Dr. Charlotte Frank |
In a world seemingly gone mad, in which large numbers of folks struggle to understand what's going on around them, it is comforting to know that there are people in charge of education and publishing who have the ability and passion to impart truth.
Charlotte K. Frank is such a person. The senior vice president for research and development at McGraw-Hill Education, Dr. Frank cares deeply for people and for education. She is part of the publishing world that works tirelessly to produce and promote needed materials.
Frank started with McGraw-Hill in 1988, after a nine-year stint as executive director of the division of curriculum and instruction for the New York City Board of Education. She also taught.
"I started with them when the New York City school system had 1.1 million students and a thousand schools," Dr. Frank said recently. She was head of curriculum development.
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Dr. Frank has what I'd call a breathtaking range of multitasking skills. Part of her responsibilities at McGraw-Hill involves R&D for both the Financial Services Sector and the Information Services Group. She also coordinates the National Business Roundtable's Education Taskforce Initiative.
With a master's in education from Hunter College, and a Ph.D. from New York University, Dr. Frank is able to utilize her academic pursuits in practical terms. As chair of the executive committee of the America-Israel Friendship League, Dr. Frank is able to put her experience to work for issues she describes as "near and dear to my heart."
Actively involved in the AIFL's Youth Ambassador Student Exchange Program, Dr. Frank sees the practical benefits of bringing together people from different cultures and ideologies. For example, Arab youth from Nazareth are able to visit with Jewish youth in Los Angeles (check out www.aifl.org for more information). The benefits are obvious: a cultural exchange that can make the world a better place. Imagine a world in which the Arab-Israeli conflict evaporated as people actually got to know each other and recognized that old grievances are counter-productive.
"It's always an interesting experience," Dr. Frank explained. "When you read the papers, you'd think Israel is unsafe. But when youth can visit religious sites in Jerusalem – the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, 'walk where Jesus walked,' etc. – they see that Israelis also want peace."
From her perspective, Dr. Frank knows what students involved in YASE will find out: "After a while, we realize that we are all really more similar than we are different."
Dr. Frank remembers an American student who was initially a bit apprehensive about her trip: "She was from Montana and told me, 'I can't imagine what I'll see in Israel.' She was able to have a wonderful educational visit and saw that Israelis are really concerned about tolerance and respect."
Parents have to approve the trips, and once they do, students have the opportunity of a lifetime.
"The students who take part in the program are multi-ethnic and from all over, including Bedouin, Druze, Israeli Arabs," Dr. Frank said. "Once the students come to the U.S. and stay with families, they meet in D.C. and see places like the Holocaust Museum. Then they meet in New York."
Not only do students benefit from these experiences, but the adult chaperones do, as well.
"One of the things that happens," explained Dr. Frank, "is that superintendents of school districts want to keep these relationships developing. We've had such educators from South Dakota, South Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia become very interested in the YASE program. One superintendent was so taken when he saw the students, he said he wanted to present the program to his governor."
With media focus on what is negative in education and the culture, Dr. Frank sees how her work can be a counterweight.
"As an educator, I really feel that this kind of discussion should take place in the schools," she said.
If certain groups are reluctant or unwilling to change their hate-filled curriculum, it is refreshing to hear about educators who will produce materials and experiences that foster understanding and compassion for our fellow man.
With more commitment from those with influence, like Charlotte Frank, it might be possible to hope for a world in which sectarian violence and xenophobia are marginalized.