Gwyneth Paltrow at Champions of Hope Benefit

I am very excited that next Wednesday July 29, 2009 Children of the City will be celebrating vaving successfully served the children and families of Southwest Brooklyn for more than two decades. As you know I cover the issues surrounding education and my charity work in my own website called http://www.roccobasile.net/. The goal of Children of the City has always been and still is to meet the needs of the community.

It is with sincere pleasure and pride that I announce that this year's July 29th fundraiser will be host to guest of honor Actress Gwyneth Paltrow. Master of ceremonies is Bill Evans of WABC Eyewitness News and always a supporter, New York Giants wide receiver David Tyree.

Sponsorship opportunities to support the charity are avaialble here.

Wednesday July 29, 2009Cocktails 6:30pm Reception 7:30pm*Open Bar*
Tribeca Rooftop 2 Desbrosses Street, New York For more informaiton call: 718-436-0242 X20

Initially our success was measured by families overcoming poverty through our organization. This includes a first generation of patrons who are now businesspeople and homeowners in our community, raising families.

It is astounding that most of them came back and continue to volunteer with Children of the City. Economic instability continues to subject many families to drug abuse and delinquency.

Even during these economically difficult times, we have increased the number of programs as well as the volunteers and mentors who have so graciously supported the families who participate in all of our programs, and we will continue to try to work towards success.

Watch our charity's introduction video here to learn more about Children of the City.

--Rocco Basile

Election results and Education.

Now that the election is over, let's take a look at how the process affected education and students, and also how the results will affect education. All of us know the importance of voting and teaching our youth about the process of creating laws, tracking election results and voter turnout, and teaching students what its like to make tough decisions. It is what our elected officials make every day. After all, if our children don't get it when they are youth, then who is going to be there in the political world when we are all old and gray?

Over the last couple of months, our country's media have been broadcasting ads in which this year candidates for office talk about goals, dreams, and their accomplishments, and make promises. On Election Day, it isn’t about how many babies those candidates have kissed ... it’s about the number of votes.

As you may know, I believe that lack of education is the root of most of the troubles in this country. My website, http://www.roccobasile.org/ focuses on trends in education, and shows allot of information on how educating our youth will help reduce crime, poverty and violence. That is very obvious from working with my charity programs including Children of the City.

Teachers in classrooms nationwide have been using Election Day as a significant teachable moment. One website called Education World, even houses lessons that emphasize election vocabulary, the importance of voting, and the jobs that elected officials do. Election Day is all about preparing kids to understand this year’s election results.

And now that the results are in, here's what we can look forward to in the new administration insofar as education and our youth. Rahm Emanuel apparently will be Barack Obama's White House chief of staff. Here's what he proposed several months back: Force students to complete high skill and at least one year of college or higher education. Expanded education tax credits.

And in a Q&A session with Fox News, here's what the new president elect Obama said.

Q: As president, can you name a hot-button issue where you would be willing to buck the Democratic Party line & say, "You know what? Republicans have a better idea here?"
A: I think that on issues of education, I've been very clear about the fact--and sometimes I've gotten in trouble with the teachers' union on this--that we should be experimenting with charter schools. We should be experimenting with different ways of compensating teachers.
Q: You mean merit pay?
A: Well, merit pay, the way it's been designed, I think, is based on just a single standardized test--I think is a big mistake, because the way we measure performance may be skewed by whether or not the kids are coming into school already 3 years or 4 years behind. But I think that having assessment tools and then saying, "You know what? Teachers who are on career paths to become better teachers, developing themselves professionally--that we should pay excellence more." I think that's a good idea.
Source: Fox News Sunday: 2008 presidential race interview Apr 27, 2008

-- Rocco Basile