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Got Dough: How Billionaires Rule Our Schools (Dissent Magazine)
From Dissent Magazine, it’s worth a read: How Billionaires Rule Our Schools, by Joanne Barkan. Okay, go ahead and laugh, and make it a good one, but don’t be too surprised by the first thought that came to mind while reading this article: How can we get these institutions to really drive home arts education???…
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Dispatch from the East: Calcium Light Night And The Morning Snow
Fade to white… I don’t know how many of you know Charles Ives’s work “Calcium Light Night,” which refers to what is also known as a carbide light, or in the theater as a limelight, but last night walking home from the train was quite a trip, with the heavy snow and deserted surroundings. After…
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The Challenges and Just A Bit Of Irony: Bloomberg’s Gun Control Advocacy Finds a Hard Sell by Those in Power
Now this is a particularly interesting article. Bloomberg’s Gun-Limits Coalition Grows, but Finds a Hard Sell in Washington, Elizabeth A. Harris, The New York Times, January 26, 2010 But despite the coalition’s size, its deep pockets and its muscular public relations operation, Mr. Bloomberg’s campaign has failed to force major strengthening of federal gun control…
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The See-Saw of Education: The Suprising Reasons Why Other Nations Outperform the US
What, you say? Yesterday it was push-pull and today it’s see-saw? What will it be tomorrow??? Tomorrow? Well, maybe I will use a phrase that Rob Horowitz and I used to bandy about: the churn. I am a big fan of Valerie Strauss’s blog in the Washington Post: The Answer Sheet. It doesn’t hurt that…
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Two Directions At Once: The Push-Pull in Education
“Only two?,” was probably the crack more than a couple of you thought while eyeballing the above title. Here are two stories, that go a long way towards showing how education is often traveling in more than one direction at any given moment. The first is about a recent study finding testing to be among…
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How Would You Spend $100 Million on Education?
In the January edition of Fast Company, they ask a group of 10 plus “edu-experts” to offer their proposals for how to spend $100 million to “really save education.” Radical Idea Number Three: “I’d focus on the arts — music and visual arts and dance, all the things that make kids joyful. Kids need a…
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The History of Teaching Artistry, by Eric Booth
I am really glad to bring you this essay, from my dear friend and colleague Eric Booth. It can also be viewed on The Teaching Artist Journal.http://tajournal.com. Personally, I feel extremely lucky. What a gift of fortune to have my work years coincide with a period of rapid evolution in the field I love.…
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Daniel Pink’s Travel Tips
Is it arts education? Nah. No bait and switch here. This is video clip number one, in a series of travel tip videos by the man who made famous the phrase: the M.F.A. is the new M.B.A. I love Daniel Pink, but do have to wonder whether the next phrase up might just be: obsessive…
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Malcolm Gladwell on Creative Types: Embrace Chaos
In this 2007survey conducted by the Conference Board and Americans for the Arts. Essentially, school principals and CEO’s were asked to rate a rank a list of statements as to their usefulness in demonstrating creativity. The statement: “comfort with the notion of no right answer,” rated moderately high with CEOs, but very low with school…
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Webinar: Education Reform in the New Congress: What Could It Mean for Arts Education?
Education Reform in the New Congress: What Could It Mean for Arts Education? Tuesday, January 11, 2011, 3:00pm-4:00pm After a decade of debate since the last major education bill, is it time for action? According to President Obama, Education Secretary Duncan and leaders in Congress, education reform is one policy area that could find bipartisan…