In today's New York Daily News, United Federation of Teacher President, Michael Mulgrew called for an end to test prep:Test prep isn't instruction. In virtually every school I have gone into in recent years, teachers complained about instructional time lost to prepping students for tests. Art and music fell by the wayside years ago in most schools, but many schools were also … [Read more...] about A Good Idea: Let’s End Test Prep and Expand the Curriculum
Education
Books. Children. Arts. Education!
It's never too early to consider your holiday gift list. Today, I present to you a lucky 13 list of primarily arts-oriented books for children. The wonderful thing about these books, which for me is a big-time measure of children's book quality overall, is that adults will enjoy these books just as much as the kids.The list runs the gamut of music, dance, drama, and visual art. … [Read more...] about Books. Children. Arts. Education!
Fund Advocacy or Direct Service? Is there a third way?
Speaking of advocacy, I came across a rather interesting and compact blog by Ashley Blanchard of the consulting group TCC: Finding the Right Balance, Thoughts on Advocacy and Direct Service Funding.For better or worse, the recent economic crisis has changed the way some funders are thinking about their support for advocacy and direct services, providing a more nuanced view of … [Read more...] about Fund Advocacy or Direct Service? Is there a third way?
Former Arts Endowment Official Takes Arts Ed Advocates To Task
In the new edition of Education Next, Mark Bauerlein takes a dim view of the nature of arts education advocacy and offers a prescription for improvement, namely a focus on arts as a discrete discipline and a more entrepreneurial approach overall.Click on through to read Advocating for Arts in the Classroom.In essence, Bauerlein sees a field of arts education advocates who have … [Read more...] about Former Arts Endowment Official Takes Arts Ed Advocates To Task
Judging Teachers by Test Scores? Not quite.
This issue, one among many in "school reform," has me worried. You have to wonder whether teacher evaluation based upon test scores will only further marginalize arts education, as arts education assessment lies outside of the types of teacher evaluation being heavily promoted by so very many. For the record, this type of assessment is called value added … [Read more...] about Judging Teachers by Test Scores? Not quite.