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10 spotlight on schools ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ DECEMBER 2006NTDTV Celebrates Chinese CultureBy Liza YoungA regal opportunity tocelebrate the richness ofChinese culture is currentlyavailable throughNew Tang DynastyTelevision’s (NTDTV)Holiday Wonders, a showwhich made its debut fouryears ago, and which willbe featured at the BeaconTheatre December 19-24.Education Update recentlymet with the productionteam and cast members ofthe show in addition toviewing highlights of thiswondrous production, atthe lavish Essex House inNew York City.The show is an extension of NTDTV’s missionof reviving the art and culture of ancient civilization,with a focus on what is considered the highestpoint in its succession of dynasties, The Tang,which flourished between 600 and 900 AD, whenthere was a pluralistic convergence of variousethnic groups. In Holiday Wonders the beauty ofThe Tang dynasty is recreated through restorationof traditional costumes, music, and dances, butwith a modern spin, as explained by executiveproducer, Maria Tai.Performers we spoke with exhibited a dedicationto the mission of sharing the magnificenceof Chinese culture, undergoing intense trainingfor performances over the course of three monthson a volunteer basis. Performer Amanda Huang,who grew up China, and there studied piano,dancing, and painting, is a transfer student fromAustralia who is now majoring in computers atQueens College. Shirley Dai, a graduate fromBerkley with a major in marketing who at ageten immigrated to California with her family andjoined the Holiday Wonders tour, with the goalof preserving her Chinese roots. Born in Chinaand immigrating to the States at age 4 and 1/2,Seluna Nien expressed a love of dance, fromearly childhood, and while teaching dance SouthDakota, she heard about the NTDTV programand decided to become a part of it. Li Sun, whohas a BA in chemistry education from China, andan MA in political science from Bridgeport, alsohas embraced the art of dancing from childhood,and joined the troupe to share Chinese tradition,and help people learn about the history of China.NTDTV will soon open a special performingarts school to continue supplying a “new translationof the Chinese arts to world culture, ” statedMs. Tai.#For Holiday Wonders ticket informationvisit www.shows.ntdtv.com, or call (888) 260-6221, and stay tuned for the Chinese New YearSpectacular performance in January 2007.Dr. M. Jerry Weiss HelpsLiteracy Grow in New JerseyBy Lisa K. WinklerIf it weren’t for M. Jerry Weiss, young readersmay never have heard of Amber Brown.In 1972, the late Paula Danziger was Dr. M.Jerry Weiss’ student in an adolescent literatureclass at Montclair State University. She’d justthrown her oversized pocketbook at a fellowstudent who stated he wouldn’t ever let studentsread a book about homosexuals. Dr. Weiss suspendedDanziger from class for three weeks withthese orders: “Go home. Read. Write.” Danzigerreturned with the draft of what later became “TheCat Ate my Gym Suit;” launching her career as achildren’s author. Danziger wrote more than 25books, including the popular “Amber Brown”series, and is among hundreds of authors whoseworks were discovered by Weiss.Now students and teachers can avail themselvesof thousands of books at the recentlyopened M. Jerry Weiss Center for Children’sand Young Adult Literature at New Jersey CityUniversity. Weiss, Professor Emeritus, taught atNJCU for 33 years, encouraging education studentsto use young adult literature. In addition toencouraging new authors, he’s nationally recognizedfor promoting the use of trade paperbacksin classrooms. The center will provide resourcesand offer professional development workshopsfor students and educators.Weiss has devoted his career to literacy. He’swritten and edited dozens of books, includingshort story anthologies geared to youngadults, and has held leadership positions inthe National Council of Teachers of Englishand the International Reading Association. TheNew Jersey Reading Association honors himwith its annual “M. Jerry Weiss Book Award.”Affectionately known as the “The Jerry,” theaward-winning title is selected by the state’sschool children. He grew up in North Carolina,left high school to enlist in the Navy duringWorld War II, and then entered college under theG.I. Bill. “I entered education because I wantedto make sure I could get a job. Teaching seemeda good bet,” he told Education Update. At hisfirst job in a small, rural Virginia town, he quicklylearned the politics of education—parental andadministrative pressures and a stagnant curriculum.Always an avid reader, he began introducinghis own paperback books “so students didn’thave to read books they had little or no interestin.” Since the books weren’t part of the approvedcurriculum, he wasn’t rehired. He applied toTeachers College at Columbia University, wherehe says he found “true inspiration.”In addition to promoting the use of trade booksand encouraging new writers, Weiss has foughtcensorship nationally and served as a consultantin many countries and for many publishers. Hedonated his personal collection of autographedchildren’s and adolescent books to the Center.Publishers have augmented the holdings withthousands of titles. “To meet the diverse andchanging interests, needs, and abilities of students,we must bring new books into classrooms,”Weiss said. “Good books make meaningfulreading happen” He worries that the obsessionwith testing “has little to do with the impact oflearning upon the learner,” and emphasizes that“children enter the classroom with different abilities,interests, experiences, attitudes. We can’texpect any one method or set of materials to meettheir needs.”#HELP! 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