Dewey21C

I used to love the old fashioned voting booth, where you pushed down a little thingamabob to your candidate's name, and then when done, you would move the handle from one side to the other, which required a bit of muscle, and then you heard a thump, the sound of the machine registering your vote.And then, someone from the polling place would move the handle back to reset it, … [Read more...] about The Art of Voting in Maplewood New Jersey

Last week I was talking with a middle school principal in one of CAE's programs. A network planning meeting was concluding and we got to talking about quality. At first, I thought he was asking about quality arts instruction, as in "how do you support and measure it?" It's the sort of question you want principals to ask. Very quickly the conversation went to a deeper, more … [Read more...] about How I Learned to Love Steve Reich

I am in DC for a three-day  conference being held by the United States Department of Education for its arts education grantees.So, I am looking over the agenda, and lo and behold, I see a roundtable discussion titled: "Arts Education vs Arts Integration." It's the second time in the past six months I have seen this odd and infuriating distinction, which appears on the surface … [Read more...] about Pulling a fast one? Arts Education vs Arts Integration

Buyer beware: this is not a brief blog...Last Tuesday, the New York City Department of Education released its second Annual Arts in the Schools Report, which is part of a larger initiative called Arts Count.There were three press articles that covered this report:NY TimesNY PostInside SchoolsHere is the press release issued by the NYCDOEOkay, what are the key points that made … [Read more...] about The State of Arts Education in the NYC Public Schools

Okay, I know, it makes no sense. Why would we pay kids to study arts education when they like studying the arts, it has a positive effect on attendance, and in many districts across the nation, kids are denied access to arts instruction?I was just trying to get your attention.If you haven't already heard, paying kids to take tests, improve performance, and attend school is the … [Read more...] about BIG IDEA: Let’s pay students to study arts education!