Alan J. Singer

Professor of Teaching, Learning and Technology Hofstra University

  • Hempstead NY

Alan Singer specializes in social studies education and United States history.

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Spotlight

1 min

Teaching the Holocaust Part of New NYS Curriculum

Dr. Alan Singer, professor of education, talked to Newsday about the introduction of a new school curriculum teaching New York State students about the Holocaust and other mass murders. “Teaching the Holocaust and Other Genocides” was unveiled at a meeting in Albany of the state Board of Regents, which oversees New York’s educational institutions. The new resources will be optional for educators. Dr. Singer said the goal of Holocaust education is not to guide students to a particular conclusion, but to “engage students in research, in discussion, examining data, trying to reach conclusions about the past and present.”

Alan J. Singer

1 min

FAFSA Applications Jump on LI and Throughout NYS

Dr. Alan Singer, professor of education, talked with Newsday about a jump this past academic year in the number of Long Island high school students applying for federal financial aid to attend college. The article says the increase is due to a mandate, imposed during the 2024-25 school year, that school districts ensure all 12th graders either fill out the FAFSA, apply for state aid or sign a waiver. New York State Governor Kathy Hochul included the mandate in the state budget. Requiring students to apply or opt out “is like having the DMV register people to vote — it’s just a good idea,” said Dr. Singer. “There are students from families that are just not aware of what’s required to go to college and get financial aid. By having it done in school … it facilitates the ability of all high school graduates to go on to college with financial aid.”

Alan J. Singer

1 min

The History Behind National Days of Mourning

A national day of mourning for Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, was held on January 9. Professor of Education Alan Singer talked to Newsday about the history of national days of mourning and how they are observed. Dr. Singer said, “There are no official criteria” for what constitutes a nationwide time to mourn or another symbolic nationwide pause. He also noted that a handful have been declared in modern American history for incidents besides the death of a president. President George W. Bush declared a national day of mourning for 9/11. In 1968, Dr. Singer said, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared national days of mourning for both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy because “they were national leaders who were assassinated.”

Alan J. Singer
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Biography

Alan J. Singer Professor of Teaching, Learning and Technology Degrees PHD, 1982, Rutgers University; MA, 1974, Rutgers University; BA, 1971, CUNY City Coll Bio Alan Singer is a professor of Teaching, Learning and Technology and the director of social studies education programs. Dr. Singer is a former New York City high school social studies teacher and served as editor of Social Science Docket, a joint publication of the New York and New Jersey Councils for the Social Studies. He is the author of Teaching Climate History (Routledge, 2022), Teaching Global History (Routledge, 2nd edition, 2020), New York and Slavery: Time to Teach the Truth (SUNY Press, Excelsior Editions, 2008), Education Flashpoints, Fighting for America's Schools (Routledge 2014), Social Studies for Secondary Schools (Routledge, 4th edition, 20015), New York's Grand Emancipation Jubilee (SUNY Press, 2018) and editor of a 268-page secondary school curriculum guide, New York and Slavery: Complicity and Resistance. He is co-author with Hofstra University alumni Pablo Muriel of Supporting Civics Education with Student Activism (Routledge, 2021). In 2011, the Long Island Conference for the Social Studies awarded Dr. Singer the Mark Rothman Teacher Mentoring Award, for his commitment to students and continued excellence in education and he was the New York State Council for the Social Studies 2016 Social Studies Educator of the Year. He has twice been selected as a Hofstra University "Teacher of the Year." He received his Masters and Doctoral degrees from Rutgers University.

Industry Expertise

Research
Education/Learning

Areas of Expertise

Social Studies Education
United States History
History of Slavery
Teaching race. ethnicity and class

Accomplishments

Mark Rothman Teacher Mentoring Award

2011

Long Island Conference for the Social Studies

2015 – 2016 New York Distinguished Social Studies Educator Award

2016-04-01

Dr. Alan Singer won the 2015 – 2016 New York Distinguished Social Studies Educator Award, which is given to an individual who exemplifies the best in professional social studies education in New York State.

Education

Rutgers University

PhD

1982

Rutgers University

MA

1974

City University of New York-Brooklyn College

BA

1971

Media Appearances

New FAFSA form launches: What you need to know to apply for financial aid

WNYW-TV Fox 5  tv

2024-01-02

Professor Singer was interviewed by Fox 5 WNYW-TV about changes to the FAFSA form (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and what parents should keep in mind when filling it out.

Professor Singer explained that the new system was designed to simplify the process for some 15 million students who apply for aid each year. “The personal circumstances section where you plead poverty now has 18 questions which was reduced from 100,” he said.

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Israel-Hamas war: In Long Island schools, much has been left unsaid, observers say

Newsday  print

2023-11-26

Professor Singer spoke to Newsday for a story about how public school teachers are navigating the difficulties of addressing the Israel-Hamas War in their classes.

Professor Singer said that teachers have become wary of people looking over their shoulder following recent controversies over the teaching of race and diversity.

“There’s a sense of nervousness on how to proceed. Teachers feel they’re being monitored,” he said. “The war between Israel and Hamas is not the origin of that nervousness, just the latest step.”

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New York considering making Regents exams optional for students

FOX 5 News NY  tv

2023-11-14

Professor Singer was interviewed about the New York State Education Department possibly making Regents exams optional for high school graduation.

The segment reports that students could still choose to take the regents to graduate, but they would also be given new ways to show their proficiency in skills, including projects and presentations.

“I agree younger students are over-tested but I don’t think they’re being over-tested in high school,” said Professor Singer. “The exams shouldn’t be abandoned until after assessments are developed.”

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Event Appearances

Keynote Presenter

45th annual New York State Foundations of Education (NYSFEA) Conference  SUNY Cortland, NY

Articles

Creating a Museum of Family Artifacts

Social Studies and the Young Learner

2004

Students at all levels need to have opportunities to represent themselves in their work in ways that are meaningful to them. The Family Artifact Museum Project provides an opportunity for students to accomplish this as they bring their family stories into the classroom and see how the lives of ordinary people are part of history. This project came about as a creative way to address New York's social studies and literacy learning standards and national social studies thematic strands. This article gives several examples of these types of projects, from pre-school up to fifth grade, and describes how students of different ages were able to participate in a developmentally appropriate way. Teachers can use this type of project to introduce social studies themes and to build a sense of community in the classroom. It was found that the Family Artifact Museum can support multicultural and culturally-relevant pedagogy, transform social studies classrooms into "laboratories of culture," promote literacy, and introduce children to what it means to be an historian.

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Asking the BIG Questions

Social Education

2001

Teaching about the Great Irish Famine and World History IN MARCH 2001, an educational columnist for Newsday (New York) dismissed the New York State Great Irish Famine Curriculum Guide as another effort to promote ethnocentric history and the idea that the United States is little more than "a pastiche of different peoples, linked mostly by a Constitution and a system of interstate highways." The columnist cited Chester Finn, Jr., a long-term opponent of multiculturalism, who insisted, "If we invite every faction in our society to insert their own best or worst episode from history, there will be no end of it."(2) The New York Times had a different take on the curriculum guide...

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