A Greenhouse Blooms in Sunnyside
Con Edison grant funds college
science partnership with PS 35
Staten Island Advance - Monday, February 18, 2008
Students at PS 35 in Sunnyside are growing more than plants in their
greenhouse, thanks to a collaboration with the College of Staten
Island and Con Edison.
After receiving a $20,000 grant from Con Ed, CSI's Discovery
Institute and its Teaching Scholars program have enlisted CSI
students to go to PS 35 and help the children and their teachers run
the greenhouse.
As a result, the green inhabitants of the facility are happier, but
so is everyone involved, including the younger students, college
students, and teachers.
The greenhouse was designed to give PS 35 students hands-on lessons
in science and the environment. The glass-enclosed solarium,
fronting Clove Road and Foote Avenue, was erected in 2006, with
funds secured by City Councilman Michael McMahon, and the Department
of Education. It was dedicated to Witt Halle, retired principal of
the school.
This year, in addition to sending college students to the school,
the Con Ed grant has enabled CSI faculty to help PS 35 teachers
develop the school's science curriculum. Biology department chairman
Dr. Richard Veit, and Ralf Peetz, an assistant professor of
chemistry, contribute their expertise, advice, and supervision
toward the science curriculum, while Ivin Doctor, director of the
Teaching Scholars program, coordinates CSI student involvement.
PS 35 science teacher Stephanie Janowitz said she welcomes the
assistance from CSI students. "They're helping to give our students
that one-on-one, small-group attention," she noted.
Ashleigh Groth, an elementary education major at CSI and one of the
two Teaching Scholars involved, says her experience with the
greenhouse program "has just been unbelievable."
"Being able to do different grades definitely helped to let me know
where I want to be as a teacher, what grade level works best for me.
I was able to learn that I worked better with younger children and I
thought, actually, that I was going to [work with] older children.
So, that really helped me to find myself," she said
The greenhouse project's other Teaching Scholar is Debbie Miranda,
an education major at CSI who will be receiving her associate's
degree this semester. She relates a similar experience of
self-discovery through the greenhouse project.
"I first came to school in hopes of going into psychology and I got
involved with Mr. Doctor. Working with the children in the
greenhouse I get to see them work hands-on and actually understand
what's going on with science. And I actually found that that's where
I want to be in education," she said.
Hoping eventually to teach special education, Debbie has chosen to
give additional assistance to students who are lagging behind the
others to help them catch up.
Doctor explained that the students who become Teaching Scholars are
often those who initially are not going into education. Through its
Teaching Scholars program, CSI students are placed in actual
classroom situations with the hope that they will get a better idea
of their career goals after the experience. Even if they decide
against an education career, Doctor said that the experience is "a
win/win" because CSI students enhance the educational experience of
their pupils, while discovering more about their career paths while
also getting paid.
Building on the theme of discovery, Doctor said that the greenhouse
project puts a new spin on science education. "It's a discovery
situation, which is what we are all about." The children learn from
the CSI mentors, and the mentors learn from the schoolchildren and
the teacher.
Professor Peetz recalled that the project began initially as a way
to provide support to the greenhouse, but explained, "the bigger
goal behind it is to give the kids a respect and appreciation of the
environment around them--the sciences, life sciences--by providing
them with role models who are helping the teacher."
CHILDREN'S CAMPAIGN
Kudos to students at New Dorp High School, who we hear raised more
than $200 last week for the Staten Island Children's Campaign.
Lisa Murphy, coordinator of student affairs at New Dorp, explained
that students in the school's eight differently themed "academies"
were asked to "dress-up" to represent their career interest, in
exchange for a donation to the Children's Campaign.
"We had science and medical students dressed up as doctors; students
in the media arts academy dressed as film directors; students in the
business and technology academy dressed in three-piece suits;
students in the criminal justice program dressed as detectives, and
students in the history institute dressed as favorite figures from
history, just to give you an idea," she explained.
Student Council leaders came up with the idea for a "dress up" day
to support the Children's Campaign, whose proceeds are distributed
to Staten Island non-profit agencies and organizations who serve the
borough's children and families.
By Diane Lore
Reprinted here with permission
from the
