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Judging Teachers by Test Scores? Not quite.
This issue, one among many in “school reform,” has me worried. You have to wonder whether teacher evaluation based upon test scores will only further marginalize arts education, as arts education assessment lies outside of the types of teacher evaluation being heavily promoted by so very many. For the record, this type of assessment is…
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What do Children Need the Most?
A number of years back I was fortunate to attend a two-day conference on Arts, Technology, and Intellectual Property at Columbia University’s American Assembly. At the time I was working for the American Music Center, so the topic was something I had a vested interest in. As with most conferences, there was the introductory moment…
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A Moment of Clarity: Test Scores in New York State Are Recalibrated
Many of you have no doubt heard the great news over the past few years about rising ELA and math test scores in the New York City Public Schools. But wait, there was more: test scores were rising all across the state, no matter what the intervention. The New York State Department of Education has…
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The Joe McCarthy of Art Education
Apologies first, to all those who love Joe McCarthy. He still has a big following in certain political circles. First it was an attack earlier this year on Maxine Greene and now it’s an editorial that appeared in the Wall Street Journal: The Political Assault on Art Education, both by Michelle Marder Kamhi. A brief…
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A Win for Arts Education Advocates in Los Angeles
Or better yet, a big win for the children in LAUSD. Thanks to a campaign spearheaded by Arts for LA, and perhaps best personified by this full page ad in the Los Angeles Times, the LAUSD school board decided to reduce the level of proposed cuts to elementary arts education teachers by one-third, rather than…
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Church Leaders Raise Concerns Over Obama Education Agenda
An Alternative Vision for Public Education–A Patoral Letter on Federal Policy in Public Education: An Ecumenical Call for Justice, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. This is one pretty great letter and I would urge you to read it. Here are a few “choice” excerpts: Not only has the…
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Connecticut Bolsters Graduation Requirements for the Arts
Dewey21C was pretty quiet last week. It happens, what can I say? With all the end of the fiscal year work to be put to bed, this will be my first post in over a week. But hey, it’s a good one! As part of a comprehensive education “reform” bill signed into law by Connecticut…
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What is Happenning to Music Education in the Detroit Public Schools??
I had a blog entry last December about cuts to music in the Detroit Public Schools Along comes this very thoughtful and thorough piece about DPS and its new approach to music education via a piece by George Shirley that was published this week in NewMusicBox.org. Music Education in Detroit’s Public Schools: The Struggle to…
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NYC Teacher Layoffs Averted?
Even with the state budget in flux, this morning the news broke that the City will cancel proposed teacher layoffs, choosing instead to cancel proposed salary increases for the next two years. Emails started to fly, with people cheering the good news. But not so fast, The city was in the middle of contract negotiations…
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“I Felt Like A Professional”–What a Teacher Told Me at a Recent Conference
I have to admit, that comment both was a potent pill, as it both pleased me and broke my heart. How could it be possible that the teachers feel so beleaguered? Well, one look at the major media around teaching and teachers, and well, you figure it all out in an instant. It was pleasing,…