Blog
Starting Your College Search: A Spring Guide for Juniors
Even though the first college applications deadline won’t come around until about mid-October, now is the perfect time to start thinking about college. Spring break is right around the corner, and it’s a great opportunity to take the time to visit colleges in-person or virtually. But how do you visit colleges if you have no idea what you want to major in or where you want to study? Well, this is the guide for you. Step 1: Brainstorm the Basics In order to decide where to start looking, first answer the following questions: What is my geographic range? I always tell my students to think in terms of hours away from home as opposed to selecting certain states, because that could unintentionally knock out great schools before they even see them. For example, within a four-hour drive of Beekman here in New York City, students can visit colleges in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. As a lifelong New Jersian, it pains me when my...read more
The Coronavirus and its Toll on our Mental Health
It was lovely getting to meet many parents in person again after the long hiatus of remote and hybrid instruction. This past semester has been full of these happy reminders of more normal times. With all that being said, it is still important for us to acknowledge how much things have changed and that change is never easy, regardless of whether it is for the better or the worse. In fact, life changes rank amongst the key stressors that humans have to cope with. The Washington Post recently ran an article containing statistics on how teens had been impacted by the pandemic and interviewing high school students about their experiences during this past year and a half. The students’ various thoughts about last year as well as this year’s return to in-person schooling largely echoed what Beekman students have reported feeling when we discussed the topic in my Health class last semester. While a return to fully live instruction has largely been a source of joy for students, there is a...read more
Finding Your Inner Poet
Poetry has been my lifelong friend who always shows up at the right time. My English I and II classes have just begun their Poetry Unit. I look forward to gently nudging the scholars to find the poet inside themselves. Growing up, poetry came into my life with artists like Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Robert Lowell. When I was earning my undergraduate degree, I studied under Jorie Graham who later won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. I still keep a personal note to me from Jorie as a reminder of how one teacher can introduce you to a whole new way of thinking about words. In the spirit of Six Degrees of Separation, one of my best friends met Jorie when he was a private student of Tess Gallagher, who was one of Jorie's best friends. Rüdiger has lived his entire life as a poet. He understands and interprets the world through the lens of poetry. His sensitivity has brought him success as a published writer and father of a young daughter with Down Syndrome who is also now a published...read more
Should we teach English grammar in our schools?
Is it important to teach English grammar in our schools? Do kids need to know the difference between a noun and an adjective, or between the subject and the direct object of a sentence? Before the 1960s, educators generally believed that understanding grammar was crucial to becoming an articulate speaker and a good writer of English. But a sea change in thinking occurred in the late ’50s and early ’60s. In the words of David Mulroy in his book The War Against Grammar, opponents of grammar teaching commenced a “war against grammar.” This was a systematic effort to eliminate grammar instruction from the classroom on the grounds that learning grammar was supposedly a waste of classroom time. The opponents of grammar instruction won this war. Nowadays, grammar is rarely taught to our kids, which Mulroy thinks is very unfortunate. Mulroy believes that the loss of grammar instruction has led to the deterioration of writing skills. I’m not sure I agree with Mulroy in his claim that the...read more
Crafting an Essay with Curiosity
How do we become historical writers who don’t merely write about facts, but write strong informational essays that develop ideas, arrange facts, and provide supporting evidence and details, all while making connections and drawing conclusions? Every year, I ask my students to write several informational essays. Essays that require research and research questions, a topic sentence, a main idea, supporting evidence, an introduction, and a conclusion. Inevitably, upon receiving the assignments, students panic and feel unsure of how to address at least one of the stages of the writing process. Sometimes the struggle is with getting started, developing research questions, or writing a strong and relevant topic sentence, and other times it’s with finding sources or adding and citing supporting evidence. However, the skills required to craft an effective and powerful informational essay are not just important for your high school history class, they are skills and tools that can be used both...read more
The Sound (and Math) of Music
Every year in my Theoretical Physics class, we learn about vibration and waves using the wave equation, which relates the speed of a wave to the product of its wavelength and frequency. We naturally progress into the physics of music, which marries the concepts of ratios and patterns in mathematics, standing waves in strings and air columns, pitch, resonances, and so much more! During this chapter, the students get a chance to showcase their love for music by completing a project dedicated to their instrument of choice where they get to do background research, learn about the evolution of an instrument, and, most importantly, how the parts of the instruments work harmoniously to produce consonant sounds, and present it to the class. In the past years, I have had students present a myriad of instruments from the common pianos and violins, to glass harmonicas, ukuleles, cellos, and even a didgeridoo! Some students even go above and beyond (for extra credit- of course!) and bring in...read more
Beekman - The Best Little School You’ve Never Heard Of
One of the comments I hear most often from prospective families in my 20+ years here at The Beekman School is, “…but I’ve never heard of you!” I’ve heard this from lifelong New Yorkers who thought they knew all of the local schools, and I’ve heard this from educational consultants who have been placing students in larger Metro-area schools for years. Are we a new school? No; we’ve been around for almost 100 years. Are we (gasp) not very good? While I typically jump to the defense of my beloved school, I will take this opportunity to let others speak on my behalf. Niche.com publishes school rankings each year to help parents (and students) who are looking for guidance during their school search. There is, of course, no one way to evaluate all schools, but Beekman is consistently in the top 10-25% (based on the ranking metric) of its peer schools. One of those rankings is for “most diverse private high schools in New York” (where we are in the top 10%). With typically a quarter...read more
Acing the College Interview
“So, tell me about yourself.” *Student stares at me like a deer in headlights* This is how I like to start mock-interviews with my students, and I’m not going to lie, it’s 100% because I like to elicit this classic bewildered reaction. More on this later. Interviews are wonderful tools for colleges to get to know students and vice versa. For students who are naturally gregarious, this process can be pretty fun, but for students who are a little more shy, this process could become anxiety-inducing. If you fall into the latter category (or you’re a pro and just want some tips), fear not! I’ve got you covered. Generally, my students do a great job preparing for interviews because they follow the golden rules we establish during their eleventh grade year. Here they are: Do the research. This is the most critical step. By the time you interview, you should already have a firm grasp of the majors and minors that interest you, the clubs and organizations you may want to join (and, if you see...read more
What Do the Newest Changes to the SAT Mean For College Admissions?
In a recent article, the College Board announced that it is no longer offering SAT Subject Tests or the SAT with Essay. Having worked in college admissions and as a high school counselor, I feel both relief and disappointment. Before I get into my feelings, however, I need to contextualize this a bit. Removing SAT Subject Tests May Level the Playing Field The SAT Subject Tests are, as the name suggests, subject-specific exams that allow students to demonstrate advanced skills and knowledge in a particular subject area such as Biology, Physics, English Literature, etc. In my experience, these tests were required by more selective schools, including the Ivies and Ivy-laterals (Duke, MIT, Georgetown, etc.) and suggested by other selective schools (e.g., Lafayette or Bryn Mawr) as a way for students to distinguish themselves amidst a pool of other highly-qualified applicants. From an access and equity standpoint, I have never been a fan of any of the college entrance exams. I have...read more
Online Homeschooling Tutors
Online Homeschooling Tutors | Get Homeschool Tutoring Help Are you homeschooling your high schooler? That is often the right option for some teenagers, but it also presents some challenges for their parents. Let The Beekman School help you navigate those challenges. Parents who are homeschooling often feel that they must teach everything their children are learning. In truth – they do not. They just need to facilitate opportunities for their students to learn. This is where our online homeschooling tutor support can be very helpful. We can supply a private teacher for homeschooling those subjects that parents are not comfortable teaching or are not equipped to handle. For instance, does your son or daughter want to learn a foreign language? We have tutors that can teach Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, German, Korean and more. Experienced Online Tutors to Meet Today’s Homeschooling Challenges Perhaps some math or science courses fall outside a parent’s area of expertise. Calculus...read more