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Don’t Let Closed Schools Impede Learning

Editor, Our Time Press
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Don’t Let Closed Schools Impede Learning

by Margo McKenzie

Although schools are closed, a loss of classroom time does not have to equate with a loss of learning.
With talk of the coronavirus over the last few weeks, and the prospect of school closure looming, proactive schools/teachers may have provided their students with instructional materials and/or access to learning platforms such as Google Classroom, etc.
For students who need at-home instructional support, this column provides a list of free, mostly internet-based resources. Two are television-based.
If carefully structured, this time away from the school building can serve as an opportunity for students to make educational gains and enrich their lives. What follows is a list of suggestions to keep the minds of our youth engaged, their knowledge deepened and their intellect sharp.

Set the Tone for Home-Learning
 Set aside dedicated, instructional space away from noise, interruptions, and movement.
Work together with your child to establish a learning schedule; post and consult often. (See sample below.*)
Consider naming the learning time after the child’s last name, such as the Johnson Academy (“Academy”). When the “Academy” is in session, the television and phone are off unless used as instructional tools. 
Typical tools for instruction: notebooks, pens, pencils. 
As an introduction to the “Academy,” consider a lesson on coronavirus. A few websites provide a wealth of resources:
Center for Disease Control (CDC) for articles, flyers and maps. https://www.cdc.gov/).
The Learning Network” of The New York Times provides a comprehensive learning site on a variety of subjects with articles, charts, and graphs about the outbreak. (https://nyti.ms/33iBOzg)

“Just for Kids: A Comic Exploring the New Coronavirus,” Malaka Gharib, NPR. (February 28, 2020). (https://n.pr/3d5KBcq)

*Johnson Academy Learning
Schedule
     8-8:30 Breakfast
     8:30-9:15 Math
     9:15-9:30 Learning journal
and Reflections
     9:30-10:15 Reading
     10:15-10:30 Reading Log and
Reflections.
     10:30-10:45 Break
     10:45-11:30 Science
     11:30-12:30 Lunch
     12:30- 1:15 History/Current
Events
     1:15- 1:30 Reading Log and
Reflections
     1:30-2:15 Writing 
     2:15-3:00 Art

Track Learning Experiences

  1. Keep a daily record of learning topics and skills.
  2. Maintain reflection logs where children write about how their feelings/thoughts approaching a task and how they felt/thought after completing it.
  3. Save all written work to share with their teacher when they return to school

Additional Resources:
 Free On-Line Sources (for Students Without Copies of School Curricula and Corresponding Books and Materials)

WNET Education stimulates learning of skills and values through videos and projects. (PBS, Channel 13, 6 am-3:30 pm). PreK-12
Scholastic Learn at Home with their science-based website about animals, plants, the moon, and spring. (https://bit.ly/33lKJ2S). Grades K-12
PBS Kids posts interactive storybooks, games and TV schedules f(or the local PBS station). For an extra fee, they provide an app for STEM activities. (https://to.pbs.org/3cZk5RK). Pre-K-6
Nano Wrimo Young Writer’s Program. Provides Common Core Standards-based lessons that prepare students to write a novel in one month. (https://bit.ly/2vZNyun). PreK-12

Khan Academy provides instructional videos in math, reading, and more with short assessments and immediate feedback. (https://bit.ly/2Ud4zJk). Prek-12 
“Highlights for High School” offers free advanced mini-courses by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) students. https://bit.ly/2wYF1I3
Alison Courses offers hundreds of courses in nine different categories: Science, Humanities, Math, Marketing and more (https://alison.com/courses/science)
News Channels (great for taking notes, highlighting main ideas, drawing conclusions and more)

 “The View” ABC, 11am
“You Decide with Errol Lewis,” engages in insightful interviews, New York1, 7 pm.
“Dr. Oz”
“PBS Newshour”

Virtual Museum Tours:
 Smithsonian Museum “Family Interactives” provides images and activity ideas
(https://www.nga.gov/)
MetKids highlights artifacts from antiquity to today from around the world accompanied by discover, imagine and create suggestions to support the creation of art. (https://bit.ly/2QkSTDe)

Family Projects:
 Recommendation: Plant-Based Cooking.Together with your child, list the types of plants one can grow at home (tomatoes, basil, mint, etc.). Make a dish, such as salsa or a smoothie with one or more of the ingredients.
Make connections to:
Science: Physical structure of the tomato and nutritional components. History: How and where the tomato originated Writing: Write the auto/biography of the life a tomato from plant to plate and beyond. 
Art: Imbed the image of a sliced tomato in a drawing entitled “How Many Tomatoes Can You Find?”
Enjoy Learning With Your Child!

Coronavirus Surges in North Brooklyn

David Mark Greaves
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Coronavirus Surges in North Brooklyn

Hasidim Ignore CDC Public Warnings

By Cate Corcoran
www.brownstoner.com

Despite a ban on gatherings of nearly any size and calls for social distancing, Hasidic schools continued to operate Tuesday and weddings proceeded as usual.
A Brownstoner reader who lives in West Midwood said as he was driving to the airport he saw drop-offs and school buses delivering children as usual to a school on Avenue I between 14th and 15th streets. Likely it was Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin Elementary Division at 1310 Avenue I.
The Fire Department has been called in to halt large weddings in south Williamsburg, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Firefighters broke up a wedding with more than 200 guests at wedding venue Ateres Avrohom in south Williamsburg Tuesday.
Confirmed coronavirus cases are spiking in Hasidic communities in Brooklyn, Gothamist reported late last night. A clinic in Borough Park has so far confirmed 100 cases out of 500 since Friday night — some of whose results are still pending, according to the Jewish Forward.
A source in the community tells Brownstoner the schools are going to close Thursday — in part because of increasingly urgent calls for closure.

Containment Measures In Effect Local To Global As Coronavirus Rages

Editor, Our Time Press
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Containment Measures In Effect Local To Global As Coronavirus Rages

 Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams joined with The Brooklyn Hospital Center’s President and CEO Gary Terrinoni, health care workers, and elected leaders to unveil a new on-site tent facility to pre-screen patients who believe they have contracted novel coronavirus and to determine if they need to be tested for the sickness. The facility, which will be fully operational starting on Wednesday, March 18th, will help relieve overcrowding in emergency rooms (ERs) and allow health care facilities to allocate finite resources such as testing services more effectively. Borough President Adams called for this kind of facility to be replicated by hospitals throughout the city in order to contain the spread of coronavirus and to address ongoing critical health care needs separate from the coronavirus.
People who are concerned they may have contracted novel coronavirus will be able to enter the tent in front of the emergency room and be screened by trained medical professionals, using tools such as remote thermometers. Those that are exhibiting severe symptoms such as respiratory distress will be directed into the ER to be tested for COVID-19, while those that are experiencing mild symptoms, or aren’t experiencing symptoms consistent with the disease, will be encouraged to self-quarantine out of an abundance of caution.
“As the spread of coronavirus places an enormous strain on our health care system, we must find innovative ways to allocate resources and flatten the curve. The Brooklyn Hospital Center’s new pre-screening tent will alleviate the burden on their emergency room, and allow those with the greatest level of need to receive the proper care. We must couple this new facility with other remote pre-screening measures, such as a robust telemedicine program, to help turn the tide on this disease. I commend President Terrinoni on this step, and for all Brooklyn Hospital does on behalf of Brooklynites,” said Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
“These are trying times, but The Brooklyn Hospital Center is your community hospital in ordinary and difficult times. We are working around the clock, and our excellent doctors, nurses and other providers are diligently keeping up to date with best-practice guidelines, and coming up with solutions, such as this tent for pre-screening,” said Gary G. Terrinoni, President and CEO of The Brooklyn Hospital Center. “We are also keeping our community up to date with frequent posts on our website and our social media platforms about what you need to know as we adapt our operations to handle this outbreak, as well as tips to keep you and your family safe. Together, we will get through this.”
“Brooklyn Hospital Center is on the frontline of fighting the coronavirus pandemic in New York City, and I applaud the innovative efforts they are taking to keep us all safe and healthy. The tireless work and dedication of their health care professionals will help Brooklyn weather this storm together as a community,” said Congress Member Hakeem Jeffries.
“Today marks an important day in our efforts to keep New York safe as from COVID-19. Brooklyn Hospital will now have a pre-screening center for the virus, in an effort to take as much strain off of our healthcare system as possible. I feel strongly this facility is the first step toward beating the novel coronavirus in our district and throughout Brooklyn. We thank Brooklyn Hospital for their leadership and commitment to our community during this challenging time,” said New York City Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo.
The unveiling of the new facility comes as ERs throughout the city have reported a surge of patients in connection with the spread of the novel coronavirus. Medical professionals and public health experts have repeatedly warned in recent days that if the City fails to undertake significant efforts to “flatten the curve,” which refers to slowing the spread of the virus, medical facilities and ERs will be overwhelmed, forcing doctors and nurses to ration care. Public and private hospitals throughout the city have encouraged those experiencing mild symptoms to consider options for pre-screening such as telemedicine, of which Borough President Adams has been a strong proponent.
To date, there have been 814 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York City. Statewide, there is a 19% hospitalization rate for the illness as of the most recent reports.

Women’s History Month: B.Smith

Lisa Durden
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Women’s History Month: B.Smith

Barbara Elaine Smith, the legendary B. Smith, passed away on February 22, 2020 at age 71. She was the epitome of the “everywoman” — an American restaurateur, model, author, businesswoman, television host. She was self-made, self-honed.
I was not shocked when I heard the news. I was aware she had been suffering from the early onset of Alzheimer’s for a several years. But I was hopeful, sooooo wishing that medications would improve her symptoms — all the while knowing there was no cure for the disease.

BSmith began her career in modeling in the mid-60’s, ripping the runways for Ebony Fashion Fair and later signing with Wilhelmina Models agency. Smith was the first African-American model to be featured on the cover of Mademoiselle magazine in 1976.

B. Smith was the first Black model that I saw who made the transition from a supermodel to world-class entrepreneur, with a wildly successful lifestyle brand. She owned several restaurants called B. Smith’s, including three in New York and one in Washington, D.C. Her syndicated TV show, B. Smith with Style, debuted in 1997 on NBC, which featured home decor and cooking segments.
Her first home collection debuted at Bed Bath & Beyond in 2001, then she launched a line of serveware in 2004, and in spring 2007, her La-Z-Boy furniture collection dropped.
B. Smith served as spokeswoman for Verizon, Colgate, Palmolive Oxy and McCormick’s Lawry seasonings. 
If that wasn’t enough, she authored three recipe books: B. Smith’s Entertaining and Cooking for Friends, B. Smith’s Rituals and Celebrations, and B. Smith Cooks Southern Style.
Amazing! She was huge. A household name – with all the descriptives behind it: trailblazer, gamechanger, pioneer — who paved the way as a role model for Superwomen, established and emerging.
Her final book, Before I Forget, written with her husband, was released in early 2016. It recalls their journey following her diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s.
Unfortunately, about a year ago, it was reported that her husband, Dan Gasby, not only had an extracurricular girlfriend – Alex Lerner–but she had moved in with B. Smith and Gasby.
Yup, B. Smith’s man moved his #Sidechick in with them and was playing house like it was normal was the word throughout the industry.
People were heated! He got dragged all over social media; it was felt he was taking advantage of the fact that B. Smith did not have the mental capacity to decide for herself, to be in some kind of three-way affair. Many of them were particularly pissed because the mistress was white — a nonfactor to me.
But I really didn’t know what to think about the situation. I had mixed feelings. On the one hand, her husband was her legal caretaker, so he had the final say in the decisions he made about her life. Like it or hate it, the spouse was the custodian.
However, the question was raised, if B. Smith had the capacity to know what he was doing, she would not have approved. From all of the articles I read and shows I watched where her husband was interviewed, he very confidently explained that his wife was perfectly fine with the arrangement. Who really knows what the truth is
Fast-forward to February 22, 2020. B. Smith dies. My antenna goes up. She has amassed a lifestyle empire; so what’s gonna happen to her legacy?? Will her husband and his girlfriend build it or destroy it??
There is a growing boycott of her products by her fans and supporters to ensure that no more of her hard-earned wealth lands in the hands of those who did absolutely nothing to earn it. I AGREE!!

In the meantime, B. Smith laid the foundation for women who came after her, which is why she’s this week’s Lisa Durden’s #WomensHistoryMonth Moment.
May she #RestInPower!!

Lisa Durden is a TV personality and subject matter expert in the areas of pop culture, politics and social issues.

(Note to readers: In 1993, OTP co-founder Bernice Elizabeth Green interviewed Dan Gasby, at a restaurant near the Bedford-Stuyvesant block where he grew up. It was for CBS’ Essence Awards telecast which Gasby co-produced. We are reaching out to him for a Q&A to appear in Our Time Press on or around June 21, the longest day of the year and the summer solstice, when people around the world observe Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month by honoring a person with the disease.)

Twitter: @lisardurden
Instagram: @lisardurden

Why the Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts

Marlon Rice
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Why the Whole is Greater than the Sum of its Parts

I want to tell you a story about family, about struggle, about the decisions that adults make and the lives that are forever altered as a result. It’s a story about the Black experience, the American experience, the effect of socioeconomics and oppression on the lives of regular folk. It is the story of Glen Jones, of Mark McCoy and how one man finds that living as both is the only thing that makes him whole.
Mark McCoy was born on July 13, 1970 at Kings County Hospital. His mother, Delores McCoy, already had six children and was living in abject poverty in the projects in Brownsville. His father was not at all present. At 40 years old, the pressures of dealing with seven children, having to work and provide for them all and having to care for a baby again must have seemed overwhelming for her. So, she put Mark up for adoption through the Jewish Child Care Center. A family from Queens, the Jones family adopted Mark and gave him the name Glen Jones.
Glen can remember the first time he realized that he was adopted. “I can remember being around 4 or 5 years old and my brother telling me that I was adopted. At that age, you don’t really understand what it means to be adopted. I remember asking my mom if it was true, and she said yes, I was adopted, but that they loved me a great deal.” While Delores raised her older six kids in the Van Dyke housing projects in Brownsville, less than five miles away, Glen Jones, her youngest son, was being raised in a middle-class home in Queens.
Glen Jones lived a good life. As he puts it, “I never wanted for anything. I was able to get whatever I needed, even braces.” He graduated high school, got a job with the MTA and has worked for them for the past 25 years. He doesn’t drink or smoke, works out on a regular basis and has a beautiful wife and four children. Conversely, most of his birth siblings have dealt with the ramifications of growing up in the ghetto. Substance abuse, imprisonment, even death. His oldest sister, Phyllis Ann, was murdered by her husband in 1986. Even though Glen had a decent life, he still yearned to learn more about his biological family.
In his 20’s, he found out that he was adopted through the Jewish Child Care Center. He reached out to them in an attempt to find out information about his birth parents. The center told him that they couldn’t answer any specific questions, but they did tell him that his father was of Caribbean descent, his mother was 40 years old when she had him, and that even though she felt like she couldn’t take care of him, she loved him a great deal and wanted the best for him. Again in 2016, he reached out to them, and again their response was the same. By now, Glen was in his 40’s and figured that he’d never find his biological family. After the last letter from the Jewish Child Care Center, he was ready to give up.

Glen had a child when he was 18–a son. In 2018, that son, a grown man at this point, submitted his DNA to ancestry.com. His mission was to find out more about his lineage, in the hopes that he may be able to help his father find what he was looking for. What happened was something that no one expected. Ancestry.com contacted Glen’s son and told him that his DNA matched another’s on file, and that it was a 90% chance that the person was a close family member. The son called Glen, ecstatic over the news, Glen cried when he realized that his son had accomplished answering the one question that he’s had since he was 4. He found his father’s family. “I just sat there and broke down. I couldn’t believe what he was telling me.” The son reached out to the person on file a couple of times and was unsuccessful in reaching them. Finally, the person responded. Glen’s son connected the two. The person was Ruth Fenner, Glen’s sister. They spoke about timelines and tried to put the pieces all together, but Ruth was only 7 when her baby brother was adopted so she couldn’t answer all of the questions that Glen had. But Ruth did have a big cousin that was around 17 at the time that Glen was put up for adoption. She called that cousin up and for the first time ever Glen heard confirmation from someone that remembers his mother being pregnant and giving the baby up for adoption. That person, Ruth’s first cousin and in fact Glen’s first cousin, was my mother.
Glen Jones, born Mark McCoy, is my first cousin once removed. His mother and my grandmother were sisters. He was put up for adoption after his birth and lived for 48 years before coming to know his family. After her first conversation with him, my mother called me to tell me about everything. I was happy for him, but the story didn’t truly strike a chord with me until I met him this past weekend. He looks like my family. He is the spitting image of his older brother, my cousin Michael. He texts his newfound siblings every day. He said that his adopted brother was concerned as to why Glen felt the need to meet his biological family. Glen told him, “We will always be brothers. We will always be family. But now, I have even more!” As Glen Jones, there was always a piece of him that he felt was missing. Coming to know Mark McCoy’s family has made him whole.

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