Riverdale Country School, which Gregg Hymowitz serves as a board member, recently appeared in a special education issue of The New York Times Magazine as part of a feature article by writer Paul Tough. Tough explores how Riverdale Country School and well-known KIPP New York are approaching the subject of character education in two very different ways and with two very different outcomes.
Riverdale headmaster Dominic Randolph and Dave Levin, KIPP New York superintendent, were brought together one day by chance when they both scheduled appointments with Martin Seligman, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Seligman, who helped establish the Positive Psychology movement, had caught Randolph’s attention when the Headmaster read his book “Learned Optimisim” several years ago. During the meeting, Seligman handed his visitors a copy of his latest book “Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification.” The book highlights the importance of cultivating traits like bravery, wisdom, fairness, social intelligence and more as ways to live a fulfilling life. Now, six years later, both Randolph and Levin have labored to incorporate the “conception of character into action” into their respective schools, one in Harlem and one in Riverdale.
To learn more about the work of educators at KIPP NY and Riverdale Country School and their success in teaching character traits to two very different types of students, visit the New York Times website to read the entire article.
While the summer is certainly a quiet time at a place like the Riverdale Country School, some alumni still manage to bring the school into favorable news. Former Riverdale fencers, Tim Morehouse (’96) and Stephen Moch (’10) won titles at the 2010 Summer National Championships held in Atlanta, Georgia. Morehouse won the individual gold medal in men’s saber and Moch won a team gold medal in junior men’s saber. While competing on the same team for the first time, these alumni also took home the team bronze in men’s saber.