Dewey21C

Year: 2009

  • What Will New York State’s Race to the Top Application Look Like?

    Recently, the New York State Department of Education  (NYSED) circulated a Public Communication and Policy Recommendations Summary for its Race to the Top (RttT) grant proposal to the nearly 700 school districts throughout New York State. In order to participate, each district is required to sign a Memorandum of Understanding in support of the application.…

  • The Counter-Intuition of Advocacy

    Consider these three points: 1. The school district leader says that the overall school budget is increasing each year, and not to worry. And yes, it’s true: more money was allocated to education in the city budget. 2. The existence of generally supportive school district officials and government leads to increased arts budgets and administrative…

  • Art, A Music Video by Andrea Dorfman

    I love this video. My daughter Sophie and I were watching this morning and she agrees, giving it a four and a half year old’s seal of approval. The director is the artist Andrea Dorfman. The music is by Tanya Davis. Click away, it’s a sweet and appealing video, and even if you don’t like…

  • Jane Remer’s Cliffnotes: When Teachers Teach Artists: Changing the Paradigm and Balancing the Equation

    Let’s welcome back Jane Remer, Dewey21C’s regular guest blogger. She’s posted a wonderful entry that touches upon the human details of what makes for good professional development of teaching artists, not to mention teachers, administrators, and other school personnel. To read Jane’s previous entries, all you have to do is search using the little box…

  • The Third Annual NYCDOE Arts in the Schools Report: Cognitive Dissonance

    This week the NYCDOE released its third Annual Arts in the School Report. Along with about thirty colleagues primarily from the arts field, I attended the report presentation at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. The document itself must be applauded for all the work that went into it. In this difficult economy,…

  • The Partnership for 19th Century Skills

    I have written from time-to-time about the 21st century skills movement and arts education. There was an interesting piece on the Partnership for 21st Century Learning in last week’s Ed Week. In fact, this story is still on the home page of Ed Week. As more and more of the arts education field signs on…

  • US Secretary of Education Is Convinced that Arts Education Raises HS Graduation Rates

    ”I’m convinced when students are engaged in the arts, graduation rates go up, dropout rates go down,” Duncan said. One thing we do know about graduation rates and arts education in New York City public schools, is that the schools that offer more arts have higher rates of graduation. It’s in this report. And, according…

  • Did You Miss David Brooks on Arts Education???

    I’m not claiming my second education has been exemplary or advanced. I’m describing it because I have only become aware of it retrospectively, and society pays too much attention to the first education and not enough to the second. I like David Brooks. Okay, I have to admit it, I like him even more since…

  • What Does CSA, the Principals Union in NYC Think about Dedicated funding for Arts Education?

    Arts education needs to be incentivized through dedicated funding. Because the NYC public school system is not meeting even the most minimal standard requirements for arts education, the arts should be treated as a “protected class” of studies. When it comes to arts education, we need all of our schools to be winners. It is…

  • Oh! The Tests You’ll Take–What Dr. Seuss Might Have Written Today

    Perhaps, had Dr. Seuss been alive today, he might have written the counterpart to Oh! The Places You’ll Go and called it: Oh! The Tests You’ll Take. One of the things I like to do with this blog is to bring to your attention things you might have missed. Here’s one for ya: Tips for…