning, intermediate and advanced level musicians. Students from all districts are welcome! Program highlights include string orchestras, jazz bands, woodwind, brass and percussion ensembles, drum set classes and the 2014 Guitar Camp. All students are encouraged to join this dynamic program.
Click here for the brochure and registration form.
Sign Up for Space Camp at Hawes School Two sessions: June 27 – July 11 or July 14 – July 25
Is your son or daughter interested in Space? Have they completed grades 2-4? Sign them up for summer space camp where they learn astronomy by going into a planetarium, build and launch model rockets, learn about the history of flight, solve problems in groups, play space games, enjoy physical fitness (rope climbing, zip lining, and more), perform experiments and make art projects. It’s going to be a blast!
