Alan Shapiro, 1926-2011

Alan Shapiro, a leader in student-centered education and teacher-educator for almost half a century, died Friday, January 28, at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut after a short illness, at the age of 85. 

My friend, my mentor, my teacher.

He taught for many years in the New Rochelle (NY) Public Schools and founded The Program for Inquiry, Involvement, and Independent Study in 1970, a high school alternative program based on theories he developed with friends Neil Postman and Charlie Weingartner. He had written, for more than a decade, for the educational idea site, Teachable Moment.


The family has requested that those wishing to honor Alan Shapiro’s life and legacy consider contributing to
The Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility,
publishers of TeachableMoment.org  
475 Riverside Drive, Suite 550
New York, New York 10115
212.870.3318 | fax: 212.870.2464
info@morningsidecenter.org

I might request that the best way to honor his memory is to do everything you can to insist that our educational systems be student-centered learning and inquiry communities.

- Ira Socol