Philip Nobile

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Philip Nobile is an American freelance writer, historian, and social critic/commentator based in New York City.

Nobile's original career was not that of a journalist, but of a seminarian; however, he left religious life to become a journalist.[1] During his career he has written for The New York Press, New York Magazine, The Village Voice, The New York Review of Books, Harper's Magazine, Spy Magazine, Esquire, and Newsday, among other publications.

He teaches history at the Cobble Hill School Of American Studies, in addition to being a regular contributor to the History News Network.

He has also been the author or editor of eleven books, notably, Intellectual Skywriting: Literary Politics and the New York Review of Books; and Judgement at the Smithsonian, an indictment of the decision to use the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, framed within the context of the controversy and debate surrounding The Smithsonian's 50th anniversary exhibition, which featured the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that dropped the bomb.

Throughout a controversial career as an investigative journalist and media analyst, Nobile has aimed scathing criticisms at a variety of public figures, including talk radio host Don Imus, author Alex Haley, historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and David McCullough, and President Harry S. Truman.

Nobile has also published a sexually explicit book focusing on female orgasms, and has written articles for the pornographic magazine Penthouse.

[edit] Cobble Hill School controversy

In 2004, Nobile was centrally involved in uncovering what was termed a scandal that involved cheating on test and Regents examinations scores at the Cobble Hill School of American Studies.[1] The result of Nobile's "whistleblowing" was a 30 page report detailing tampering by Ms. Theresa Capra, Cobble Hill School's assistant principal of humanities, with the 2002 and 2003 Regents Examinations scoring, and her resignation.[1]

In 2005, Richard J. Condon, the special commissioner of investigation for New York City schools, undertook a separate investigation of the events at Cobble Hill.[2] The result of the 23 month investigation was a report, released in 2007, that, according to the New York Times, referred to Nobile as “a subpar teacher with poor evaluations who wrongly accused Ms. Capra of engineering a cheating scheme because she had given him a negative review that could have led to his firing.”[2] The report also blames Louis N. Scarcella, the lead investigator for the Education Department, for producing a “deeply flawed report” which was “biased and overtly influenced by Mr. Nobile.”[2] Scarcella, who has since resigned his position, maintains that his original 2005 report was accurate, stating “All I can say is I stand by my investigation.…To this day, Mr. Nobile was correct about everything.”[2]

In June of 2007, the New York Post reported that Philip Nobile as being under investigation for the corporal punishment of his students at the school.[3] Nobile responded to the allegations as being without cause, and called them “retaliatory” and a “smear” due to his whistleblowing.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Freedman, Samuel G. (July 20, 2005). In Exposing a Grading Scandal, Harsh Lessons Are Learned. On Education. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
  2. ^ a b c d Bosman, Julie (June 27, 2007). New Report Clears School of Cheating. N.Y./Region. New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.
  3. ^ a b Bennet, Chuck (June 28, 2007). Cheating-exposé Teacher could face ‘Spanking’. Local pg. 11. New York Post. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.