Dewey 21C: May 2010 Archives

Goodlad on School Reform: Are we ignoring lessons of the past 50 years?

I suddenly awakened to the realization that we were tinkering, one more time, toward an ill-defined utopia.

I was dumbfounded. How could we so ignore the lessons of 50 years of failed school reform and the learning and strategies of those hundreds of innovative boutique projects, funded over these years by billions of dollars from philanthropic foundations, that excited and changed thousands of teachers nationwide?

Listening to Diane Ravitch on Leonard Lopate just about makes me want to cry; if you click through the previous post you may very well feel the same way.

So, I thought it might be good to offer a respite.

For all those who are heading towards some sort of apology, or would like to forget their most recent apology, I present you The Apologies of the Week, a favorite section from Harry Shearer's Le Show, on NPR.

For all those who would like proof that there is truth to the phrase "making matters worse," click here to listen to this select segment from early May.

Need a good laugh?  I do have to admit, I haven't heard much on his show from any education officials....

Okay, I admit it, I may just have blogged more about Diane Ravitch than any other single person since I started Dewey21C almost two years ago. And that is as it should be!

It never ceases to amaze me how bizarre the world of K-12 education has become.

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, of course, as an assessment of the all-day professional development conference. We got something right,  that fed the spirit of this teacher and her colleagues on Saturday, May 15th.

Today, most of what you read in the media will lead you to believe that teachers are inept, gaming the system, and conspiring against children. Everyone in the so called school reform movement has come around to the sound bite that the quality of the teacher is the single most important factor in closing the achievement gap, etc. Everyone loves teachers, except for all the incompetent ones that are plaguing schools across America. And there is no lens through which to view career teachers than through their unions, or so says Steve Brill and The New York Times Magazine.

Here's another particularly interesting take on the whole thing, the issue of why teachers might feel put upon. Its a piece about the Deputy Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education proclaiming that two-thirds of the teachers in the New York City public schools are people one would not want teaching their children.  I stand corrected, he really, only meant that the conference attendees wouldn't want their children taught by two-thirds of the teachers in the New York City public schools.

On Saturday May 15,  The United Federation of Teachers Teacher Center and The Center for Arts Education joined forces for its second city-wide conference on arts education for this school year. With 165 teachers registered, we were looking forward to a big day. And, as much work as you put into it, you can never be sure of how it will go. After all, it was a Saturday session, on one of the few really nice sunny Saturdays so far this spring, so ultimately the teachers are there because they perceive some sort of value. There are no releases from class; no per diem payments; and you can be sure that folks will assess the program with their feet, by walking out the door if you've blown it.

It was a big and crowded program, and you have to take it for what it was: a one-day event. How much can you accomplish in one day? That was really the question we used as the overall frame for all of the planning discussions. Were this a multi-session institute, well, that would be a different story and different design altogether.

Here's the agenda for the day. Lots of territory:
Ufttc-cae 5 15 10 Agenda-final

One thing I have come to believe about teacher conferences as opposed to more broad-based arts and arts eduction conferences: teachers like to "do." They are practitioners. They're not wild about a lot of panel sessions and plenary speeches. They come to learn, and learn by doing is what they seem to thrive on. We learned that the hard way from the first conference we did last November.

In many ways this conference, which skimmed over many topics, was the sort of event that presented just enough hooks and just enough content for teachers to want to pursue the work further. Some teachers got hooked on the idea of creating podcasts, seeing a range of opportunities in having their kids share the podcasts with their parents on a regular basis. Others saw possibilities for incorporating podcasts into their school's website. Still others were struck by how the podcasts call for a range of different art forms and challenge the person to think about design.

Some were focused on learning how to fundraise and we surprised when we likened a good proposal to good curricular design.

Still others were there to learn how the arts can be the focus of career awareness and readiness. A number of guidance counselors attend specifically for that purpose.

But overall, the sense I got from the teachers, at what we like to call a" professional teacher conference" was the hunger they had to learn and experience, and a very clear desire to convert that learning into something new and positive for their students. Clearly, these teachers did not feel they were getting enough support, nor respect.

For those of you who would like to see a few photos, here you go. Some of you will recognize Hollis Headrick, who was a faculty member for the day, and his wife, Sonnet Takahisa, who simply popped in to say hi and collect Hollis.

The photos show a range of things, including teachers creating learning their way though GarageBand, iPhoto, working with Smartboards, and more.

A master teacher from the UFT Teacher Center leads breakout session.


The making of a podcast.


Learning how to use iPhoto.


Hollis Headrick connects teachers to free curricula on the web.


CAE's Career Development Program interns work directly with the teachers.


Our man at the UFT Teacher Center, Roberto Benitez and Sonnet Takahisa.

Okay, I hear you in advance: it's one single example. But let's look a bit more deeply at it, shall we?

Take a good gander at this article from a local newspaper. Why would a principal turn a program away, when it's being provided for free, is being embraced by other schools in the area, and the schools are facing historic budget cuts? Why is the principal allowed to do it? What is there to be done, if anything?

I asked another school principal about it, who shall remain nameless, for the NYCDOE is a tough place for those who choose to speak candidly:

You have to understand: they (NYCDOE) tell you what's important and what's not. Look at the School Progress Report: It's impossible to miss. And believe me, the arts are not there. So, on one hand they tell everyone that the arts are important. At the same time the principals have been "empowered"--we're the CEO's. So, think about it a little. They set the policy that directs your decision-making. It's ELA and math scores. And then when you make a decision that is subject to question, it's all your fault--meaning the principal. It's nice and convenient for everyone but the principal.

And what is there to do about it? Well, so far no comment from the school's parent association. And, the NYCDOE appears to be unwilling to support the principal's decision, nor overturn it.

Is it an aberration or a canary in the coal mine? If you look at the numbers regarding compliance with minimum standards for instruction in the arts, one would have to imagine that the canary was lost quite a while ago...

From the Riverdale Review - May 20, 2010 (reprinted with permission)

 

The Day the Music Died at P.S. 24

By CANDICE M. GIOVE

New funding for arts education is typically music to any principal's ears, but not to Donna Connelly's at P.S. 24.

The newly-appointed principal late last year declined a grant that would have given the school a two-year music course.

The gift snub struck a sour chord with Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, who selected the local institution for the money, but only recently learned that the program was not in place.

"Unbeknownst to us, the principal rejected it," he said. "We were told that [Connelly] said there was no educational value to it."

Though the Department of Education could not verify the details of the program declination, the agency took issue with the principal's assessment of the Music and Memory program. "We obviously dispute that," said Matthew Mittenthal, a DOE spokesman.

Four other Bronx schools benefit from grant money, donated to the DOE by Mattel Inc. The grant endows teachers and students with music materials--which include compact discs--enabling them to spend the year learning and listening to important musical works. They hope to extend funding to those four schools next year and to expand the program to other institutions.

That a school would turn down such money, Mittenfeld said, "That's sort of shocking."

Principal Connelly did not return a call for comment.

Last year, Dinowitz singled out the school for the grant after being asked by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to recommend a school.  P.S. 24 received word from the DOE that they had been selected for the Music and Memory program by Assemblyman Dinowitz and State Senator Eric Schneiderman in a letter dated November 23.

The school had to respond in early December.

Dinowitz, who yearly secures money to fund music and arts programs at local schools, was disappointed that the school turned the funding down. The course would have fine-tuned students' listening skills while they studied orchestral, vocal, choral and keyboard music written by top composers.

"It sounds like it would have been a nice thing," he said.

The monetary value of the two-year program is unclear, though it likely amounts in the thousands. While the DOE could not provide an exact figure, the grant provides funding for a resource binder for a teacher, compact discs for students and the opportunity for those students to hear the music they studied performed live by the Riverside Symphony Orchestra.

Dinowitz would have liked to keep the money in his district and would have directed it elsewhere had he known that the school would reject it.

"Now it's probably too late," he said. "We lost it, essentially."

It's unusual for a school to turn down money for music programs, although, Dinowitz said, it happened once before when he allocated money to the Bronx Arts Ensemble to buy instruments for P.S. 95. The principal rejected funding because at the time the school didn't have a music teacher.

But other than that, grants are welcomed. Dinowitz said he recently watched students perform, using instruments he funded, at the AmPark school. "They're faces were just beaming," he said. "They really love this. This really excites kids."

The P.S. 24 parents' association did not return a call for comment.

Okay, you might argue that such a blog entry on the very day that NAEP reading results are released offers quite a skewed measure. I beg to differ. Nevertheless, take a look at the top Google new links for education news, today, May 20, 2010.

Will historians write that Americans had become obsessed with test scores leaving little time to consider anything else?

1. New NAEP reading scores released for Atlanta: Shows gains in grade 8. ‎ Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) - Maureen Downey - 3 hours ago I think we are doing to see those kinds of results in the rest of the nation." Dubbed the nation's report card, NAEP is used to gauge overall national ... DPS students at bottom of national reading test scores‎ - The Detroit News Urban 8th Graders Make Reading Gains on NAEP‎ - Education Week News New reading results put MPS near bottom among urban districts‎ - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel San Diego Union Tribune - PR Newswire (press release) all 52 news articles »

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2. On Reading Test, Mixed Results Under Bloomberg ‎ New York Times - Sharon Otterman - Robert Gebeloff - 4 hours ago The test, known as the NAEP, is administered to randomly chosen groups of students ... to the test results, and 63 percent are at or above basic level. ...

3. US Reading Scores Stall in Urban School Districts ‎ Wall Street Journal - Stephanie Banchero - 3 hours ago The lackluster reading results follow the March release of urban math scores, ... A companion NAEP exam is given to students across the country, ...

4. Report: Reading skills in early grades are crucial to success ‎ Christian Science Monitor - Amanda Paulson - 1 day ago ... of Educational Progress (NAEP) don't achieve reading proficiency. ... Casey and through other community partnerships - is already showing some results, ...

5. Miami-Dade students excel in national reading test ‎ MiamiHerald.com - Kathleen McGrory - 4 hours ago The National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, is given to a sample ... The federal Department of Education compares the results for each state, ...

6. Harvard study gives Race to Top winners bad grades on academic ... ‎ Washington Post (blog) - May 6, 2010 The exact grade depended on how much lower state results were than the world-class NAEP. Tennessee, with an 'F,' was at the bottom of the list of states and ... 'Race to the Top' Winner Gets an 'F'‎ - Mother Jones all 12 news articles »

7. Major review of No Child Left Behind. Kids moved ahead in math ... ‎ Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) - Maureen Downey - 1 day ago And the results show mixed results: Improvements were concentrated in the earlier grades, most notably in grade 4 NAEP math scores and mostly among Hispanic ...

8. MPS makes the most of data sessions ‎ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - 4 days ago This week, the board will release results of a recent round of reading tests in 18 ... and focus on improvement, using the kind of data that NAEP provides. ...

9. Analysis Ties 4th Grade Reading Failure to Poverty ‎ Education Week News - Debra Viadero - 2 days ago National results for the 2009 NAEP reading tests were released in March, and the US Department of Education on Thursday is scheduled to release results in ...

10. Education commissioner Schundler dismisses US test ranking NJ at ... ‎ The Star-Ledger - NJ.com (blog) - Bob Braun - May 10, 2010 Best, or worst, of all are the latest results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, a testing program of the US Department of ...

In Memoriam - Renee Darvin

Alas, alack the good die way too young, but I am glad to have seen, hugged and kissed Renee "goodbye" at a jam-packed gathering in her honor just a few weeks ago at Teachers College. I will keep the memory of her calm and smiling loveliness as she sat in the queen's seat with all her subjects around...all thanks to Judy Burton and the Art and Art Education Department.

I have known and worked with Renee since the sixties, admiring her ability as a dedicated, imaginative and totally focused arts teacher of the young at Beach Channel High and then the graduate students at TC. She was an amazing woman, strong in heart and commitment to her work, her friends and the arts as education. It is amazing how cancer can carry away the charged spirit and energy she had a mere two weeks ago...I will miss her.

Jane Remer

I think of Renee Darvin.

This morning I heard the very sad news that Renee Darvin had died.

Not many of the Dewey21C readers will have had the great fortune to have met Renee. But, many of you will have known someone like Renee. Someone who played a major part in your career and life in the arts.

Renee was certainly best known as a first-rate teacher of visual art teachers at Teacher College in New York City. Before that, she headed up visual art education at the New York City Board of Education.

And, before that, she was the Chairman of the Fine Arts Department at Beach Channel High School in Rockaway Beach, NY. BCHS was my high school, and yes, I first met Renee Darvin when I was 15 years old.

Renee is important to me in so many ways, but for the readers of Dewey21C, many of you will recognize Renee for the icon she represented, as so many of us know or have been fortunate to have known that truly gifted, deeply knowledgeable teacher of the arts. Renee was all that, and more. Renee knew her stuff, in way that I am sorry to say is somewhat old school, for few get to have the career that Renee Darvin had.

Renee was that rare combination of master teacher, master administrator, master advocate, and keeper of the flame of quality and tradition in visual art instruction K-12.

When I advocate for certified arts teachers, that advocacy has been directly informed by what Renee Darvin taught me. Renee is the archetype in my mind's eye.

Let me bring you a few quotes, straight from the New York Times, in the early 90s, when Renee was standing up for arts and children:

Despite the bleak statistics, some schools like Public School 19 on the Lower East Side manage to make do, scrambling for grants, enlisting neighborhood artists and juggling their own budgets. These schools are helped by dozens, if not hundreds, of outside arts groups that send performers to schools, organize field trips or provide special arts programs. But many of these programs may be here one year, gone the next, and so very few New York City students can count on having arts classes throughout their school years.

As a result, said Renee Darvin, a former director of art for New York City public schools, children can neither develop their own talents nor find relief in art from the stresses of their own lives. "We have kids who write on the walls because that's all the art they know," Ms. Darvin said.

"Tragically, art education is virtually nonexistent in the lives of most elementary-school children in New York," said Renee Darvin, director of art for the New York City Public Schools. "Museum programs have had to do what schools are not: provide children with the integration of art into their lives." 

And, from this past December, she spoke plainly in the Columbia Spectator, about the state of things at the New York City Department of Education, reminding everyone about what was really going on, regardless of what officials at the NYCDOE had to say:

Renee Darvin, an instructor at Teachers College, places graduate students who want to become arts teachers in schools around the city. She said she hasn't been able to place many students in nearby schools because relatively few have arts programs with teachers who are part of the faculty, not artists in residence or from other institutions.

And, as I close this blog, in memory of my friend and teacher Renee, who had the courage of her convictions and a hell of a lot of guts, I give to you a short little piece I wrote for her retirement party from Teachers College this past May 7th. Renee, may you rest in peace.

I got my first glimpse of what Renee Darvin is made of in 1974, when I was 15 years old. At Beach Channel High School, where Renee was the chairman of the Art Department and I was a junior, I went to her at the urging of the head of the music department, Jack Nowinski, who did not appear be willing to take the matter up directly with Renee!

 

I asked Renee to sign me out of my high school art requirement allowing me to take an additional music course as a substitute. With the great indignation of an overly serious 15 year old eyeballing a career in music, I begged Renee: "I am a devoted music student, planning to make a career out of music!! As much as I love visual arts, it would take me away from the seriousness of my music study." Renee would not budge: "art is also a serious subject and it is important that a musician be well-rounded. I am sorry, the answer is no." Case closed.

 

Of course, Renee was right. I am happy to report that I learned about art from the master, Renee, and still had time and space to go on to the All-City Orchestra, receive two degrees from Juilliard, win the 1990 Naumburg Chamber Music Award, and more.

 

Beyond all that, Renee was more than correct, she taught me then and now about courage, principle, and commitment to a quality arts education. I am deeply honored to be able to congratulate Renee, my friend and mentor, and unrelenting wise woman on that day in 1974, on her very well deserved retirement from Teachers College.

Click here for Part One

Click here for Part Two

Click here for Part Three

Click here for Part Four

Click here for Part Five

Click here for Part Six

Click here for Part Seven

Click here for Part Eight

Click here for Part Nine

Click here for Part Ten

Click here for Part Eleven, Finis

Click here for The Tools of Creativity, by Jon Deak

Click here for Part Ten

Why am I so intent upon the definitive performance? It should be clear by now that the whole point of the Very Young Composers is to take these works as seriously as we take Beethoven, Mahler, Bartók. Without question, I know that all who have been involved during these last two weeks, not only agree with that philosophy, but have bent over backwards to try and help accommodate this new program

Sure, we have fun in these classes, certainly we play games, and surely these pieces are in transition themselves! But still, we experience them intensely as works of art; the composers themselves do. It has been noted above, how sensitive children are to the slightest variation in sound, the most controlled intensity.

There are many more issues to cover, many more people to thank, congratulate, accomplishments to recognize...

The concert is over!

The children have received diplomas from El Sistema, Dani and Diana and Vicyuly have thought of everything. I almost weep just thinking of how hard Dani has worked for this moment; indeed, how seriously all of El Sistema has been in supporting this effort, from Maestro José Antonio Abreu, Gustavo Dudamel, Maestro Valdemar Rodríguez, Diana Arismendi, Alfredo Rugeles, and all throughout. Richard and I share a deep moment, conceptual high-five. And the fantastic musicians, exhausted.

As an aside, I was so very befuddled by the riffling through of parts and by the fact that I had to conduct most of the time--poor Fernanda had to play some of my bass parts while I held the ensemble together. Anyway, Richard took it on himself to organize my scores between performances, otherwise I would have have absolutely been lost! And he had enough to do already. The amazing Gabriel Diaz playing cues, transpositions, everything on his viola. That's just a iittle glimpse of the way we all worked together.

Hundreds of photographs, exchanging greetings with smiling parents, the wonderful Venezuelan hugs, gifts, addresses exchanged, instruments and equipment packed up.

And now we are driving back and I am sinking into an unbelievable postpartum state. I wanted it all to be just so perfect. I wanted it for them, so they would all be so empowered and proud of what they'd done.

Back at the hotel, I'm supposed to go to dinner with relatives of friends from New York. Lovely people, but I panic. I am absolutely going to fall to pieces right now. I feel like I am on the verge of a breakdown.

There is only one group of people who can help:The Abreu Fellows. I make my excuses and head for the outdoor restaurant. And they are there!!! Mark Churchill and all of them. They understand; they have been through all of this, have worked so hard for these children in their own programs, have seen their own lives transformed by the magic of El Sistema. Gradually they calm me down, put the whole in perspective for me, and I listen to their own stories; their own dreams and fears.

I know I keep saying: This is why I became a musician. But it's true. I've been a "symphony orchestra junkie" my entire life, and now, here is a land where the orchestra is saving a whole society. Here is a template whereby I can begin to give back a tiny bit of the joy and blessing I've received from it my whole professional life.

* * * *

The next few days are filled with their own memorable experiences, visiting more nucleos--schools of El Sistema, where thousands of children, right before my eyes, are transformed into proud citizens and artists. There are meetings, one in particular, where Diana, Pedro, Dani, Rosa and I put together the foundations of a continuing program. I am so impressed with them. Pedro, in particular, puts together a five page essay, (Which I must translate for you here below) proposing a "National School for Young Composers" which is so cogent, I practically insist that they give him a job. He's too valuable to run off to Hollywood and try to become another film composer.

On the plane back to New York, I read Pedro's article again in the connecting flight lounge - the very same boarding area where I met Ikenna, that little boy, on my way to Caracas two weeks ago. Ikenna had colored on the cover of Diana's essay. I wish he could be here to give his blessing to Pedro's. But then, I gave him the colored pencils already. That was the important thing.

It's been a magical trip.

--Jon Deak
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Jon Deak, born in the sand dunes of Indiana of East European parents, is a Composer, Contrabassist, and Educational pioneer. Educated at Oberlin College, the Julliard School, the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia (Rome) and the University of Illinois, he joined the New York Philharmonic and served as its Associate Principal Bassist for many years, while continuing his professional composing, and studying with Pierre Boulez and Leonard Bernstein. During this time he also introduced ground-breaking performance techniques for the Contrabass, and in his orchestral writing, working with major orchestras across the country.

From 1994 - 97 he served as Composer In Residence (sponsored by Meet the Composer) with the Colorado Symphony under Marin Alsop, which is where he initiated the public school program now called The Very Young Composers (VYC).

With support from the New York Philharmonic and others, the VYC has grown steadily, winning a national award for excellence in 2004. The program has been introduced in Shanghai, Tokyo, and now in Venezuela, besides serving hundreds of children in eleven New York area Public Schools and such places as New England and Eagle County, Colorado. The New York Philharmonic has premiered 42 works for children, fully orchestrated by the children themselves, mostly under the ages of 13, as well as hundreds of chamber works in the public schools and libraries.
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Wednesday Morning, May 12...

I am on my way this morning up to Albany, the New York State Capitol, for a lobbying trip. Nope, it's not "lobby day for the arts." It's just another day where one of my colleagues and I go up to meet with legislators and their staff members, to advance CAE's legislative agenda. A few of us are registered lobbyists. Yes, Martha, lobbying is legal for non-profits, within certain prescribed limits.

What are we lobbying for? There's some legislation we're associated with that has been introduced in the New York State Legislature, intended to bolster and energize the state law regarding minimum levels of arts instruction. It's all connected to the dreaded c-word: compliance, the very word and business that many state departments of education would like to get away from for they feel they cannot do much around enforcement.

"We are going to get out of the compliance business and focus instead on creating demand," was the precise phrase I heard recently from a senior state education official.

But that not what I want to write about today. First off, if you've never taken Amtrak from New York Penn Station to Albany, you're missing one of the great train rides in America, even perhaps the world. The train travels up along the eastern banks of the Hudson River, and it is just glorious.

Time to listen to some Pete Seeger on my iPod.

At some point in the next few hours, my colleague Lori Sherman, Director of Development at CAE, will hit send, something I have come to view as the equivalent of sending an unmanned space ship on an exploratory mission of an outer galaxy, namely the submission of CAE's i3 grant application to the USDOE.

We probably have about the same chance of getting the grant as we would if we were looking for life on Jupiter. Well, in truth, I hope our chances may just be a bit better.

After all that work!!!!

I had heard some estimates floating out there as to the expected number of proposal submissions. Some have talked about upwards of 25,000; others have estimated the total around 2,000 What you say? Twenty-five what?!? Two-thousand what???

(As of Friday, May 14th, the USDOE's official tally of applications submitted to i3 is 1,669)

I had thought all along that the number of applications could even be as high as 50,000, for when you consider the number of eligible school districts (Local Education Agencies) with high need schools could number over 3,000, and then you consider that consortia of individual schools can apply, and then add into the mix the whole wide world of non-profits involved in education, including colleges and universities, charter management organizations, advocacy groups, etc., well 50K is not out of the realm of possiblity.

So, you may be wondering why anyone in their right mind, particularly in arts education would apply, considering the odds? A good friend and colleague recently told me she admired that we going ahead with it, considering the guidelines, work, and chances. Clearly she had read the guidelines.

First of all, I think we came up with a very good and very innovative idea, which I will save for another entry. Second of all, I just felt as if I would never forgive myself if we didn't apply, considering the size of the grants and the scarcity of funding.

I cannot tell you how many times I looked at the guidelines and was about a twitch away from calling my colleagues to drop the whole thing. Making the proposal work for arts education had that distinct feeling of having to shoehorn the proposal into a type of footwear, so to speak, that just didn't at all appear to be the right fit.

So, what might one predict as to the results, for arts education and i3?

First off, it's pretty clear that you're looking at something that is indeed a stretch for arts education, but not impossible. At the top level, for the up to $50 million "scale" grants, you would have to imagine that there will only be a handful of those grants and what is more, that those grants will most likely go to the expansion of charter schools. They're going to be very big projects with the type of activities and research that just don 't happen very often for arts education.

Then you have the up to $30 million "validation" grants, where there will certainly be a larger number of grants, one might guess, say somewhere around 10-20. Arts education has a better shot here, but again, it's going to be tough, with the exception of a very small number of large scale urban-based arts initiatives targeting high-needs students.

Finally there is the up to $5 million "development" grants, where upwards of 100 grants may be awarded. This would presumably be where the arts would have the best chance. That being said, one would have to predict this the category where the vast majority of applications will be directed.

So, what do I think of all of this while I travel up the Hudson, knowing that the send button will be hit any moment: "DC, we have ignition!"

Well, the grants areafter all focused on innovation. Although, the actual word "innovation" doesn't appear all that much beyond the title of the program, oddly enough. So, did it all propel my colleagues and me to come up with something innovative? Yup, I think it it did. High marks must be given to the USDOE on that count.

I am particularly curious about how all this will be processed and adjudicated. Aren't you? Talk about innovation, in this case it's clearly going to include innovation in grants management Having seen the NEA's pipe line for accepting online grants getting pretty bogged down over the number of applications transmitted for the arts stimulus funding, and having be forewarned by the USDOE to avoid transmitting on the day of the deadline for the AEMDD grants, both of which had a volume that is a mere faction of what is going to be traveling along the information superhighway today, well you have to wonder how this is ever going to be managed.

And that's just a question of intake. Even if the applications tend towards the low end, let's just say 2,000, how do you adjudicate 2,000 detailed applications, let alone anything up to ten times that number. Is there an algorithm for this?

I am going to ask a few of my grantmaking friends what they think about adjudicating something this big. It seems to me that it raises some very complicated questions concerning how you use a numerical scoring method, which is what the USDOE is using, on this scale. Wouldn't the sheer size of the applicant pool, particularly at the development category end, require a very deep level of numerical grading?

For example, what happens when you get 300 grants that have exactly the same score? Capice? Also, how do you assemble and manage an adequate pool of reviewers? As Johnny Carson used to say: "that's weird, wild stuff."

And, just now, as I finish up, I see an email from the USDOE: "e-Application Submission Confirmation."

Damn, DC, we do in fact, have ignition.

And, I kid not not, just the next day, Thursday morning, I was asked to sign a confirmation to be faxed to the USDOE, and it is addressed to the: Application Control Center.

Click here for Part Nine

Five American Pieces

At this midpoint of the program, we perform the pieces written by the 'Bridge' students of New York City for their Young Composing friends of Venezuela.

Isaac Draper: From New York to Venezuela. Immediately apparent is the driving rhythmic theme, closely chromatic with intensive percussion, giving way to equally intensive, repeated A-minor textured arpeggios, followed by the "Dudamel theme," and ending with the arpeggios in C major--and all in 56 seconds! (This work we had already performed in part on the video we sent down in advance of our trip.)

Zephyr Peck: Canción del Cerro, (Song of the Hills). Again a variation on the "Dudamel," Zephyr transforms the theme with deceptive simplicity. He gives us an introduction apparently in A minor, but the theme appears in G major before sinking back into A minor. There are some attractive half-diminished 7th and major 7th chords, then he plays with the first two notes of the theme as a sort of 'B' section before recapping the first part of the piece.

Ben Myers: A Walk in the Woods. Ben has made a very imaginative transformation of the Frank Tovar Flute melody. In fact, he has constructed a whole dramatic scenario around it. The theme becomes a walking motive, and graphic interjections tell us the story of nursing a lost rabbit to health, the rabbit leaving, sadness and frustration, and finally finding the rabbit again, now with babies, and a happy ending! I loosely told the story in Spanish, and the piece is delightful.

Lucas McGill: Venezuela Variation. Lucas begins with the "Dudamel theme" basically in its original form. Then he inverts a few notes of it and plays with a falling two note motive, which gives us a taste of what we might expect in transformation had he continued; this is fertile ground, and we'd love to see Lucas go to town on it!

Vincent Wilmet: Don't Come Right Now. This provocative, even scary title, introduces one of the most intriguing pieces we've encountered. Very loosely related as an inversion of "Tovar's theme," Vincent has created a postively creepy, haunted atmosphere. The cross-relationships in the middle section are exquisite, and the whole piece (less than a minute) seems to tell a subconscious story in itself. We used a conga drum (Cubo) to great effect. There are also scrapings and cymbals.

We can feel proud of these gifts to the Venezolanos, and they were very well received.

We hope they get played again!

Now, back to the "Jóvenes Compositores Venezolanos!"

Daniela Melo: Escalera al Cielo (Stairway to Heaven). On every program, there are some works which just stick in the mind for days, even weeks. This is one of those works. A very simple device, really: Just a rising scale with a stepwise resolution on top, starting on various degrees of the G-major scale, cleverly varied, to build and then relax tension, and the whole underpinned by a constantly pulsing G in the bass. Simple, except that you really feel like you've reached heaven at the end. Daniela is a violist.

(This program is getting very emotional.)

Alexis Angola: A violinist and rather quiet seeming boy, Alexis has created a truly original sound. Starting with a syncopated rhythm and a melody with a three-note rising motive, he offsets the pitches to create a blurred but directed sound, and underscored by the cubo. Then a middle section slows the motion by half, and almost seeming to come to a halt. Gradually picking up rhythmic values, we return at the end to the original driving tempo, but with a variation on the three-note motive. This piece also has the potential to be a hit. I can't wait to see what he does next.

Verónica Machado :How can you lose with a title like: Un Canto a Mi Madre Querida, (A Song for my Dear Mother)? Veronica, a clarinetist, has written what will be a very touching, sweet work, not yet fully realized in our performance. She joined the class after it had started last week, and worked very well with us. Her work is for clarinet, strings, piano and a soft accompaniment on timpani. It has come in just the last few days and I feel she only needs a quiet hour or two to sit down with us and communicate the exact details of her pitches and articulations, which are quite sophisticated and beautiful.

Maria Victoria Contesso: A violinist, Maria has given us an assertive, stomping modal romp with an Indian flavor, entitled Happy Day. Constructed in twos and threes expressed in 4/4 and 9/8 bars, the piece leaps and soars. Maria made her rhythms perfectly clear to Richard. Her unison texture of the instruments breaks at the end into forceful chords, alternating in measures of C-major and D-minor. Again, I would love to see Maria develop this work in whatever direction she wishes to go with it.

David Zambrano: David has produced a dense, brief, work, closely-layered and entitled Claro de Luna. Delightfully, It is at the other end of the emotional scale from the eponymous Debussy work! David's piece chatters, scurries, groans, moans, marches across our field of vision--and vanishes in less than half a minute. David exploited the cuatro, the clarinet, piano, three pitches of tom-toms, and, notably, a hugely sliding, gliss-ing contrabass. So there!

Yuliana Contesso: Yuliana thinks in terms of colors, and so her piece is entitled: Azul Profundo, (Deep Blue). A high-spirited romp, not dissimilar from that of her sister's, Yuliana has given an impression of that color quite different from most of our own associations. (Will I ever look at that color quite the same again???) Primarily expressed in rhythmic groups of three with occasional twos for a bit of swagger, this piece reaches an impressively insistent climax and a final grand gesture, as if flinging its arms wide to the audience. A piece to cheer for!

Nicole Georges: Also joining the class rather late, Nicole is a flutist, and has composed a variation on "Luis' melody" for piano, flute and strings. Beginning with the theme, she changes direction with a notable progression of chords: E7(b9) to A7(2). From there a beautiful series of minor 7th chords give a sort of Ravel/Jazz flavor, all her own, and quite distinctive among all of these works.

Mailyn Guerrero: Mailyn, also a hardworking and gifted member of the class, had written a distinctive melody for clarinet and gradually harmonized it with strings. (We need to proofread her score again with her.) Clara de Sol has a cool, ambling sort of pace with lots of wide leaps and a 16th-note figure that is tossed back and forth. The clarinet is given flutter tongue numerous times, and later the violin, tremolo, as well. The piece reaches a chatter-y state, then fades out, as if a group of people are moving on down the street out of sight. I can easily imagine Mailyn and her friends improvising a new dance-pantomime to this piece; what fun that would be to watch!

Luis Pichardo: Luis is one of the more advanced and ambitious of the "Young Composers." He wrote two pieces: one, a solo for violin titled Sonata, a statement, really, of some 26 measures in C minor, a soft descending line with many trills, growing into an urgent outcry in the lowest register, with many dynamic contrasts, but staying basically on the G-string. He wants us to take it with us to the U.S. So we will!

His main work for the class is Camp Voyageur, a very ambitious movement for mixed winds and strings. Its opening statement is the theme the class chose for writing variations. Luis is to be congratulated for such a fine piece, and for doing his best to notate and communicate, although it is the score which took Pedro the farthest in the night to enter on computer so that we could read it in performance. A rhapsodic essay primarily in D major, it soars and swoops often, giving it almost an ecstatic mood, with complex metric changes, voice leadings and a fantasia, or free form, although the principal theme reappears in numerous guises. A work like this could benefit from two hours of rehearsal just by itself! I so wish we could perform it again.

Oscar Medina: Oscar is also one of the more advanced musicians of the class and wrote a Contrabass and Clarinet Duo for Richard and myself to perform in New York, and to return the favor of the Americans who wrote for Venezuela. We are very grateful for this. (Besides, it has a nifty tune!)

His main work for the class is for strings (or string orchestra) titled: La Melancólica Melodía de Salvador. It is a dry, sophisticated piece of three or so minutes, an inner soliloquy which is free in form and so idiosyncratic in nature that I can't help but think of it in surrealist terms. Above all, it needs a biting, witty, clear performance. We did our best, but obviously the definitive performance is yet to happen.

--Jon Deak

Click here for Part Eleven, Finis
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Jon Deak, born in the sand dunes of Indiana of East European parents, is a Composer, Contrabassist, and Educational pioneer. Educated at Oberlin College, the Julliard School, the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia (Rome) and the University of Illinois, he joined the New York Philharmonic and served as its Associate Principal Bassist for many years, while continuing his professional composing, and studying with Pierre Boulez and Leonard Bernstein. During this time he also introduced ground-breaking performance techniques for the Contrabass, and in his orchestral writing, working with major orchestras across the country.

From 1994 - 97 he served as Composer In Residence (sponsored by Meet the Composer) with the Colorado Symphony under Marin Alsop, which is where he initiated the public school program now called The Very Young Composers (VYC).

With support from the New York Philharmonic and others, the VYC has grown steadily, winning a national award for excellence in 2004. The program has been introduced in Shanghai, Tokyo, and now in Venezuela, besides serving hundreds of children in eleven New York area Public Schools and such places as New England and Eagle County, Colorado. The New York Philharmonic has premiered 42 works for children, fully orchestrated by the children themselves, mostly under the ages of 13, as well as hundreds of chamber works in the public schools and libraries.
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Click here for Part Eight

We enter the children's world:

Michelle Hernández: The youngest composer, at age eight, has written for her original "dream' assignment" a story so touching and symbolic of the whole, that we have her read it to the audience: Cuento Sobre la Música tells of the magic power of music to bring joy and to change lives. Dani helps Michelle read the story at first, but then Michelle gains confidence and boldly finishes it off herself. We also perform her Luna de mi Corazón, a duo for cello (or piano) and violin. It has the sweetness and delicacy one might expect of a little girl, but the difference here is a harmonically wayward drifting that never quite resolves. Michelle plays the violin and can solfege, but chooses to limit herself pitch-wise, so that the whole is a dreamy, somehow cloudy steady state. . . truly a "Moon of My Heart."
Her other piece is a Duo with bass and Piano. This briefest of images inhabits much the same "pitch landscape" as her "Luna," but is entitled Amor Prohibido - ! She seemed very sensitive to the timbre of the bass, and one can only imagine the unconscious images in her young mind.

José Gregorio Al Gindi: Also one of the youngest, he was described above as the boy who stood on a chair and played the "Hallelujah Chorus" on my bass perfectly by memory - except in D minor! *(It has to be heard!) He wrote several pieces for the class, including El Pecesito (The Little Fish) and his main work, for clarinet, two strings and piano, is hilariously titled El Niño que no Paraba de Tocar - (The Boy who Never Stopped Playing) !! And during the class, it was so true! Here, the instruments leap, collide, buzz, and juggle dynamics. A true self-portrait if ever there was one. I offered to let him play the bass for it, but he declined.

As all the children, he bravely states his name, his piece, and is lovingly interviewed by Dani, holding the microphone.

Amanda Hernández: Similar imagery and approach as Michelle's, but more complex in texture, and yet more tonally centered. She wrote at least four brief pieces for the class. El Sueño, for three instruments, is suspended and smooth, with careful bowings for the strings, a cantabile feeling, with a few leaps as interjections. Her La Luna Negra has a tempting morsel of a rippling triplet passage in the piano part. Why not continue? Well, I always know some children need to compose in glimpses, especially at first.

Think of the Impressionist style of painting: When I was a teenager in Chicago, I used to go into the Art Institute with its great Impressionist collection. Before I'd enter the door to a gallery, I would shield my eyes, looking only at the floor, having memorized the locations of my favorite Monets, stand in front of them with my eyes closed, opening only for an instant. The effect could be so powerful, it would remain in my consciousness for days.

Music, also, can be so unbelievably fresh and powerful to children. Do you see them covering their ears, sometimes?

Irawo Graterol: This is the boy "who never stopped spouting forth ideas." Irawo was always singing, playing the piano, tugging on our sleeves to listen to his latest. In our efforts to help him notate what was going on inside of him, we were frustrated often by his leapfrogging from one idea to another. Fine. I'd rather have it this way, frankly. So what he finally came up with was a series of fragments that spoke for him eloquently, yet were unconnected to each other. He also had trouble titling his work, though at the last moment agreed to title it Irawo. I generally feel okay leading a discussion about titles, since anyone who has ever written a magazine or news article knows that the author is seldom allowed to title his own work. Music itself: just the composer. But a title: well, perhaps a collaboration.

Imagine what Irawo will do, given more time and compositional support! The prospect makes my head spin.

Itala Figuera: Another favorite of ours, Itala is a 9-year-old violinist who tried her hand at several different styles, some of them harmonically dense, with titles like El Clavel (The Carnation) and El Día a la Noche, as well as colorful graphics. She finally felt most comfortable with a unison texture entitled: Noche del Amor. (Yes, interesting isn't it? All these romantic titles from the girls, and some of the boys, too!) Her work is energetic, leaping with rhythmic variety, and yet not in a consistent groove at all. Again, this remains a bit of a mystery to me, given that so many of them improvised quite rhythmically when trying out the percussion instruments. This happens with American and other kids at times: what they hear on their iPods and in the movies and television finds its way only tangentially into their music composition.

Giorgi Jiménez: A 10-year-old violinist, small, yet with a kind of inward toughness about him, tried his hand at a variation on Luis' theme, but then settled on a violin-cello duo that featured some nice inversions and imitations. Again, a fragment...a glimpse. I so much want to see Giorgi continue with music, especially music composition. I sense a technical approach, possibly of considerable complexity.

One can never really predict these things, particularly not from a child's appearance or behavior.

Valery Anzola: Nine years old and a flutist, Valery is quiet and unassuming. I feel she achieved quite a bit during this time. She settled on a strong unison sound, with a bright, symmetrical 2/4 melody--very memorable. Dani sensed that she might be able to conduct her own work, and with a little coaching, she did wonderfully! It is never easy to truly conduct, and certainly not easy to play in or conduct one's own work. Take my word for it! But Valery not only did well, but elicited phrasing and expression. As a final grand flourish, she entitled her 40-second work: Symphony!

David Loyo: Worked so hard for the class and produced so much material, and yet it is a shame that we just didn't have the time and the wherewithal to execute his ideas adequately. He worked on two main pieces of considerable complexity and was very intent on notating them by himself: Marcha Fúnebre, and Marcha Happy. (sic) He wrote out his score in a completely linear fashion, and there was confusion as to when the various parts entered and/or paused. His ideas are highly original and rather virtuosic for strings, (they would sound terrific with a whole string orchestra) and so we were anxious to make clear just how it all fit together! But after several attempts humming, explaining, and rewriting, I still don't think we've gotten it. On top of that, our performance was imperfect. He did know what he wanted, however, and I sense his frustration and even disappointment.

Zubair Ali: A bright, eager, and pleasant cello and ttrumpet student, Zubair tried several ideas, including a variation on Luis' theme. This kind of activity seemed to serve as a catalyst for some of the kids. He then worked out a little duo for cello (or bass) and piano, Oscura de Sol (Sun's Shadow). This was once more an enticing glimpse into a florid composing style, ending with a sweeping flourish on the piano. There is a lot of song and virtuosity in Zubair, and I think a bit more time would really bring that out.

Valeria Cordero: When we did our "Ear Fantasy" games, I could tell Valeria was listening intently. Possessing a really good ear and an imagination, she nonetheless was hesitant to write much at first. When she actually did do so, she came up with a score for strings of some 30 measures, the actual content of which was not at first clear to me. However, going over it note-by-note, her expressions and exact intent took the shape of a very tightly constructed narrative, with independent lines, and even counterpoint.Titled Un Cuento Romántico, (A Romantic Tale) it traces an unspecified journey from: strong, to sad; to nervous, happy, singing and triumphant. To go through all those feelings in 30 bars might seem overly constricted, but somehow the piece works--perhaps in a way, one remembers the feelings of a whole event, telescoped in time.

Darianna Melo: A very grownup eleven-year0old violinist, Darianna possesses an ear for texture and unusual rhythm and melody. Making intelligent, and even softly swinging use of the woodblock and/or conga, she has built a fabric of motor-like string imitations murmuring under a violin melody of rather sinuous character. She actually wrote out a readable score for us to perform, although we were able to make parts, which facilitated the rehearsal. One could easily imagine this as the basis for a symphonic movement, but then, we are not Darianna. My only wish, again and again, is that she is provided the opportunity and encouragement to follow her artistic path. (Seems simple, doesn't it? . . how I wish...)

Gabriél Fonseca: A mature, focused 10 year old boy, Gabriél wrote and rewrote much material, struggling with communicating, playing or expressing the exact relationships among his parts. (This may well be my fault, with my highly imperfect language comprehension.) Precision is a crucial issue with him, because the harmonic texture he is aiming at is rather Stravinksy-like in its cross-relationships, and also quite dense. He is one of the few who included the Venezuelan folk instrument, the cuatro, in his work.

His title makes clear his intent: La Magistrál Composición !! I love the pluckiness. It bodes well for him.

Again, his is a composition that we will need him to clarify further. I'm not sure we got it all correctly.

Orlando Suárez: It has been sometimes difficult to tell what Orlando might be thinking. He is not inclined to be effusive, but yet this is sometimes the very kind of student who can do amazing things if we are patient and strong enough. Orlando wrote, among other things, El Gato y el Ratón (Cat and Mouse). The 13-bar piece does suggest the quiet sneaking of a cat, including some low-register clarinet work and soft echoing in the bass, but I would love to see him do more either with the imagery or with development of his opening ideas. It will just take some time, and the right window of perception.

Alejandra Vilar: Alejandra was the one composer I allowed to hand in her work after the others, since she was clearly inspired at the last minute. "I trust you," I told her, and she has not let us (or herself) down! She comes in with a beautiful kind of barcarole for strings, lilting, the slight dissonances gently rubbing the sides of the boat (my daydreaming here...). Not surprisingly, she entitles it: Romance in the Water. It's too late to make copies; we read it from one music stand. It was a special thrill to receive this wonderful piece at last, since I know it wasn't easy for her to get started. Even though the violin has most of the melody (it is contrapuntal), one can tell it is written with a violist's sensibility.

--Jon Deak

Click here for Part Ten
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**************************************************************************************************************
Jon Deak, born in the sand dunes of Indiana of East European parents, is a Composer, Contrabassist, and Educational pioneer. Educated at Oberlin College, the Julliard School, the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia (Rome) and the University of Illinois, he joined the New York Philharmonic and served as its Associate Principal Bassist for many years, while continuing his professional composing, and studying with Pierre Boulez and Leonard Bernstein. During this time he also introduced ground-breaking performance techniques for the Contrabass, and in his orchestral writing, working with major orchestras across the country.

From 1994 - 97 he served as Composer In Residence (sponsored by Meet the Composer) with the Colorado Symphony under Marin Alsop, which is where he initiated the public school program now called The Very Young Composers (VYC).

With support from the New York Philharmonic and others, the VYC has grown steadily, winning a national award for excellence in 2004. The program has been introduced in Shanghai, Tokyo, and now in Venezuela, besides serving hundreds of children in eleven New York area Public Schools and such places as New England and Eagle County, Colorado. The New York Philharmonic has premiered 42 works for children, fully orchestrated by the children themselves, mostly under the ages of 13, as well as hundreds of chamber works in the public schools and libraries.
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Click here for Part Seven

Caracas, 17 de Abril

As we gather the huge mound of music paper bequeathed to us by these children, I feel that we have been gifted with a beyond-precious trove of artistic diamonds, and that we have on our hands a task of near-impossible dimensions. The mood of celebration lasts long enough to see the children's bus off: Not only have they succeeded in handing us accurate (for the most part) and highly original representations of their musical minds, but they've decided on titles for their works and have ideas of what they will say to the audience as an introduction.

Dani and Diana have instructed the children on what to wear, and what time the rehearsal will be the next morning. Some 28 pieces by 24 local children await preparation. This does not include the five works written by our American kids in the "Bridge" (middle school) program of the VYC, to greet their Venezuelan compatriots. I am very proud of these works, since they are specifically written on Venezuelan themes composed for us by Frank Tovar, a teenage flutist in Caracas, and by Gustavo Dudamel. Five brief American pieces, yet sufficiently complex to merit their own rehearsal.

The battle plan swings into action: We gather in my hotel room, armed with room service; Pedro and Rosa notating on Sibelius software, Richard copying by hand, and me, alternately notating and keeping sense of the whole. All of us work far into the night. Pedro drives Rosa home at about 1:30am, pushing the security issue a bit. After that hour, it is not safe to be driving a car in the streets of Caracas. Caraqueños live almost in a self-imposed curfew.

Pedro returns, and continues entering scores until 6:30am. An interesting fact here is that, despite Richard working by hand, he ultimately wins the prize for preparing the most scores! Of course, Pedro has tackled the most complex pieces, so a direct comparison isn't really fair.

So by 7:30am, everything appears to be finished. There may even be time for breakfast! Well, no, not really. There are a number of questions left to write down, that the children must answer at the rehearsal. Also, of course, the printing of the parts, the programs, and the photocopying. Dani, Diana, Vicyuly Ibarra, and staff are all on task, and it is amazing how all this is actually coming together. The Hotel Business Center is inexplicably closed, despite previous assurances to the contrary: Can the school open its offices in time for us to print out parts? Heaven and earth is moved, and all or almost all of the material is ready for the rehearsal. The children are coming soon!

The musicians and equipment all arrive on time: Daniel Gil and Kassem Smaili, violins; Gabriel Diaz, viola; María Fernanda Hernández, cello; Onilsin Rondón, flute; Juan Pablo Amorín, trumpet; Oscar Rodríguez, percussion; and of course Pedro, Richard and me. They are all fine musicians and clearly focused.

We start rehearsing the American pieces.

Within a few seconds, I realize we're in deep trouble. Despite my expansion of the allotted time for rehearsal, there will simply not be sufficient time to prepare all the works properly. The fault is ultimately my own. Once again, the perception that children's music would be simple and easy, is shot to blazes.The musicians work hard. Some are not used to such rapid sight-reading, but all are well-trained and dedicated.

And gradually, the music appears.

The students make their suggestions, and correct errors and oversights. Each piece has a special moment--an insight, even an astounding stroke of magic.The harmonies are surprisingly dense, the textures complex. No piece sounds anywhere near like the other. Meanwhile, Dani, as always, is circulating among the children, keeping order, caring for each child as if she/he were her very own. (In fact, Dani's own four-year old daughter began to feel jealous, and Dani lovingly holds her while helping the others.)

After a three-hour rehearsal without a break, we finally have lunch all together just before the concert is to begin. I am torn between delight with these kids and anxiety that, no, we haven't properly rehearsed all. The audience arrives. I am particularly moved by the fact that Mark Churchill and the Abreu Fellows have canceled their holiday plans for their last day off, just to attend this concert.

This is true support and dedication.

--Jon Deak

Click here for Part Nine
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**************************************************************************************************************
Jon Deak, born in the sand dunes of Indiana of East European parents, is a Composer, Contrabassist, and Educational pioneer. Educated at Oberlin College, the Julliard School, the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia (Rome) and the University of Illinois, he joined the New York Philharmonic and served as its Associate Principal Bassist for many years, while continuing his professional composing, and studying with Pierre Boulez and Leonard Bernstein. During this time he also introduced ground-breaking performance techniques for the Contrabass, and in his orchestral writing, working with major orchestras across the country.

From 1994 - 97 he served as Composer In Residence (sponsored by Meet the Composer) with the Colorado Symphony under Marin Alsop, which is where he initiated the public school program now called The Very Young Composers (VYC).

With support from the New York Philharmonic and others, the VYC has grown steadily, winning a national award for excellence in 2004. The program has been introduced in Shanghai, Tokyo, and now in Venezuela, besides serving hundreds of children in eleven New York area Public Schools and such places as New England and Eagle County, Colorado. The New York Philharmonic has premiered 42 works for children, fully orchestrated by the children themselves, mostly under the ages of 13, as well as hundreds of chamber works in the public schools and libraries.
******************************************************************************************************

I am getting the sense that the arts education advocates in the State of California are going are really getting their act together. And by that I mean, it is beginning to look like they are forging consensus, sharpening their tools, and taking a hard look at the sort of long-term fight necessary to hold the line and advance education in these tough times, in the toughest in states: California.

Don't get me wrong, I know well the work that was done to get the state-wide categorical funding for arts education a few years ago, which was eventually unrestricted. But this survey and a few other things I am hearing lead me to believe that they, the California arts and arts education advocates, are getting smarter, tougher, and better organized, perhaps more so than any other state-wide effort. And, damn, with that California state budget, they need to be.

I understand that they recently had a retreat where Eric Zachary, Director Community  Organizing and Engagement/NYC, Annenberg Institute for School Reform, was invited to speak. Eric, a great friend and colleague,  is one of the national leaders in grass roots and community organizing around improving public education.

Okay, now on to the headline: The California Arts Education Alliance just released this swell survey of candidates for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Click here to view the survey.

I love the format, which is not an easy thing to come up with when you have a field of twelve candidates. And you have to love viewing the candidates who offer no response. What is more, it's interesting to look at the differences in those who do respond: some offer a much more thoughtful response; while others offer a flat, pat, soundbite. Of course, you have to take the surveys for what they are, which is something that doesn't afford great depth. Nevertheless,  there is a lot of reading in those tea leaves.

CAE did a survey last fall of candidates for mayor and public advocate. I can't wait to be  adapt or even steal this format for our next surveys.

I think these tactics are critical to informing and engaging candidates. Moreover, it gives you something to hold the candidates to when they take office.

Nice work California Alliance for Arts Education and your partners across the state

In today's New York Times, Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute wrote an op-ed piece titled: Why Charter Schools Fail the Test.

Mr. Murray makes a great case for the shortcomings of standardized tests (ELA and Math) as the singular measure of student achievement and school environment. In particular he sites the longitudinal study of charters and vouchers in Milwaukee, that was a disappointment to most charter school proponents, as being an unfair and misguided way of measuring success.

Sound good so far, don't you think?

But then Murray goes on to talk about a charter school being created in Maryland, near where he lives, which is a perfect example of a school program that he finds appealing, and would certainly send his children too, recognizing that the program is not designed to be a testing mill and therefore would possibly fall short on standardized tests.

Here's an illustration. The day after the Milwaukee results were released, I learned that parents in the Maryland county where I live are trying to start a charter school that will offer a highly traditional curriculum long on history, science, foreign languages, classic literature, mathematics and English composition, taught with structure and discipline. This would give parents a choice radically different from the progressive curriculum used in the county's other public schools.

Anything missing? Hum. It looks like the humanities, but wait, it's missing the arts! Very Platonian, minus the arts and sports. Oversight or an intentional list of core subjects according to those seeking to establish this particular charter school?

I guess the students and parents shouldn't be forced to have the arts if they don't want them.

What do you think? Am I being too sensitive?

To close this entry, I offer a tease on a future topic: many people tell me the charter schools have great arts programs. I hear it all the time. "The arts are big in the Zone." "KIPP has great arts programs."  I can go on and on. Is it really true? Does anyone have even the slightest idea about what is really going on? Certainly, reading Mr. Murray's comments, one would have to wonder.

It's a savvy approach to a long-term problem: the New York City Public Schools do not provide the minimum levels of music (and arts) education required by the State of New York.

Assembly Member Alan Maisel, acting on behalf of the Music Educator's Association of New York, filed an appeal with David Steiner, Education Commissioner, asking that the the issue be taken over by the State, whereby the State would impose a "corrective action plan," to be monitored by an entity outside of the Mayor or the New York City Department of Education.

And of course, this appeal is just for music. More appeals may be forthcoming, for other art forms, from other elected representatives and citizens. And who knows, maybe there will be a lawsuit brought against the New York City Department of Education. (Didn't I tell you this was a social justice issue?)

It will be interesting to see how the Education Commissioner responds.

Stay tuned.


30307630 Maisel Appeal

This video is hot off the computer, and comes to you from Student Advocates for the Arts:

About SAA
Student Advocates for the Arts is a grassroots student organization dedicated to educating on and advocating for public policy affecting the arts in the United States. Founded in 2002 by graduate students in the Arts Administration Program at Teachers College, Columbia University, SAA engages students in hands-on lobbying, workshops on advocacy and cultural policy, and discussions on the American system for funding the arts.

Click here for Part Six

Caracas, 15 de abril

Last two days of classes! With the concert on Saturday, We've decided to allow the children to work until Friday afternoon. This is risky, because in order to get this many pieces ready in legible form for professional musicians to read easily, means that all the prep work will have to be done Friday way into the night and the rehearsal Saturday morning. At first the rehearsal is set for two hours, but we push for at least three. It seems like, well, children's pieces--how difficult could they be? I tell them that for five children's works, we usually allot two hours of rehearsal and it's never enough. And here, we have 29 works to perform. Is this even possible, then? I don't know.

But the pace of composing and concentration is picking up. The mood become tense. Perhaps one of the catalysts is me losing my temper: I like to be calm and supportive, but at one point one of the students is having her latest draft demonstrated by several of us. As we are performing her work, I notice she is taking a cell phone call.

Uh-oh.

Don't ever, ever do that with me, or probably with any teacher, anywhere. And we're not talking about an "assignment" here: We're talking about a "Work of Art." (And this piece happened to be quite a good one.)

I explode: "this is a work of Art! ART!! Doesn't that mean anything to you? These are not children's games! If you want children's games, please go elsewhere! You, all of you, are creating wonderful musical art that has never existed before in the world! Be proud of what you've done! I didn't come down here for anything less!" Silence. This time, no one is laughing at my grammatical errors. The rest of the class goes quite well.

And Friday's classes: by now, everyone is working quietly, intently, in the corners of rooms. Diana is beginning to transcribe several works into software. Pedro has truly begun to take leadership in keeping kids on task. Rosa is playing parts on her violin, and kids are solfege-ing harmonic lines. Dani is circulating, translating, giving support, and Richard has a group at his feet, working hard.

Twenty minutes before the end of the final class, there is an atmosphere of celebration: the works are finished, in whatever form finished happens to be. Hugs all around, pictures, autographs, final frantic last minute changes.

We are still not 100% clear about Irawo's, Gabriél's and David's scores. Alejandra has really caught fire and begs to be allowed to continue to write tonight. Against my better judgment, I allow her to do so. Her piece is turning out so well, I am quite taken by it. She hadn't been able to write anything for all this time up to now. What can you do? Life is not perfect. Only art transcends. It is distinctly not "professional" to allow a composer to continue writing up until the day of the concert, child or no. But I do not find it in me to stop her in full flight.

Some of these works will not get a full, proper performance tomorrow. But will we come close enough? Much will depend on the performers.

And even more on whether Pedro, Richard, Rosa and I can get it all down in its exact and readable form tonight. We are clearly going to have to pull an all-nighter.

Wish us all luck!

--Jon Deak

Click here for Part Eight
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Jon Deak, born in the sand dunes of Indiana of East European parents, is a Composer, Contrabassist, and Educational pioneer. Educated at Oberlin College, the Julliard School, the Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia (Rome) and the University of Illinois, he joined the New York Philharmonic and served as its Associate Principal Bassist for many years, while continuing his professional composing, and studying with Pierre Boulez and Leonard Bernstein. During this time he also introduced ground-breaking performance techniques for the Contrabass, and in his orchestral writing, working with major orchestras across the country.

From 1994 - 97 he served as Composer In Residence (sponsored by Meet the Composer) with the Colorado Symphony under Marin Alsop, which is where he initiated the public school program now called The Very Young Composers (VYC).

With support from the New York Philharmonic and others, the VYC has grown steadily, winning a national award for excellence in 2004. The program has been introduced in Shanghai, Tokyo, and now in Venezuela, besides serving hundreds of children in eleven New York area Public Schools and such places as New England and Eagle County, Colorado. The New York Philharmonic has premiered 42 works for children, fully orchestrated by the children themselves, mostly under the ages of 13, as well as hundreds of chamber works in the public schools and libraries.
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Daniela Bedoni, Guztavo Dudamel, and Jon Deak

Daniela Bedoni, Richard Mannoia, and Jon Deak with children from El Sistema