Details

Written by: Alexandra Wilson

Published: 09 April 2019

Created: 09 April 2019

Last Updated: 09 April 2019

Hits: 5657

Sal Khan is a man with a lofty mission. His ultimate goal is to create “a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.” Upon first glance, that notion may sound impossible, but Khan turned this vision into a near-reality after years of cultivating his non-profit educational organization, Khan Academy.

The TIME’s Top 100 Most Influential People winner came to Scarsdale High School on Wednesday, April 3rd to make a presentation to a full auditorium, followed by a fireside chat with Superintendent Dr. Thomas Hagerman. Many were teary-eyed in the audience as he shared his ideas and story:

Khan began working at a hedge fund in 2003 after graduating from business school. In 2004, a cousin of his asked for help with math after she was placed in a remedial math class. After a few weeks of working with her, the cousin took the placement test again and was placed in the advanced math class. Khan felt invigorated by this experience and began tutoring about 15 of his other cousins. One family member suggested that instead of tutoring his cousins individually, he should put tutorial videos on Youtube for efficiency’s sake; while initially reluctant about this proposition, Khan began making videos and putting them on the web. Khan soon realized that non-family members were watching when the comments sections began to swell with positive feedback.

This hobby evolved into a passion that drove Khan to quit his day job in 2009 to pursue the creation of a non-profit educational organization full-time. By this point, Khan’s one-man operation had tens of thousands of viewers. The first months of running Khan Academy were “stressful” for Khan, who was trying to foster a new family with his wife and spearhead an organization at the same time. The couple ran into financial troubles and began cutting into their savings. However, in May of 2010, a neighbor donated $10,000 to the cause. After Khan met with the generous donor for lunch, she donated $100,000. After struggling to find funding, these donations gave Khan the boost he needed to continue his mission. A couple of months later, the same neighbor notified Khan that Bill Gates was doting on him on television, and Khan could hardly believe what he was seeing when he found the footage. Soon after, Gates’ chief of staff reached out to invite Khan to Seattle so the two could collaborate. From there, Khan Academy soared into an international movement and the team expanded from Khan’s original one-person staff.

There’s a method to Sal Khan’s teaching madness that has already been proven effective in 190 countries in 14 different languages among his 71,000,000 registered users. First, many viewers wonder why Khan and the other tutors never appear in their videos. Khan’s rationale is that when only the tutor’s writing is visible, it feels as though the student and the tutor are looking down at paper on a table, making it feel more personal. Khan believes that the core of learning must be interactive, so he tries to make his videos friendly and entertaining. Furthermore, since humans are wired to steer their attention towards other humans, Khan thought a visible tutor would take away from the lesson. “My unibrow can be distracting,” he joked.

In addition, students can pause or replay the videos at any point they choose, thus preventing them from feeling badly about learning at a slower pace than others. To explain this notion of learning at different speeds, Khan used the metaphor of building a house. He said that if a contractor tells builders, “You have two weeks to build a foundation - do what you can,” then the builders may not be able to perfect it in the given timeframe. When the contract gives a new assignment in a two-week period, the builders may build another imperfect structure upon an already shaky foundation. This pattern would continue until the whole building collapses. Khan equated this to education by saying that students may have gaps in their learning if they try to learn too fast before an exam, making Khan Academy an excellent supplementary tool.

While the story of Khan Academy’s birth is inspiring, the part of the presentation that brought tears to Scarsdale residents’ eyes were the stories of students whose lives have been changed by Sal Khan. He notably mentioned one boy who had dropped out of high school twice during his freshman year, and when he came back to school, he used Khan Academy to catch up. The student then jumped two years in math, graduated as valedictorian, studied computer science at Princeton, and was hired as an engineer at Khan Academy after interning for them. Khan told another story of a Mongolian orphan who used Khan Academy to educate herself and is now a Mongolian translator for the organization. Another family told Khan that they pray for him every night because of the impact he has had on their kids with learning disabilities. These are only a few of the millions of students whose education has been changed by Khan Academy and Sal Khan’s mission.

Has Sal Khan achieved his goal of creating “a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere”? In a little over a decade, he’s come closer than virtually anyone, and he doesn’t plan on stopping now.

Details

Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 01 April 2019

Created: 01 April 2019

Last Updated: 01 April 2019

Hits: 7168

This year's Westchester Community College Celebrity Salon Series celebrates its 25th anniversary season with leading professionals from the world of media, publishing, architecture, history, and politics. As the first series of its kind in Westchester County, these events continue to attract top names who help the Westchester Community College Foundation raise funds for student scholarships. All of these events are held in private homes and are co-sponsored by TD Wealth and Cuddy & Feder.

Lisa Friel on Thursday, April 4 at 7:00 p.m. Hosts Amy Koch-Oman and David Oman’s colorful and art-filled home is perched above picturesque Bronxville. (A long flight of stairs must be climbed to enter this home.) Friel, special counsel for investigations at the National Football League, once led the sex crime prosecution unit in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. She will discuss how domestic violence, child abuse and sexual misconduct became private sector issues and how the handling of these matters has evolved, especially in today’s #metoo era.

Maureen Sherry on Monday, April 8 at 7:00 p.m. Hosts Marianne and David Chao reside in a 1920s-era Edgemont home once owned by Meredith Wood, the late president of the Book of the Month Club. After years on Wall Street, Sherry—once the youngest managing director at Bear Stearns—wrote Opening Belle, a novel based on her experience. Sherry, who has shared her perspective on CNBC’s Closing Bell, Fox at Five, CNN and in The New York Times, Fortune and Money, will let us know why she is bullish about women in finance.

Katonah Museum of Art on Friday, May 3 at 6:30 p.m. Host Yvonne Pollack’s Marcel Breuer–designed home will serve as the perfect coda to viewing the Edward Larrabee Barnes–architected Katonah Museum of Art. Join the museum’s Executive Director Michael Gitlitz and curator Michele Wijegoonaratna for a private tour of LandEscape: New Visions of the Landscape from the Early 20th and 21st Centuries at the museum. Works by American modernists including Marsden Hartley, John Marin and Marguerite Zorach featured at the groundbreaking 1913 Armory Show will be contrasted with pieces by contemporary artists including Judy Pfaff and Lois Dodd.

Anna Quindlen on Sunday, May 5 at 11:30 a.m. It seems fitting that Joanne Landau and Fred Schwalb’s Croton on Hudson home, once J.J. Newberry’s hunting lodge where his family gathered every summer, would be where Anna Quindlen will tell us about becoming a grandmother. Quindlen, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and The New York Times best-seller list novelist has just published her tenth novel, Nanaville. Her singular voice has never been sharper or warmer. With the sensitivities and word craft she brought to motherhood in Living Out Loud and to growing older in Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, Quindlen now illuminates the special joy of grand parenting.

Women’s Self Defense with Tommy Calandrucci on Wednesday, May 8 at 12:00 p.m. Hosts Marianne and David Chao’s large and light-filled gym in their Edgemont home will give participants room to learn some crucial moves. Calandrucci is a boxing and self-defense instructor with a second-degree black belt in Kyokushin karate and extensive training in Krav Maga. He offers a class on the importance of self-awareness in everyday situations as well as how to stave off an attacker. Bring your daughters (13 and up), granddaughters, or nieces! Please wear athletic shoes and attire.

Kate Coyne on Saturday, May 11 at 4:00 p.m. Hosts Dawn Fitzpatrick and John Esposito’s home in Irvington, which boasts a 180-degree view of the Hudson River, was once the residence of Charles Lewis Tiffany. Coyne is the executive editor of People, where she oversees television, film and music coverage, as well as the annual Sexiest Man Alive blockbuster issue. Coyne—who worked at The New York Post’s “Page Six” and is the author of I’m Your Biggest Fan, an unfiltered look at life alongside the rich and famous, will share details of some of her countless surprising (often awkward) interactions.

Arlene Alda on Tuesday, May 14 at 7:00 p.m. Host Edythe Gladstein is delighted to honor the Bronx in her gracious 1916 Scarsdale Tudor home. Alda, a musician, photographer, and writer, began her career as a professional clarinetist. When her children were young, she became an award-winning photographer; now, she is the author of 19 books. Just Kids from the Bronx is a collection of stories featuring recollections of Bronx-born artists, athletes, scientists and entrepreneurs including Al Pacino, Mary Higgins Clark, Carl Reiner, Colin Powell, and Neil deGrasse Tyson.

William Helmreich on Wednesday, May 15 at 6:30 p.m. Hosts Kate and Seymour Weingarten’s New York City apartment building was featured in the iconic movie Ghostbusters and has breathtaking views of Central Park. Helmreich traversed every block of New York City during his research for the writing of his award-winning book, The New York Nobody Knows. For his subsequent 2018 walking guide, The Manhattan Nobody Knows, he retraced most of his many steps—walking more than 9,000 miles to date. Helmreich has shared the magic of what he learned along the way on Oprah, NBC Nightline, CNN and in The New Yorker and The New York Times.

Out of My Head - movie screening and discussion on Wednesday, May 22 at 6:30 p.m. Hosts Wendy and Howard Berk’s media room in their well-appointed Scarsdale colonial will be a great place to catch this flick. Share the journey of a mother and daughter as they discover the truth about living with chronic migraines. Writer/director Susanna Styron's credits include Sidney Lumet's TV series 100 Centre Street and the web series All Downhill From Here starring Brooke Adams. Styron's partner on Out of My Head, Jacki Ochs, is a documentary producer/director who executive-produced Keith Beauchamp’s Emmy-nominated The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till. Dr. Richard B. Lipton, the co-director of the Montefiore Headache Center, will join the filmmakers to answer questions about this complex and often misunderstood disorder afflicting nearly a billion people worldwide.

Justin Hefter on Thursday, May 23 at 7:00 p.m. Host Diane and Marc Greenwald’s F. Scott Fitzgerald meets Elmore Leonard warm yet elegant Scarsdale home is the perfect place to hear about the unlikely kismet involved in Hefter’s life-affirming story. In March 2015, Hefter, along with three strangers helped interfaith activist Mohammed Al Samawi escape from war-torn Yemen. Samawi’s book about the rescue, The Fox Hunt: A Refugee’s Memoir of Coming to America, is being made into a movie by La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz. At the time, Hefter was the CEO of Bandura, a company he created to encourage intercultural cooperation. Most recently, Hefter helped launch the African Middle Eastern Leadership Project as he continues to seek to advance human rights around the world.

Sam Sifton on Wednesday, May 29 at 7:00 p.m. Hosts Suzanne and Andy Yearley’s meticulously updated 1929 Scarsdale colonial has a sumptuous double kitchen where Suzanne teaches her consistently sold-out “What’s for Dinner” classes. Sam is food editor for The New York Times, founding editor of the newspaper’s cooking app, and a columnist for its magazine. He has also served as the paper’s national editor, restaurant critic and culture editor. His upcoming book, See you on Sunday! A Cookbook for Family and Friends, emphasizes the joys of breaking bread with those who matter most.

Kenneth R. Weinstein on Sunday, June 2 at 4:00 p.m. Join hosts Denise and Camillo Santomero III in their stunning Georgian Mott Schmidt Bedford home and gardens fully restored to their 1926 design. Weinstein is president and CEO of the Hudson Institute, a Washington think tank dedicated to U.S. leadership and national security. A political theorist by training, he is the chair of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the oversight board for the Voice of America, and serves on the U.S. Trade Representative’s policy advisory board. Weinstein will share his take on what he calls President Trump’s “disruptive” style of governing.

Bill Sherman and Matt Vogel on Monday, June 10 at 7:00 p.m. As you step inside their English-style pub, hosts Carla and Brian Eccleston’s 1911 Pelham Manor home will transport you across the pond. Sherman is the music director for Sesame Street and an Emmy, Tony and Grammy award-winning composer, producer, arranger and orchestrator. He is currently working on the film adaptation of In the Heights with Lin Manuel Miranda (2020). Emmy award-winning actor and director Matt Vogel is the puppeteer for Kermit, the Count, and Big Bird. He has been a Sesame Street muppet performer since 1996 and a core Disney muppet performer since 2008.

Peter Blauner on Thursday, June 13 at 7:00 p.m. Hosts Greg and Kathiryn Werlinich’s contemporary Rye Brook living room provides a safe place to talk about scary crime novels. Blauner is the author of eight novels, including The New York Times bestseller The Intruder and 2018 L.A. Times bestseller Sunrise Highway. His short fiction has been anthologized in Best American Mystery Stories and on NPR’s Selected Shorts. Blauner was also staff writer and co-executive producer for several television shows including Law & Order: SVU and Blue Bloods. He will discuss his approach to writing for TV versus writing novels.

Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served at all salons. Salon fees are $165 per event. For further details, call 914-606-6558. Or visit www.sunywcc.edu/celebritysalons.

Details

Written by: Conservation Advisory Council

Published: 25 March 2019

Created: 25 March 2019

Last Updated: 28 March 2019

Hits: 6336

Most of the items we use every day can be reused or recycled, and the Village has made it easier for residents to do just that. In addition to traditional paper & cardboard and commingled recycling, the Village has established seven more recycling streams described below.

To become part of these recycling streams, the following items can be brought to the Scarsdale Recycling Center (110 Secor Road), Monday – Saturday, 8am to 3pm:

FOOD SCRAPS: All food and food by-products, any condition. In addition to food scraps, soft paper products (napkins, paper towels, tissues) and natural products (e.g. paper coffee filters, tea bags, wood popsicle sticks, wood/bamboo chopsticks, wax paper) can be included. Food scraps are taken to a compost facility where they are turned into compost and used by landscapers, homeowners, and farmers. View the complete list of accepted items.

Food Scraps are picked up weekly by the Village or can be brought to the Recycling Center. Sign up for curbside pickup or access more information.

FURNITURE AND HOUSEHOLD ITEMS: Most types of furniture in good condition and not over-sized. Some household items such as small mirrors, lamps, mattresses, working appliances and TVs are also accepted. These furnishings are donated to Furniture Sharehouse, a non-profit organization that provides household furnishings free of charge to economically disadvantaged Westchester individuals and families. Please check the Furniture Sharehouse list of accepted items.

HOUSEHOLD ITEMS, TOYS AND SPORTS EQUIPMENT: Any small household item, toy, garden tool, bicycle or sports equipment in usable condition. Any electronics in working condition. The Village’s Take It or Leave It shed provides a place where residents can drop off any item in usable condition and take any item that they can use.

ELECTRONICS: Most electronics such as TVs, computers, printers, monitors, and cables and wiring. Not all items with a cord are accepted, so please consult the Village’s list of accepted items. Electronics are brought to a facility that takes them apart and separates each component, which are then recycled.

SCRAP METAL: Any metal, any size. Everything from nails and screws to file cabinets and barbecues. Items that are mostly metal but have a few non-metal components can also be included. Scrap metal is sold to a metal recycling facility where it is recycled into new products. Bulk metal items (e.g., large appliances) can also be left curbside for Village disposal, but only on one’s second trash pick-up of the week. View the list of bulk metal items that can be left at the curb.

TEXTILES: Textiles and shoes (e.g., clothing, blankets, towels, bed sheets). Even items that are torn. Please, no soiled or contaminated items. Textiles are sold to a textile recycling company that sorts the textiles by condition and repurposes or recycles them.

TENNIS BALLS: Tennis balls can be recycled at any of the Village tennis courts. Balls can be in any condition. The tennis balls are sent to a recycling company where they are ground up and then used as a subsurface for new tennis courts.

Additional Recycling Resources:
• Scarsdale Recycling Guide
• Scarsdale Sanitation: [email protected] or 914.722.1294 (Mon-Sat, 8am-3pm)

If you have an idea for additional recycling streams or have any questions, email Scarsdale’s Conservation Advisory Council.

Details

Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 24 March 2019

Created: 24 March 2019

Last Updated: 25 March 2019

Hits: 4895

Firefighters responded to a call at 4:43 am from 16 Church Lane South on Sunday March 24 where they found smoke in an occupied house. They helped the occupants get out and looked for the source of the smoke. The living room of the house appeared to be under construction and was closed off with a plastic barrier. Inside it was filled with smoke.

Firefighters brought in a hose that stretched to the second floor of the house where they found the fire travelling inside the walls. They were able to quickly extinguish it.

One of the volunteer firefighters sustained minor injuries.

Scarsdale Fire Chief Jim Seymour thanked the crews from Hartsdale, Greenville, SVAC, Westchester County Firefighters Battalion 19 who assisted Scarsdale firefighters. (Photos courtesy of the Scarsdale Fire Department.)