THE JOSE VILSON

“ 1) Jose Luis Vilson is a math teacher, coach, and data analyst for a middle school in the Inwood / Washington Heights neighborhood of New York, NY. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in mathematics education from the City College of New York. A New York City Teaching Fellows, Jose Vilson spoke at the NYCTF Induction Ceremony in 2007 in Lincoln Center. He has worked on developing professional development for his fellow teachers on such topics as working on goals for the classroom and using educational data systems. Through his work as an educator, he’s developing a citywide and national voice for all teachers, working with groups such as the Teacher Leaders Network and the General Electric Fund to promote new ideas for educators, creating assessment tasks, and developing curriculum maps. When not working on these occupations, he’s also a committed poet, writer, web designer, and community organizer. He co-authored the book Teaching 2030: What We Must Do For Our Students and Public Schools … Now and In The Future with Dr. Barnett Berry and 11 other accomplished teachers. He currently serves as the president of the Latino Alumni Network of Syracuse University, as a board member on the Board of Directors for the Center for Teaching Quality, and has served as board member for Media Make Change, an organization committed to the integration of social justice and social media. He’s part of the first cohort of Acentos Fellows as part of the Acentos Foundation, and a member of LATinos In Social Media (LATISM), the Capicu Poetry Group, BlogCritics, and the AfroSpear. He has been featured in American Latino TV, CNN, Black Web 2.0, Electronic Village, and Common Cents / Penny Harvest.

2) Many times, when people define an entity, whether it’s a thought or a person, they talk about what it is not. That’s certainly not my intention. After all, I believe that a man’s actions speak stronger than a man’s words. So consider this blog a documentation of action.

In my lifetime, I’ve done more than I could have ever imagined. I’ve written and given speeches, played ambassador for my alma maters, participated in protests, saved lives, volunteered at hospitals, acted in various musicals and plays (mostly small-time), and won various awards, academic and otherwise. I’ve traveled the country, and I hope to travel the world as well. I’ve met tons of people, designed many a website, teach inner-city children, performed my poems, and survived the most desperate times here on the Lower East Side.

Here are some of my blog’s major acknowledgements:

2007 Weblog Awards Nominee for Best Education Blog

Famous Blogs’ Blog of the Day Award, February 5th (co-win with Smashing Magazine)

One of Scholastic Instructor’s Top 20 Teacher Blogs of 2009

Rated #36 Top Education Blog of 2009 by PostRank

Featured on LiveStrong.com, CNN.com, Time Out New York Magazine, NY Mag Intelligencer, and the Chicago Sun-Times

Featured on GothamSchools.org, AllTop.com, and MiBodegaOnline.com”

HERE