Archives for July 2008

I am a little bit behind in my posts, as I am on vacation this week. Actually, it's a "stay-cation," as I am just hanging around home, going to local beaches, etc.Testing, testing, testing. It's practically all you hear about thanks to the school reform zeitgeist. We are hearing a lot about how effective the testing is, and of course, all the prep time for the tests doesn't … [Read more...] about The Culture of Testing Doesn’t Make the Grade

There's an article in today's Washington Post that is a must read for a number of reasons. First, you've got a mayor and schools superintendent who have made a public commitment backed by dollars (really!), to place music, art, and physical education teachers in every DC public school. A study comes out saying that this is going to result in "teacher shortages, large class … [Read more...] about DC Schools: VERY Interesting developments…

The New York City school district is unlike any in the nation in two distinct ways: there is no real school board here (I often tell people we have a "fake school board--they laugh...), as the mayor has complete control of the schools; and the sheer number and frequency of reforms instituted by the city since 2003 would be hard to imagine anywhere else. That being said, bits … [Read more...] about The Truth Squad: Coming to A School District Near You?

Okay, it's my very first blog, on the first and only blog on artsjournal.com devoted to arts education. Dewey21C. I had intended to post a first blog directly associated with John Dewey. That will have to wait a bit as I have something else I want to share with you. However, before leaving John Dewey for future entries, I want to say that his writing about arts and education … [Read more...] about What We’re Up Against