I was recently asked to write a column for a national education magazine. When the editor told me the theme of the issue was educating children in a world of violence, I immediately thought to myself, “That’s precisely the problem—most children are being educated in a world of violence.” Here I very specifically mean the [...]
Chris Mercogliano
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Pass the Elmer’s please
“Education is the Glue of Democracy,” reads a billboard towering over I-90 just outside the birthplace of the American Revolution. “It is a sticky business these days, isn’t it?” I mused to myself as I zoomed by. Then a more serious thought: “Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t the right of every student [...]
What I teach to three year olds
What do you do?” arrives the inevitable question. Never much for cocktail party banter, I decide to keep my answer brief. “This year I teach three-year-olds.” But it isn’t going to be so easy. “What do you teach them?” nudges my tablemate. It helps that he’s looking at me as though he genuinely wants to [...]
School as community, community as school
“COUNCIL MEETING!!” shouted out seven-year-old Kavon as he moved deliberately through the building, calling students and teachers together to help him settle an ongoing dispute he is having with Garrett. As soon as all were assembled in a large oval on the carpet, three nominations were taken and a chairperson elected. This time it was [...]
Time traveling
They said it hasn’t been done before. Pilgrims come on tour buses — even bicycles — to follow Harriet Tubman’s pathway to freedom from the Eastern Shore of Maryland to Philadelphia. But no one has shown up with the idea of retracing her steps on foot. Certainly not a group of young teenagers from the [...]
The dragon at the top of the stairs
You won’t find it mentioned in any Albany guidebook, no matter how obscure. And forget about Google. Even the beefed-up security force of the post-911 era hasn’t a clue that there is a dragon residing at the rear of the New York State Museum. That’s right, a real, live, fire-breathing dragon, one wise and powerful [...]
Relational learning… say what?
The title of this essay reflects my nervousness at education’s growing trend toward coining catchy names for new ideas and approaches. This is especially the case when the term involves converting a verb into a noun. Examples such as “experiential learning,” “service learning” and yes, “relational learning,” the subject at hand, come immediately to mind. [...]
Compulsory volunteerism
To Whom This May Concern,” wrote a local college student in a recent e-mail, “For one of my school assignments I am required to participate in volunteer work. I was wondering if you could provide me with any information on how I could go about doing this at your school.” I chuckled to myself while [...]
Bent trees
“A bent tree will never grow straight,” Wilhelm Reich once declared. The radical psychotherapist was referring to children, not to oaks or maples, and the metaphor signaled his lifelong commitment to resolving unhappiness before it has a chance to fester in the psyche. To this end, Reich split off from conventional psychology/psychiatry’s obsession with pathology—one [...]
Aging happens
Aging happens. It’s kind of like the start of a downhill run on an old Flexible Flyer when you’ve forgotten to wax the runners. Movement is almost imperceptible at first, perhaps provoking impatience. It might even take a little push to get you going. Then, half-way down, you really begin to notice the momentum. Some [...]
