  |
| |
Homework Hotline spans the state
November 4, 2004 George Wolfe and Armando Ramirez on the set of Homework Hotline. Pop quiz: The favorite activity of New York students is:
If the students' answer is (a) and (b), then Homework Hotline is for them. And now, with the addition of WNET in New York City and other Public Broadcasting System stations in the Hudson Valley , the reach is statewide for the Emmy award-winning after-school TV program in which teachers answer thorny homework problems. Funded in part by New York State United Teachers, Homework Hotline is a live, half-hour call-in program geared toward students in grades 5 through 12. A team of on-air educators from the Rochester Teachers Association answer student questions in math, science, geography, and English Language Arts. Program calls funnel through the RTA's and the United Federation of Teachers' Dial-A-Teacher hotlines. Once there, tutors divert selected questions to Rochester 's Homework Hotline for on-air answers. Last year, Homework Hotline fielded more than 400 student calls. "Homework Hotline benefits both students and teachers," explained RTA President Adam Urbanski. The Rochester local began the program 10 years ago in partnership with local PBS station WXXI. "Students get the tutoring help they need, and we find a substantial number of teachers watch the program to get insight into the questions students have and to observe good teaching practice," said Urbanski. Program host George Wolfe, a science and physics teacher, was a 2003 National Teachers Hall of Fame inductee. Co-host Carol Smith, a sixth-grade teacher and 29-year teaching veteran, is former director of the RTA's Dial-A-Teacher program. Rochester educators Armando Ramirez, Joe Zuniga and Larry Neal also appear. Rochester 's Dial-A-Teacher program was modeled after a phone-in homework program started in 1980 by the UFT, NYSUT's local affiliate in New York City schools. The program fields thousands of callers weekly in 11 languages. "We're proud to support the statewide expansion of this worthwhile program," said NYSUT Second Vice President Maria Neira. Homework Hotline airs Monday through Thursday at 5:30 p.m. on most PBS stations. In upstate New York , dial (888) 986-2345; in New York City , (212) 777-3380. Visit Homework Hotline on the Web at www.homework-hotline.org. — Kara E. Smith |
|
| | |