I have known Dr. Stephen Farenga for many years.
In 1986, when I was starting my clinical psychology practice, he founded The CERTA Learning Center, which is currently located at 225 Hillside Avenue, just across the street from La Marmite. But what I did not know was just how impressive and accomplished he is. The CERTA Learning Center is a tutoring center providing enrichment, remediation, test preparation, and college placement counseling for students.
If you want proof of how impressive this place is, read this:
1. Stephen has a staff of five PhDs as well as five other teachers;
2. He is coauthor of four books and one encyclopedia on education and human development;
3. He is a professor of education at Queens College;
4. CERTA offers tutoring in all subjects from kindergarten through college;
5. CERTA’s language tutoring includes English, Mandarin, French, Italian, and Spanish;
6. Dr. Chia-ling Lin and Dr. Daniel Ness edited the encyclopedia entitled International Education: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Issues and Systems;
7. Stephen and Daniel research the development of spatial thinking in STEM.
I recall many years ago, Stephen asked me if he should try to publish educational books and I told him not to bother. Well thank goodness he ignored me. One of the nice things about writing this column is that you often get perks like free books and such. Well, I came home with a whole armful this time. One of the books Stephen and Daniel wrote is called Knowledge under Construction: The Importance of Play in Developing Spatial and Geometric Thinking, which is about how spatial thinking develops in children.
What I learned was that the staff at The CERTA Learning Center emphasizes math, engineering, and architecture. And if you think that’s trivial, remember that mathematicians and scientists are responsible for most of the beauty on earth. The great buildings of the world, like Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright, or Philip Johnson’s Glass house in Connecticut, are based upon spatial and geometric concepts.
George Balanchine’s ballets are all about geometry as well. The great triptychs of Francis Bacon are based upon a strange geometry.
So often we are sold a bill of goods by large corporations and franchises and this goes for tutoring centers as well. What we have in The CERTA Learning Center is a home-grown tutoring center on the highest level, staffed by PhDs and authors who also happen to be professors of education and arts and science.
So, if your children are in need of tutoring in math, science, test taking, or college counseling, give Stephen a call. He is yet another little gem right here in Williston Park.
And when your son or daughter gets that scholarship to college, you can just walk across the street and celebrate with a special dinner at La Marmite. What could be easier?
