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Steve Jobs, Rest in Peace
I am writing this entry on an absolutely beautiful month or so old Macbook Air. The first computer I ever used was a Mac. There were two: a Powerbook 145B and a Centris 610. I think it was System 6. When I finally went to work at a shop that used PCs, I was stunned […]
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Federal K-12 Arts Ed Funding on the Chopping Block Again
In case you missed it, on September 29th, in Ed Week’s Curriculum Matters blog was this article: STEM Ed. Among Cuts Sought in Draft House Budget Plan. The House is at it again, proposing the zeroing out of K-12 arts education at the USDOE, as well as a host of other vital programs, including the […]
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Guest Blog, Nick Rabkin: The Three Horsemen of Arts Education
It makes me happy to welcome back my good pal Nick Rabkin to Dewey21c. –RK The Three Horsemen of Arts Education by Nick Rabkin I’ve done research on teaching artists for the last three years—from Boston to San Diego—at NORC at the University of Chicago. (My report is available for download at […]
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A Shot To The Foot: How The Arts Ed Field Can Be Its Own Worst Enemy
I have been meaning to write about this these two horribly disappointing Opininator posts in The New York Times: Beyond Baby Mozart, Students Who Rock, by David Bornstein Rock is Not The Enemy, by David Bornstein For about as long as I have been in this field, which is longer than I would now like […]
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Guest Blog, Jane Remer: A Paradox, A Paradox, A Most Ingenious Paradox –The Common Core of State Standards and The Untamable Core of the American Class System
Jane Remer’s CliffNotes: September 29, 2011 “A Paradox, A Paradox, a Most Ingenious Paradox” (Pirates of Penzance/Gilbert and Sullivan), The Common Core of (Voluntary) State Standards and the Untamable Core of the American Class System. The 21st Century is young, but it’s clearly becoming a paradox. The now developing Common Core meticulously charts the paths and […]
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I Hate to Be Out of Step: Have the Dividing Lines Among Musical Genres Disappeared?
I have had many a conversation about how the dividing lines among musical genres (and other arts disciplines) were “breaking down or blurring.” So, as I was watching this video about a really swell festival taking place next month, “Sonic: Sounds of a New Century” by The American Composers Orchestra, I was quite struck by John […]
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Batuta — Columbia’s El Sistema. An Essay by Eric Booth and Tricia Tunstall
As I write, I am staring out the window on the 7:00 Acela heading to DC from New York Penn Station. I have a board meeting of Common Core, for which I am board treasurer. What was a sunny day in New York, has turned into a deep fog. The train moves through the fog […]
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Whiplash: Moving From K-12 to Higher Education
For those who have followed Dewey21C, hopefully you’ve noticed that I have been silent since the end of July. A month off from work followed that last post, and as we’re blowing through September, I have started a new chapter in my career as Dean of the Mannes College The New School for Music. It’s […]
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A Favorite Arts Ed Video: The Mural Project at JHS256
I have always been fond of project-based learning. And this mural project is one true exemplar. The opportunities for many to be engaged in a multi-year arts project, that combines youth development, art, music, history, social studies, literacy, and more. Not to mention, it’s a stunning work. Click on over to this YouTube video, and […]
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Waiting For Godot. If You Test It They Will Come. (Updated)
With today’s NY Daily News article about the New York City Department of Education’s arts assessment program, I thought I would update and repost this entry from a few month’s back. Let me start with some new thoughts and then segue right into the original entry. I was a member of the NYS Regents Task […]