I was once asked by a charter school operator to assist them in finding some arts teachers. They showed me their instructional schedule for their all-day kindergarten and first grade classes, and I was floored, absolutely floored by the amount of time spent on drilling and test prep for reading and math.I mean, this is kindergarten. A five year old being drilled for hours on … [Read more...] about Crisis in Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School
Archives for March 2009
Arts and The GAO Report: Does the Media Play the Telephone Game?
A few weeks ago I wrote about a new report from the Government Accounting Office (GAO) concerning the effects of NCLB on arts instruction (see narrowing of curriculum). Not a great deal of attention has been paid to this study, beyond a piece in the Dallas Morning News and two recent blogs: Eduwonk, and Education Week. Additionally, Michael Sikes of the Arts Education … [Read more...] about Arts and The GAO Report: Does the Media Play the Telephone Game?
People You Should Know: Harry Partch
So, he's been dead for 35 years, but still, have you heard of him?I was watching a bit of President Obama's press conference last night and a question was asked concerning families who are living in tents. This was fairly common in New York City and other urban areas, I presume, in the rough and tumble late 70's through mid 80's, but I hadn't heard mention of it yet as a … [Read more...] about People You Should Know: Harry Partch
New Report: Music Study Improves Early Literacy
Okay, we've been here before. Nevertheless, a new study has been published in the journal Psychology of Music: The Effect of Piano Study on the Vocabularly and Verbal Sequencing of Primary Grade Students by Joseph M. Piro and Camilo Ortiz. (You can only view the abstract without a subscription.)Using a quasi-experimental research model, the study chose two schools in the same … [Read more...] about New Report: Music Study Improves Early Literacy
Obama Administration Poised to Increase Funding for Arts Education??
In the special section on museums in today's New York Times, an article by Dorothy Spears titled When The Gallery is a Classroom, opened with the following : "For years, with school budgets declining in so many American cities, museums have provided a parallel universe for learning. Now, with the Obama administration poised to support arts education with increased … [Read more...] about Obama Administration Poised to Increase Funding for Arts Education??