The American Teacher is the bi-monthly magazine published by the American Federation of Teachers. The February edition has a cover story on arts education in the United States. And it's quite a swell cover!Click here to read it. For some reason, there is this underlying element in the arts that makes you feel you have to justify what you're doing, says Karla Back, who teaches … [Read more...] about The American Teacher Magazine Cover Story on Arts Education
Archives for January 2010
The True Nature of Mayoral Control Strikes Hard for 19 School Communities
Sometimes people lose track of what mayoral control means, particularly the pure form that we have in New York City. In New York City, it means that the mayor controls the schools and can do whatever he wants, for he appoints the majority of the the local school board (the Panel for Educational Policy) and can remove his appointees at anytime for any reason whatsoever.The vote … [Read more...] about The True Nature of Mayoral Control Strikes Hard for 19 School Communities
This Moment for the Arts Sector: Will the Economy Force Significant Change?
I first started wondering about the viability and rationality of the non-profit field when I ran the American Music Center. (Actually, I started thinking about it when I was at Juilliard, and began to realize just how many trombonists were being graduated from music schools across the United States, into a distinctly smaller job market to say the least.) I started at the AMC in … [Read more...] about This Moment for the Arts Sector: Will the Economy Force Significant Change?
The USDOE Consults with the Arts Education Field on NCLB
Okay, we're not using the name NCLB anymore, and you might think this is a bait and switch, but if I used its formal name, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), you might not know what this blog is all about. A couple of weeks ago I blogged about an invitation that was extended to arts education leaders across the nation to meet with the USDOE about ways in which … [Read more...] about The USDOE Consults with the Arts Education Field on NCLB
Reflections on the Possible Closing of My High School: Beach Channel High School
It makes for a really great chest-beating sound-bite: "we just closed another low performing school!" It's all the rage in New York City, at the USDOE, and at many other urban school districts: School Turnaround. And, although the term denotes a number of possible strategies, it almost always connotes the closing of a school. And, you may ask what happens to the building after … [Read more...] about Reflections on the Possible Closing of My High School: Beach Channel High School