Dewey21C

Year: 2010

  • If There’s Only One Book to Read on K-12 Education, Read This One!

    All the time, I run into people in the arts field who ask me to explain exactly what the hell is going on with K-12 education. Between vouchers, choice, turnaround, merit pay, alternative certification, race to the top, race to the bottom, AYP, value-added assessment, process-driven goals, backwards-mapped curriculum, and more, trying to get a…

  • Parents Are Key: Will We Ever Make Good on the Notion?

    For this past year’s Grantmakers in the Arts Conference, a few people were asked to write short think pieces to accompany GIA’s arts education pre-conference. The following is the piece that I wrote about parent engagement: I’ve been hearing about the power of parents in education since I started as a teaching artist in 1985,…

  • The Official USDOE Summary from the ESEA Arts Stakeholders Meeting

    This was sent along by the USDOE just yesterday: ESEA Meeting on Arts Education Summary

  • Proportionate Cuts to Arts Education: A Bad Strategy

    Every once in a while I like to use a somewhat elliptical title. Today is a prime example. Some of you got it immediately, others were thinking “huh?” So, let me explain. Word is coming from all over the country about deep cuts to arts education. Some describe “blood on the floor.” A fair number…

  • Guest Blog: Jane Remer’s CliffNotes–Scorched Earth: How Will Arts Education Survive The Current Climate?

    It’s been a little while since the resident guest blogger on Dewey21C has given us an entry. A big snow day in New York provided the impetus for Jane to get some things off her chest. In a no-holds-barred entry, Jane speaks volumes about the things that trouble so many of us.–RK************************************************************************************************************* As I watch…

  • Transcribing and Playing The Untranscribable

    Is untranscribable a word? Let me check…Ah, apparently, it is! Every now and then a group of musicians decide to transcribe and perform something that makes everyone who knows the particular piece or pieces at hand scratch their heads. The first time I encountered this was when I heard a performance of a few of…

  • What We’re Up Against: The View from a School Reform Conference

    I’ve been sitting on the idea for this entry since October. I thought the slow news day today for education would be a good time to post. That’s a joke, of course, have you seen the report about school districts that have burned through their stimulus funding? Ever go to an arts education conference? Ever…

  • The USDOE Wants You: A Call for Panelists

    In what may just be the most competitive grant applications process ever, the USDOE has announced a call for peer reviewers for its $650 million Investing in Innovation Fund (i3).  i3: The purpose of the program is to provide competitive grants to applicants with a record of improving student achievement, in order to expand the implementation of,…

  • The School District Arts Czar: Mistaking the Piece for the Puzzle

    I was talking recently with a friend and colleague who expressed disappointment over how things turned out with the appointment of the arts education czar in her local school district. She spoke about how much effort went into advocating with district leadership for the creation of the position, how enormously high the hopes were for…