Today's Country - 107.7 WGNA » education

Niskayuna's School Budget Voted Down – Wow!

Richie Phillips — Thu, 23 May 2013 12:26:50 +0000

As a Niskayuna resident (and a former teacher, no less) who has put a child through their fantastic school system, I’m having a hard time with this subject. Actually, a VERY hard time. Somehow, we’ve become THAT family – the now empty nesters who put a child through a school system that gave him the [...]

Richie Writes Song With Kids From Indian Lake Virtually Thanks To NERIC: Reading, Writing and Rhyming

Richie Phillips — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:30:38 +0000

Another first, ladies and gentlemen. Through the use of magic teleconferencing technology at NERIC (Northeastern Regional Information Center) in Albany, I was able to pull this off. This was a blast to try out. You can see the results below. OK, so here’s what happened. I got an email from a very nice teacher WAY [...]

Bethlehem Children's School Is Looking For Your Help -Reading, Writing and Rhyming Extra

Richie Phillips — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 14:46:00 +0000

There’re so many schools struggling right now to stay afloat. I happen to have visited the school just within the past several weeks. They are looking for your donations to keep it going and have posted a video about it that I thought was important to share Bethlehem Children’s School is an independent school doing [...]

Kids Who Can Recite All Of The Presidents [VIDEO]

Richie Phillips — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:50:24 +0000

Maybe you’ve seen these videos before, but it’s probably worth it on this day, Presidents’ Day, to have an instant replay. These are very young kids who would put us all to shame with their Presidential knowledge I don’t know this little boy’s name to give him credit, but we do know that he’s three [...]

I'm Tired Of Defending My Choice To Home School – Daily Dilemma

Sean McMaster — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 10:48:58 +0000

Here is Today’s Daily Dilemma: Two years ago, I decided to home school my two children when I discovered they were falling behind at school and the school didn’t even seem to notice or care. They had “satisfactory” report cards and at teacher conferences they said they were doing just fine – except my third [...]

New Way To Teach Math – Using Rap Music. Meet Jake Scott-2 Pi [VIDEO]

Richie Phillips — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 11:28:57 +0000

I think this is fantastic, but maybe you don’t. Maybe you are a traditionalist when it comes to education. Perhaps you feel that the only way to get kids’ attention is to entertain them. Sorry, folks, but I love this guy. His name is Jake Scott. According to Yahoo trends, he teaches math at Montgomery [...]

A Daughter Has Problems Learning And The School And The Mom Are Blaming Each Other – Daily Dilemma

Sean McMaster — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 11:36:20 +0000

Here is Today’s Daily Dilemma: My daughter is having some trouble at school. She’s in third grade and while she is very intelligent, she struggles socially and is not getting very good grades on her school work. She has trouble remembering things, like multiplication facts, and has a hard time with reading comprehension. The school’s [...]

NY Schools Going to Longer Days?

Sean McMaster — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 18:37:04 +0000

In December, five states announced that about 40 schools in 2013 would add 300 hours of learning time to their school calendar: New York, Colorado, Tennessee, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The goal is to make schools in the United States more competitive globally. Nearly 20,000 students will participate in the three-year pilot program.

What Is The Longest Word In The English Language? Hint – It Has Over 18,000 Letters

Richie Phillips — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 12:41:09 +0000

This is for real, folks. I’m speechless over this. so is the guy who attempts to say the word, because it took him over 3 hours. I don’t want to go long here. There’s enough print on the page without me. But if you thought Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious was the longest word in our language, that’s [...]

It's Time to Take Cursive Writing Out of Schools

Sean McMaster — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 16:47:00 +0000

We had a lot of different discussions on the show today that seemed to get people all in a tizzy to give their two cents. Man I love when that happens. One of them was the subject of taking the teaching of cursive writing out of schools.

I must admit I found it interesting how many people just couldn't fathom the idea. Yet when asked, when is the last time you needed to use cursive handwriting most were at a loss.

School Year Will Get Longer For Some New York Students

Jake Thomas — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 21:50:15 +0000

America has been slipping in education and getting jumped by many other other countries that we used to clobber in testing and plain old “smarts” as my mom used to call it. I guess we’re getting sick of it, which is a good thing. In an new program 40 schools in New York and 4 [...]

Who Needs A Feel Good Anti- Bullying Story Today? I Know I do.

Sean McMaster — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 15:17:11 +0000

There are a few things in life I really , really hate. Not many, but a few. One of those things is bullying. I know that there is a new campaign through out the country to fight bullying and make kids understand the need to respect each other and our differences. You don't always get to see that that message is getting through though, so I wanted to share this story.

What Do I Make With Leftover Chicken Liver? I Need The Taste Of Home Cooking School

Richie Phillips — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 23:36:30 +0000

I go into the fridge tonite, and that’s what’s in there – remnants of a chicken. What the heck do I do with THAT? I’m totally clueless – but help is on the way! That’s gross! A chicken neck and gizzards. I’m starving, and Dorrie’s not home. Is this for soup or is she secretly [...]

Duanesburg Elementary School Is One Big Family [AUDIO]

Richie Phillips — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:45:47 +0000

I had the unique opportunity to visit a great school and a great grade school teacher, and it was all done by basically closing my eyes and picking a teacher’s name off of their website, all because her first and last name rhymed. Must have been karma.Her name is Bridget Minute. Interesting name, and [...]

Should We Allow Spanking In Schools? 19 States Allow It, Would You? [POLL}

Richie Phillips — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 22:16:06 +0000

I just got this week’s Time Magazine, and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. 19 states allow spanking and paddling to this day for misbehavior. (New York doesn’t). But would you support it? Take our pollThe article states that the US Congress is taking a look at this and contemplating putting a stop to [...]

Are Teachers Falling Behind The Times? – Daily Dilemma

Sean McMaster — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 10:20:13 +0000

The "Daily Dilemma" on the Sean and Richie Show is featured every weekday morning at 6:40am. We and the listeners take on someone's problems and try to offer different perspectives. Now, these don't have to be huge problems- it could just be something bothering you or a friend, or it could be some little thing you and another just can't agree on. If you have a dilemma to share we'd love to hear it just e-mail us here at the show.

Reading, Writing and Rhyming Signup Sheet

Richie Phillips — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:44:59 +0000

Teachers! Sign up right now for the Reading, Writing and Rhyming school program. I have a signup sheet below to make it easy. The Reading, Writing and Rhyming school program is back with some very exciting changes to be announced. But first I would like to get my calendar all set up. If you would [...]

The Pain and Pleasure Of Becoming An Empty Nester [AUDIO]

Richie Phillips — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 13:10:39 +0000

We started going through this syndrome a few years ago. Our son Ben is now a senior in college. Every time he leaves, we feel the pain. There are some positives , to be honest, but not many. Are you going through it? This was the day that Ben got accepted to Plattsburgh 3 years [...]

Richie's Reading, Writing, and Rhyming School Tour Is Taking Appearance Requests Starting Now

Richie Phillips — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 11:39:22 +0000

This is now year 18 of the Reading, Writing and Rhyming School Tour. It’s unbelievable, but it’s true. Heck, I’d do another 18 if I could. Besides being on the air, it’s the most fun I’ve ever had behind a piano. And the fun’s about to continue. I want to come to YOUR school. Here’s [...]

A Movement To Bring the Internet To the Entire Planet With Wifli [VIDEO]

Richie Phillips — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 14:06:20 +0000

The only way I can bring this article to you, besides sending it to a newspaper, is obviously to have an internet connection. We’re lucky. We don’t even think about it. It’s just a part of our lives now. Why should we be the only ones? Let’s connect the whole planet! Introducing WiFli. No, I [...]