Happy Mother's Day

In 2005, I published this tribute to my mother's undaunted spirit in my column.  In 2011—heartbroken yet uplifted by her memory—I delivered it, as eulogy, at her funeral on what would have been her 87th birthday. Here I am reading it in tribute to all our mothers. 

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​​​When I founded BackPax, my children's publishing company, of this I was certain: "Mother knows best."  A master educator and respected educational innovator charged with helping to reshape the nation's public school curricula, Muriel Landsmark Adams Tuitt was known for her mantra: “Tell me, I listen.  Teach me, I learn.  Involve me, I understand.”  

As founding Project Director of the Co-op City Educational Park, Mrs. Tuitt collaborated with leading educators worldwide to improve the quality of education available to every child.  In 1971, the Park—a partnership of the New York City Board of Education and Harvard University—was launched in response to demands to end de facto segregation in New York City’s public schools.  The Park had, as its mission: crossing demographic divides to bring together a student body diverse in race and ethnicity.  As the nation’s first educational park, the 25-acre campus of three elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school with its own planetarium was sited on the grounds of the world’s largest cooperative housing development, Co-op City. After retiring from the New York City Board of Education, she consulted for Mercy College and helped guide BackPax' growth.  

Today, her mantra remains at the root of the BackPax approach. BackPax audios tell the story; our books teach the subject; our games and clubs involve children in the experience. BackPaxKids.com