An OTBKB reader and PS 107 parent wrote in with this information about their movie night last week and the upcoming Yes We Can photo book signing.

Thank you for mentioning the PS 107 movie night in your blog.  It
helped me get more volunteers. I am happy to report that the
movie night was a great success for parents and students alike —
parents of more than 100 children braved the rain to drop off their
kids for a couple of hours during the Snowflake Celebration. 

You might be interested in knowing about an upcoming event at PS 107 on Tuesday, Dec 16, which is open to the public:

PS
107 invites you to an exclusive, first-in-the-nation slideshow,
Q&A, and book signing with Scout Tufankjian, artist and author of
"Yes We Can: Barack Obama’s History-Making Presidential Campaign" 12/16
7-9 PM
 
info at http://www.ps107.
tickets $15 at the door (8th Ave between 13th & 14th Street) or at https://www.nycharities.org/event/event.asp?CE_ID=3326

From the BAM website:

The
iconic choreographer Pina Bausch has brought her dance-theater works to
sold-out houses at BAM, mesmerizing audiences with sensual dances under
cascading waterfalls and dramatic bouts with towering heaps of flowers.

In her latest piece Bamboo Blues,
Bausch is inspired by the incisive and delicate gestures of Indian
dance. Softness prevails as does fabric, often brilliantly colored,
always billowing. In one memorable sequence, thanks to Bausch’s
unparalleled use of metaphor, humor, and kinetic wit, the dancers
send-up the intricacies of the dothin (a long cotton wrap) to
hypnotizing and affectionate effect.

But finally, it’s
movement that provides the momentum. When a lone woman describes an arc
with her arm, abruptly stops, then launches into a crystalline solo—all
power and light—we are there, transported to the India of our dreams.

The Where and When:
December 16, 17, 19 & 20 at 7:30pm
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
Running time: 140min with intermission
Tickets: $25, 55, 75, 85

On Saturday night at 10, Smartmom got a call from a high school friend with a bad case of parent-of-teen angst.

Her son, a ninth grader, seems to have jumped into the swimming pool
of adolescence rebellion with great abandon. Her friend is just hoping
he can swim.

To Smartmom it sounded like standard-issue teenage problems: smoking
pot, lying, not getting good grades, and going to parties at
unsupervised apartments.

Who didn’t do all that stuff when he or she was a teenager in the
1970s? And who isn’t freaked out by it when the teenager happens to be
his or her kid in 2008?

Smartmom barely knew what to say. She definitely didn’t have any
easy answers or sure-fire solutions. It’s not like she has a parenting
column in a local newspaper or anything…

Telling her friend to fasten her seat belt and get ready for a long,
bumpy ride probably wouldn’t be the most comforting thing, but Smartmom
ached for her friend, who sounded so scared.

What if he becomes a heroin addict? What if he can’t get into a good college? What if he ruins his life?

Smartmom tried to quell her friend’s hysteria.

“Whoa,” she said. “You’re going from 0-60 like an Audi TT. Get back
in the used Toyota for a second. Stay calm. Take it one day at a time.”

Sure, Smartmom was spewing meaningless cliches and platitudes. But
what else was she going to say — “Yeah, you’re right, he’ll probably be
smoking crack by week’s end”?

Sure, there are plenty of people who would react that way. They’d
quote the experts, give you the name of shrink, suggest NA or AA.

Maybe that’s why her friend called her. She knew she’d get a more
laid-back approach. That’s not to say that Smartmom isn’t realistic:

“One thing’s for sure, you’re going to have to be tough, set limits
and accept that your kid isn’t going to like you very much for the next
few years,” she told her friend.

“He already hates me,” she laughed. “I’m used to that.”

But Smartmom knows that these kind of problems are nothing to laugh
at. Smartmom remembered how scary it was back when Teen Spirit was in
ninth grade. Her fears and anticipatory anxiety ran rampant.

Turns out, she didn’t have too much to worry about. He was in a prep school in Bay Ridge and wasn’t doing anything too terrible.

Still, the anxiety percolated: Is he drinking? Doing drugs? Sex? Running around the city? Will he get hurt?

As Smartmom listened to her friend talk about all the drugs and sex
at various public and private schools, she realized that she really
doesn’t know what’s going on with her very own Teen Spirit.

At 17, he’s a very independent soul. Often, Smartmom has only the vaguest idea where he is.

It’s a terrible feeling. How can she protect him from the problems
if he barely wants to talk, let alone take her advice? And the hardest
part is discerning whether your kid is going through a phase or if he
or she is settling into a life of substance abuse, slackerdom, a career
as an artist, or worse (worse than a career as an artist? Scary!).

Smartmom and her friend talked about the kids they knew in high
school who were big drug users. One guy actually did become a heroin
addict and died a few years ago.

But another guy, who dropped acid hundreds of times in high school
and college, is a lawyer who lives in Westchester with two kids in
college.

So you never know.

Smartmom and Hepcat weren’t druggie teens (a little here, a little
there), so they’ve taken a wait-and-see approach. Frankly, they don’t
know if their son has ever tried the stuff. Maybe they’re in denial,
maybe they’re just dumb.

As they talked on Saturday night, Smartmom heard her friend
negotiating with her son. He had a friend over and they wanted to get
some air. She let him go out, but she told him to stand on the street
where she could watch him from their eighth-floor window.

Control. Or the illusion of control. That’s what it’s all about. You
can ground them, spy on them, and drug test them, but you’re just
putting off the inevitable: the time when you have no control over your
children at all. And that’s the hardest thing of all.

You hope you’ve encouraged them to be smart, cautious and totally in
sync with everything you care about. But who knows if it takes?

Indeed, even as Smartmom was encouraging her friend to keep an eye
on her boy, she herself didn’t have a clue where Teen Spirit was.
Probably some club in Bushwick.

She told her there’s no shame in calling him every half-hour even if she herself hadn’t communicated with Teen Spirit in hours.

Every day that you keep a good eye on your kids, you’re one day
closer to the day when they’ll have more sense and maturity (one
hopes). And one day closer to the day when you’ll have less control.

Smartmom can hardly wait.

The Brooklyn Heights Montessori school in Cobble Hill Brooklyn runs a much admired program called The Little Room for 3- and 4-year-olds with
speech and language delays

The Little Room started out as a small room in the school’s Bergen Street building in 1970. Now it  enrolls 27 kids and occupies a larger space in the school.

This morning an OTBKB reader directed me to an article in Sunday’s Times about a plan by the administration of Brooklyn Height Montessori to terminate The Little Room, a program that was emblematic of the school’s inclusionary atmosphere.

She has a son enrolled in The Little Room. She writes: "A lot of kids all over Brooklyn are enrolled, as well. I thought this might be of interest
to your readers – it’s going to affect a lot of families around the
borough, and in Manhattan and Queens too."

Behind a red door at the Brooklyn Heights Montessori School, a half-dozen preschoolers who once struggled to talk merrily sang “Jingle Bells” the other morning.

Two parents of Little Room students, Ebony Santos, left, and Matilda
Garrido, with some of the children in the program, which helps 3- and
4-year-olds who have speech and language delays.

They are among 27 special needs children enrolled in the Little Room,
which takes its name from the small room where it started in 1970 and
has become a nationally recognized program for 3- and 4-year-olds with
speech and language delays across Brooklyn and Manhattan. But the fate
of the much-loved program, which one expert said is more difficult to
get into than Harvard,
is unclear, as the school that has long run it, Brooklyn Heights
Montessori, has decided it can no longer keep it in its red-brick
complex at the intersection of Court and Bergen Streets.

Who can forget last year’s troubled middle school application process? Parents and kids didn’t find out until mid-June where their children were accepted. Some people found out that their children were on no list, that they’d been zapped from the computer; that there child had not been placed.

Sure, those problems were rectified (some more quickly than others) but still it was a challenging situation and enormously dispiriting for the children who had to wait.

Worse, children with IEPs (Independent Educational Programs) who wanted Collaborative Team Teaching classes, were not placed until the end of June leaving parents and kids feeling like second-class citizens and in a state of suspended animation weeks after their peers learned where they were going. 

It was so bad that a group of parents of students with IEP’s organized a public meeting with Sandy Ferguson, who is the DOE’s point person in charge of admissions, as a way to public ally register their complaints and demand action.

Now I hear there’s a new middle school application. Perhaps the Department of Education (DOE) is trying to correct some of the mistakes of last year. But you know how it is with improvements: things can sometimes backfire, or at least go way wrong.

On Friday, parents received an application in a sealed envelope, which already has the student’s name, address, phone number, parent’s name, school, and other pertinent information typed in.

On the new application, there is also a list of the schools in district that the student is eligible to apply to. For instance, if a  child did not receive a particular test score, the list will not include a school that requires that test score.

On the form, there is also room for teacher’s to answer multiple choice questions about the child’s fifth grade performance. I’m not sure if there’s an area for written notes as well. That was never a teacher evaluation of the middle school application. There was some talk that this time-sensitive element adds to teacher’s already overwhelming work load.

So what happened on Friday when the applications went out:

I heard anecdotally that 35% of the applications had incorrect addresses on them. That can be corrected but it is, as you can imagine, a laborious process, which involves going to the middle school application office in the basement of Brooklyn Tech in Fort Greene.

As you can imagine, parents had mixed reactions to the new applications.  In some cases, lists included schools that the student is really not eligible for. This caused confusion. "Does this mean we should apply there anyway?" one parent asked. Likely that would be wasting a first choice was the reply. There may have even been cases where the child is eligible and their list does not reflect that.

Here are the issues I think the DOE was trying to address with this new application:

–With all the student-specific information automatically entered on the application, the DOE can make sure that they have all students on file with their correct information and scores: Entry mistakes can be caught early.

–If a parent does not receive an application it probably means there’s some kind of computer glitch or other problem that needs to be addressed now.

–By listing the schools a child is eligible for, the DOE is trying to stem the problem of parents putting a school first that will not consider the child due to test scores. Consequently, a child’s first choice is squandered.

I don’t know if there are special applications for the kids with IEPs, who want to be in Collaborative Team Teaching classrooms.

Stay tuned. The envelopes went out on Friday and there’s sure to be mayhem on Monday. Let’s hope it is an improvement that parents and administration will benefit from.

With two excellent ensembles from the New York area and
a fine cast of soloists, Mozart’s final masterpiece, as
well as a new work by composer/conductor Jesse Peckham.
      

Mozart: Requiem Mass in d minor, k626 and the Peckham: Mattern Mass

The Where and When

St. Ann + the Holy Trinity Church
157 Montague Street, Brooklyn Heights, NY
$10

Someone on Park Slope parents wanted to spread the word about this scam.

A while ago several people wrote about a guy who
buzzed people’s doors claiming to be a supplier for
Con Edison.  I think he then tried to get money if
people opened the door. 

Well, today he buzzed my downstairs buzzer and said the same thing. 
When I said all the meters were downstairs, he insisted that
he needed to come in and see me.  I said no and did
not go downstairs to talk to him.

Please be aware that this is going on in the slope
again.

From the blog, A Year in the Park, where Brenda Becker documents her daily discoveries in the mystical heart of Brooklyn.

After school, the Third Street Playground sat deserted under a bleak sky. Not a toddler, mommy or nanny in sight; no strollers, juice or Goldfish crackers; just the patter of cold rain on fallen leaves. I imagined where they are instead, the crew that fills this place with happy shrieks on sunny days. Maybe struggling into leotards for ballet class; slumped under the plastic stroller cover, watching the Christmas lights roll by; peeling off parkas and heading for the couch and cartoons; spread out on the floor coloring next to a companionably hissing radiator in an old brownstone. But not playing outside, not today.

Tonight is part 2 of the Snowflake Celebration so tell your friends and neighbors about it.

And don’t let the weather stop you. It’s gonna be a party on Fifth and Seventh Avenues. Stores will be open until 10 p.m. for Christmas shopping and frivolity, including ice sculptures, caroling and waffles from the Wafel and Dinges truck.

This is a win-win for everyone.

–You  get discounts and special treats and a festive atmosphere while shopping until 10 pm.

–The shops get the local business they desperately need.

–The neighborhood economy is boosted by the mutual show of support. Sound good?

Local merchants once again throw open their doors to stay open late
and create a holiday atmosphere, enabling you, the people of Park
Slope, to do your holiday shopping . . . here! Each participating
business will stay open until 10pm and  offer some special
promotion – Could be a sale, could be a giveaway, raffle, carolers,
snow machine (it’s been done!), mulled wine, special hors d’oeuvres,
etc. etc. The listings of participants grows daily!!!

Last
year we had 150 participating businesses — who knows what will happen
this year!?! In the current and impending economic climate, it’s more
important than ever to keep our local economy strong and healthy, so
let’s get together and Keep it Local!

Peaches, the woman who runs the readings at the Park Slope Barnes and Noble, introduced author and "famous minor TV personality" John Hodgman with these well-chosen words:

"You remind us that genius is sexy and intelligence is cool…"

Hodgman, dressed in a khaki colored suit and sneakers with bright orange laces, good naturedly greeted the crowd at the event to promote his new book, All the Information You Require, a follow-up to his bestseller (which he described as garbage) The Areas of My Expertise, fake trivia books with information drawn from Hodgman’s well-stocked imagination.

The crowd was decidedly young (20-40). And devoted. Quite a few wore glasses, as Hodgman noted, and donned blazers. Many came out because of Hodgman’s frequent appearances on The Daily Show. And of course, because of his role as the PC guy in those funny Apple commercials.  "I play a human-shaped computer. I’m a mentat."

"As you can see, I’m not wearing a tuxedo," he told the crowd. Apparently he’s been donning a tuxedo, given to him by an editor at GQ Magazine, at readings across the country.  But since he was in his hometown, he was dressing down.

"The children run things around here," he said. And his child had picked out the shirt/tie combo he was wearing. He then spoke directly to the kids in the audience.

"I salute you. I hope I didn’t offend you." He then asked a young boy in the audience.  "If I have your permission, may I continue? This is Park Slope."

He went on to read the hilarious chapter of the new book about "the small Utopian commune known as Park Slope, where there are leafy streets, good schools, and strong neighborhood spirit cemented by the fact that we are all silently judging each other."

According to Hodgman, all are equal in Park Slope except the children, who are all-powerful and capable of psychically exploding your head. "The neighborhood was founded by exiles from Manhattan in 1990, who were expert at the time honored art of gutting brownstones."

Hodman’s timing and droll way with word  had the crowd laughing all the way through the Park Slope chapter, which seeks to correct certain myths about this much-maligned neighborhood.

"Do we crawl on all fours and allow dogs to hold the leashes?" he asked the crowd. "Only before 9 in the morning."

"Do we wear secret magic underwear?" he queried. "Are we dirty?" He then described a secret cleansing ritual that requires Park Slopers to bathe in baby spit.

Hodgman is deadpan, wacky and wildly absurd always staying in character as the man who knows too much or at least pretends to know all the information you require.

Despite B&N asking him not to do a Q&A because of the number of people who wanted their books signed, Hodgman insisted on taking questions, because he was in his home turf and he loves to do so; he really showed of his ability to be funny on the spot.

"I want to thank you and everyone on The Daily Show for helping me survive the last 8 Bush years," one audience member announced.

"I think you would have muddled through," Hodgman said without missing a beat.

The crowd roared.

Always happy to hear from the folks at Cog & Pearl, that most interesting Fifth Avenue store, which sells all manner of designerly objects, jewelry, home items, clothing and more made of recycled and re-purposed materials. I assume they will be participating in the Snowflake Celebration tonight so that you can buy local, buy late.

Hi everyone,

We recently added some new items to our online store, including a couple of Elizabeth Soule’s
box-framed Little Zoo polaroids,
patina brass and gold-fill jewelry by Virginia Galvan,
Hand Soap–literally–by Foliage, and Adam Frank’s new Lumen design. Of course there’s lots more, so we hope you’ll have a look. Enjoy!

Please note: To ensure delivery by December 24, place your order by noon on Friday, December 19.

All best for a healthy and happy holiday season,

Kristin and Seth