Organized by Sean Justice & Richard Jochum, and sponsored by the Myers Media Art Studio, Program in Art & Art Education. Led by Don Miller, an artist and learning designer.

The conference began with a reception Friday evening including many current and former students of the Program in Bilingual/Bicultural Education. On Saturday conference sessions were introduced by Professor Torres-Guzman’s current students, and were presented by her former mentees, many of whom have faculty or administrative positions in the field. Session topics included immigration and education, teacher and administrator leadership, the politics of bilingual/bicultural education, and accounting for bilingual learners, among others. As evidenced by her recent edited volume Imagining Multilingual Schools: Languages in Education and Globalization, Professor Torres-Guzman clearly follows her own advice, revealed by a graduate, to “set the path, don’t just follow.”

But beyond the academic presentations there were so many heartfelt testimonials from presenters and audience members alike honoring the spirit with which Professor Torres-Guzman worked, and her tireless advocacy for both her field in general and those fortunate enough to work with her. All who knew her well could not seem to believe that it would be possible for her to retire; as one former student put it, “Maria won’t be playing golf.”

During a break for lunch the festivities continued when Professor Torres-Guzman officially received the Lifetime Commitment to Education award. Friends and colleagues from Teachers College joined others from across New York City, the country, and as far as the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba in honoring the unique work and legacy of Professor Torres-Guzman. Excerpts from an interview conducted by a current graduate student were read to give the audience a sense of the community building advocated and modeled by Professor Torres-Guzman. In keeping with the metaphor of collage touched upon by so many throughout the conference, a Uighur dance was performed by graduate student Jiayi Xu that delighted all present.

By the close of the conference it was clear that these retirement celebrations were as much about making new connections as celebrating established ones. If there was one salient bit of wisdom that came through all the celebrations and presentations, and indeed through Professor Torres-Guzman’s concluding remarks, it was that “Yes, you can.”  The work continues, both through her own efforts and through the community of which she remains an indispensable part.

Related Posts

• Conference Happenings
• Spotlight on Alumnus Arturo Acevedo: Bilingual/Bicultural Education as a Journey of Self-Discovery
• Spotlight on Alumna Tatyana Kleyn
• Bilingual/Bicultural Education Joins the Arts & Humanities Department
• New Faculty Profile: Carmen Martinez-Roldan

Read the article here: http://innovationsforlearning.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/a-high-school-that-aims-to-take-struggling-students-beyond-the-basics/

On Wednesday, April 24th the Arts & Humanities Department hosted Dr. Khalil
Muhammad, who presented “Grand Simplification: Historical Illiteracy in the Age
of Mass Incarceration” as the second public lecture of the Educating Harlem series.
Formerly a professor within the Africana Studies Department of Indiana University, Dr.
Muhammad is now the Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
at the New York Public Library.

Speaking to a packed house, Dr. Muhammad briefly reviewed the history of the
Schomburg collection and the central importance of the library in general to the
intellectual ferment of both Harlem and black culture. Citing Lewis Lapham’s claim
in “Ignorance of Things Past” that Americans have “a wonderful talent for grand
simplification,” Dr. Muhammad made an unimpeachable case for the significance
of history, archival work, and the Schomburg center in undoing at least a century of
historical oversimplification of the black experience in America.

Turning to his scholarly work, Dr. Muhammad argued forcefully that in our era of “Big
Data” truth claims relying upon statistical evidence are mistaken for the truth itself, and
that this may be the most pernicious version of that American talent for simplification.
Especially significant in the context of race and its portrayal, Dr. Muhammad argued
that the racialized presentation of crime statistics “elides meaningful knowledge” and
pretends that the numbers speak for themselves, relieving the burden of interpretation.
Beginning with the 1890 census, moving through the 1930 Uniform Crime Statistics, and
resting at our current moment, Dr. Muhammad demonstrated how “a political economy
of criminality preceded the statistical ratification and perpetuation of criminality” such
that turn of the twentieth century crime statistics were taken as proof of black racial
inferiority meriting a punitive response. This stands in stark contrast to the response at
the very same time to statistics on white criminality, which were taken as evidence for
the need of progressive policies to avoid the pitfalls of urbanization and industrialization.
This difference in interpretation of crime statistics by race has become conventional
wisdom in contemporary discourse, and for Dr. Muhammad “nothing stands in the way
but commitment and effort” of what public history can do to complicate such simplicities.

Dr. Muhammad was also kind enough to participate in a graduate student discussion
before his lecture that was nearly as full as the lecture itself. Students from the History
and Education, English Education, Music Education, Art Education, and Social
Studies programs joined others from the School of Social Work and the Campaign for
Educational Equity for an informal discussion including the role graduate students might
have in public history, research opportunities within the Schomburg collection, and both
ongoing and future projects in Harlem.

All told, it was a great event and the post lecture conversations were ended only by
another group needing to use the space; no doubt they will continue in
the work of all who attended.

Related Posts

• Educating Harlem, Histories of Learning and Schooling in an American Community
• Viva Harlem U: Black and Puerto Rican Students and the Transformation of City College
• From TC to Joe’s Pub: Music Ed Students Play the City
• This Week at TC: The Society for the History of Children and Youth Conference (June 23-25)
• Cancelled: “Ella Baker: Radical Educator with Harlem Roots”

—”As South Africa’s democracy matures, this book analyses the following
questions: how does the state mediate between traditional tribal authority
and constitutional law in matters such as initiation customs or the rights
of women, children and gay people? What are the limitations on artistic
freedom in a society where sensitivities over colonial- and apartheid-era
representations are acute? Whose histories are venerated and whose are
obliterated? How does race open up discussions or close down dialogue? What
are the parameters of freedom of speech when minorities fear that hateful
language may trigger actual violence against them? And do legacies of
oppression generate exclusive insights and grant special rights? Examining
disputes over South African art, music, media, editorial cartoons, history,
public memory, and a variety of social practices, “Spearheading
Debate” extends the culture-wars perspective to new territory, demonstrates its
cross-cultural applicability, and parses critical debates within this
vibrant society in formation.”

Persons interested in attending may RSVP via online
support by Monday, April 29th http://library.tc.columbia.edu/support.php?dq=generalq

Related Posts

• Paper Presentations at the 2013 Diversity in Research and Practice Conference
• From TC to Joe’s Pub: Music Ed Students Play the City
• The Development of Orchestrated Collisions: A Summer at Signature Theatre Company
• Around Teachers College with Zechariah Chiang
• Viva Harlem U: Black and Puerto Rican Students and the Transformation of City College

This past Friday and Saturday, April 19th and 20th, Teachers College held its
2013 Diversity in Research and Practice Conference (DiRP). The theme of this
year’s conference was “Changing the Game: Expanding Discourses in Research.”
The Saturday morning sessions featured scholars from a variety of institutions
ranging from Harvard, to Teachers College all the way to the University of
Glasgow, present their conference papers.

Topics of papers presented were diverse, reflecting the different academic disciplines of scholars from sociological, historical, musical and educational backgrounds. Topics ranged from The Education of Incarcerated Youth, presented by Lynette Tannis of Harvard University, to The Pedagogy of Confidence in
an Urban Youth Choir, presented by Nicole Becker of Teachers College.  Apart from the theme of the conference it self, a theme
that seemed to permeate many of the papers presented was the involvement
of the child in the construction of his/her own education – a key tenet of
constructivism, learning theory.

With over thirty scholars presenting throughout the day, and many more in
attendance, there were ample opportunities throughout the course of the day
to network, mingle and develop research relationships. The provision of a
free lunch and a room purposed towards congregating and mingling, not only
provided scholars with opportunities to meet but also supplied a nice and
informal contrast the formal nature of the paper presentations, making the
conference both fun and a great learning experience.

Related Posts

• From TC to Joe’s Pub: Music Ed Students Play the City
• Viva Harlem U: Black and Puerto Rican Students and the Transformation of City College
• Educating Harlem, Histories of Learning and Schooling in an American Community
• Cancelled: “Ella Baker: Radical Educator with Harlem Roots”
• Around Teachers College with Zechariah Chiang

Hope you enjoy our new photo feature, this week brought to you by Zechariah Chiang. These photos are stitched together to create a tapestry of interesting sights from around Teachers College.

Related Posts

• Paper Presentations at the 2013 Diversity in Research and Practice Conference
• The Development of Orchestrated Collisions: A Summer at Signature Theatre Company
• Educating Harlem, Histories of Learning and Schooling in an American Community
• Cancelled: “Ella Baker: Radical Educator with Harlem Roots”
• From TC to Joe’s Pub: Music Ed Students Play the City

The TESOL and Applied Linguistics Programs would like to extend a warm thanks to
Dr. Philip Everson and Emilie Pooler from Educational Testing Service (ETS) for their
innovative presentation on computer-based testing at TC this past Thursday, April 11th.
At the presentation, Dr. Everson and Ms. Pooler shared with TC students and faculty
the groundbreaking new programs that they are developing in order to screen and place
English Language Learners (ELLs) in U.S. public schools.

These programs are currently in the prototyping stage and feature an interactive interface
that boldly take screening tests beyond the standard pencil and paper format that
teacher and students have been accustomed to for years. The innovative parts of these
assessments related to how they incorporated into the design student agency, where
examinees are able to choose the topics they want to be tested on, and student assistance
in cases where examinees who do not have the basic linguistic skills to perform the task
are taught what the need before returning to the test.

What was engaging about the nature of the presentation was that feedback was
encouraged from the audience. Both faculty and students excitedly offered praise and
constructive critique of the programs and the challenges and benefits that come along
with using this type of interface. This feedback was warmly received and appreciated by
the presenters.

It will still be some time before these programs are utilized in schools, but judging by
the positive results that ETS has reported having with testing these prototypes on young
learners, these programs will revolutionize the screening process for ELLs in U.S. public

schools. We very much look forward to staying in touch with ETS as they continue to develop these programs and can’t wait to have them back at TC!

Related Posts

• New Faculty: Dr. Arieh Sherris
• The Development of Orchestrated Collisions: A Summer at Signature Theatre Company
• The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for ‘Superman’ and One Teacher’s Two Cents
• Spotlight on TESOL/AL Student Yoonah Seong
• Merging Research and Practice: Professor Michael Kieffer

The Department of Arts & Humanities would like to invite you to a Public Lecture by Dr. Khalil Muhammad, the Director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Grand Simplification: Historical Illiteracy in the Age of Mass Incarceration

Wednesday, April 24th
Lecture: 4-6pm in Room 179 Grace Dodge Hall
Reception immediately following in Room 177 Grace Dodge Hall until 7:30pm

The Reception is being co-sponsored by
Department of Arts & Humanities and by our A&H Student Senators

Related Posts

• Viva Harlem U: Black and Puerto Rican Students and the Transformation of City College
• Paper Presentations at the 2013 Diversity in Research and Practice Conference
• Dr. Khalil Muhammad Visits TC
• From TC to Joe’s Pub: Music Ed Students Play the City
• Cancelled: “Ella Baker: Radical Educator with Harlem Roots”

Related Posts

• Paper Presentations at the 2013 Diversity in Research and Practice Conference
• Educating Harlem, Histories of Learning and Schooling in an American Community
• The Development of Orchestrated Collisions: A Summer at Signature Theatre Company
• From TC to Joe’s Pub: Music Ed Students Play the City
• Dr. Khalil Muhammad Visits TC