Archives for category: Arts Education
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Nancy Bailey: The Lost Joy of Putting on a Play

By dianeravitch
October 29, 2017 //
9

Nancy Bailey knows that the high priority given to test scores has driven many important activities out of elementary schools. Some have cut back on recess, or eliminated it. Some have cut back on the arts. Some no longer can spare the time to stage a play. When the school lines by the credo of “no excuses,” dramatics goes the way of the dinosaur.

She bemoans the lost pleasure and learning that comes from putting on a play.

She provides a list of the positive benefits that derive from participating in a play, such as socialization, self-confidence, and self-discipline.

In years ahead, what will you remember? The play you brought to life or your test scores?

Categories Arts Education, Childhood, Joy, Play

Tony Bennett and Susan Benedetto on the Importance of the Arts and Public Schools!

By dianeravitch
October 28, 2017 //
7

This is a beautiful and inspiring 4-minute video about the iconic singer Tony Bennett and his wife Susan Benedetto,who generously support the arts in public schools.

It is a magnificent testimony to the arts, to public schools, to diversity, and to the way that the arts bring hope to the world.

They may never know about it, but I gladly add Tony Bennett and Susan Benedetto to the blog’s Honor Roll for their love of the arts and for their recognition of the transformative power of the arts in the lives of young people.

Categories Arts Education, Goodness, Honor Roll, Supporting public schools

This Is Your Brain on Art!

By dianeravitch
October 27, 2017 //
13

As this article explains, there is a new kind of neuroscience that examines how the experience of art affects your brain.

https://apple.news/ApKmwwmY7TRiq_MqhOMSkdw

It’s all good.

“There is something about being in a group that stimulates your reactions. There’s something about the performance that heightens your senses.

“If you think about it, having a great time at the theater defies logic in many ways. We’re surrounded by strangers, bombarded with unusual images and often faced with a wordless language of symbols. Yet, on a good night, we generally laugh more, cry more and enjoy ourselves more at a live performance than when we’re watching TV at home. We may even lose ourselves and feel connected to something larger. How does this happen?…

“Social connection is one of the strengths of our species — it’s how we learn from others by imitation. We’re keenly attuned to the emotions and actions of people around us, because our brains are designed for this.

“If, for example, you’ve ever gone to an experimental performance-art piece where there’s hardly anyone in the audience but you, and you’ve felt a little exposed and awkward, this is why. We crave social connection. And the cues we get from those around us help our brains make sense of our surroundings. This starts from the moment we walk into a crowd….

“It helps us make sense of human behavior, a large part of which is evaluating movement and emotion within us and around us. Our brains like to share emotions with others. This is just one reason that seeing a live performance — a concert, play, opera, etc. — is a neural rush. With our brain’s capacity for emotion and empathy, even in the wordless art of dance we can begin to discover meaning — and a story.”

Open the link to see performances and understand how we react to art.

We need the arts. We need to see them, perform them, experience them, enjoy them. They are part of what makes us human.

Categories Art, Arts Education, Education Reform

Sources of Innovation: Our Public Schools, Honoring Outstanding Student Broadcast Journalism

By dianeravitch
June 7, 2017 //
6

Looking for innovation? Check out your public schools, where the entire district can collaborate to develop new ideas and sustain them, and where districts can exchange and incubate good ideas and practices.

On June 5, the Southold Independent School District honored high school students engaged in broadcast journalism. Representatives of schools from across Long Island gathered for the inaugural Broadcast Awards for Senior High, or B.A.S.H. It is believed to be the first event of its kind, recognizing students for their achievements in broadcasting.

Thirty-eight videos made by students were judged by a panel of experts from the broadcasting industry.

“A special lifetime achievement award [was] presented to the students and staff at Great Neck South Middle School in recognition of their longstanding commitment to such programs, which began at their school 65 years ago; Great Neck South Middle School is believed to have been the very first public school to offer a professional broadcasting program for students, circa 1952.”

Awards were given in categories such as “Best Opening Segment,” “Best Anchor Team,” “Best Sports Package,” “Most Entertaining Package,” “Best School News Package,” “Best Public Service Announcement,” and “Best Broadcast.”

The format of the event was akin to the Emmy Awards, with a red carpet and celebrity guests.

Superintendent David Gamberg said:

“In a society that grapples with how to teach young people to be responsible digital citizens, navigating the news and entertainment landscape is an important challenge faced by schools and communities throughout the United States. This program helps to recognize and celebrate how students can learn this important civic responsibility, as well as recognize various skills involved in media, journalism and the broader field of communications.”

Categories Arts Education, Creativity, Education Reform, Students, Technology

Thomas Ultican: Shakespeare and the “Ocean God”

By dianeravitch
May 13, 2017 //
4

Thomas Ultican teaches physics and mathematics to high school students in San Diego.

In this post, he describes a wonderful day at the home of one of the nation’s greatest oceanographers, where middle school students performed scenes from Shakespeare.

The event was sponsored by the San Diego Shakespeare Society to raise funds for middle and high schools.

You will enjoy his account of a very wonderful day in a fabulous setting.

This is one of many events sponsored by the San Diego Shakespeare Society. Inspired by the idea “Teach a child Shakespeare at an early age and they can learn anything,” the Society sponsors many events for K-12 students. Amongst the largest of these is the annual event held on the various stages in Balboa Park’s Prado area at which about 500 students perform 10-minute scenes.

Ultican concludes his post by noting the virtue of philanthropy motivated by civic spirit:

It was such a pleasure to see how great people share their largess. After years of watching pseudo philanthropy harm public schools, it was refreshing to see genuine public spirit on display.

Can you imagine how wonderful it would be if Bill Gates, Eli Broad, Reed Hastings, Michael Bloomberg, the Walton Family, Doris Fisher (the Gap), John Arnold, Michael Dell, and the other billionaires spent their millions enriching the lives of students and teachers, instead of trying to privatize their public schools. I recently saw Bette Midler in “Hello, Dolly” on Broadway (wow wow wow–she was fantastic!), and learned in the program notes that she (though not a billionaire) raises money for a program called “Stages for Success,” which renovates public school auditoriums so that students have a performance space. Now, that’s philanthropy!

Categories Arts Education, Billionaires, California

Larry Lee: The Stories that Data Never Tell

By dianeravitch
April 14, 2017 //
14

Larry Lee, blogger and education activist in Alabama, posted this moving account by a teacher of the difference that art makes in the life of a child.

This is a story told by veteran elementary educator Wendy Lang about one of her students.

It begins like this:

He was small for his age. He was immature and yet showed signs of struggles of which only adults are aware. Skinny with two constantly skinned knees, academics didn’t come easy to him; neither did the ability to sit still. His pale complexion only accented the dirt crusted on his face and hands each day. He often wore shorts in the dead of winter and his shirts were always torn and tattered. He was in desperate need of a ‘touch,’ yet I was unaware of just what I could do to give him the encouragement that he needed to establish the self-confidence necessary to find one brief, rare ray of light in the darkened tunnel of his life.

At five, he appeared to have already given up. There were times when I felt the same.

He couldn’t write his first name, couldn’t count to ten or recognize the letters of the alphabet. A severe speech impediment kept him from being easily understood. Lunch was the only subject where he seemed to excel but that was because he appeared hungry and I wonder if it ever crossed his mind just where his next meal might come from.
He did enjoy his art class when it was available. Our school shared an art teacher with two other schools and he looked forward to his time with Mrs. Young. During the spring, students were chosen to participate in an art contest at the Carnegie Visual Art Center. Every school in Decatur and Morgan County was represented by their stellar art students.

It was quite the honor.

But his mother didn’t want to go to the art show where the child’s work would be featured. She didn’t think it was all that important.

Read on to see what happened next.

Categories Alabama, Arts Education, Childhood, Teachers and Teaching

Darren Walker: How the Arts Changed My Life and Enrich the Nation

By dianeravitch
April 2, 2017 //
8

Darren Walker is president of the Ford Foundation. He was recently honored at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and used the occasion to explain how his exposure to the arts changed his life.

He said,

“As a little boy, I lived with my mother and sister in a little shotgun house—in an African-American community in rural Liberty County, Texas. My grandmother worked as a maid in the home of a wealthy Houston family. And every month, she would bring me old art magazines and programs from arts events the family attended.

“I remember, vividly, feeling transfixed by the magic I saw on those pages—by images of worlds to which I had no other exposure. I remember flipping through those magazines and programs, and falling in love, swiftly and deeply. Those pages unlocked my capacity to imagine a world beyond my own—and to imagine my place in it.

“Simply put, the arts changed my life. They imbued me with the power to imagine, the power to dream, and the power to know I could express myself with dignity, and beauty, and grace.

“But here’s the thing: I was lucky.

“I was lucky to have the right grandmother. Lucky that she worked as a maid in the right house. Lucky that house was inhabited by the right wealthy family, who subscribed to the right magazines, and had diverse interests in the arts. Lucky that family showed their love by giving me their discarded magazines and programs.”

He then goes on to explain how important the arts are to the nation, not only as cultural enrichment but as a thriving economy. But the arts cannot be measured or valued by dollars alone.

“You see, all of us here tonight: We are all the lucky ones. Because there are children across the country growing up in circumstances not unlike those of my childhood—children who, day after day, experience in their lives the most terrible manifestations of inequality.

“For them, exposure to the arts, to imagination and ambition, remains a matter of chance or circumstance. But it shouldn’t be. It can’t be. Not in a democracy like ours.

“Everyone deserves to experience the arts. No child should need a permission slip to dream.

“Art is not a privilege. Art is the soul of our civilization; the beating heart of our humanity; a miracle to which we all should bear witness, over and over again, in every home—from the most modest and humble to the grandest and well-fashioned.

“And tonight—in this place, our national cathedral to the arts, and in this moment, these perilous and challenging times in our nation’s history—I would argue that we need the arts and humanities more than ever before.”

As an aside, I was reminded of a line attributed to Winston Churchill. Allegedly, someone said during World War 2 that the government had to spend less on the arts and more on the military. He is said to have replied, “If we don’t have the arts, then what are we fighting for?” My googling indicated that the quote is apocryphal, but it is good nonetheless.

Categories Art, Arts Education, Democracy

A Great Night at Southold High School: A Personal Report

By dianeravitch
March 27, 2017 //
10

Superintendent David Gamberg leads the schools of two adjoining school districts on Long Island, Greenport and Southold on Long Island. Gamberg has a holistic view of education. He believes in the full development of young children as happy, healthy, well-rounded people. He thinks that the arts are far more important than test scores. He wants the children to explore their talents. His schools have a garden, where the children raise vegetables and share them. Southold schools have an amazing array of musical activities, including an orchestra, a choir, and a jazz band. It also has an award-winning robotics team. And its rate of opting out from state tests is one of the highest in the state.

Superintendent Gamberg invited Mary and me to attend the major school production of the school year: “Les Miserables.”

We had seen it many years ago in both London and New York. It is a big, ambitious production, with a huge cast and demanding musical numbers. I couldn’t imagine how students could pull off this sprawling and complicated musical.

The event was held in the high school auditorium, which holds about 700 people. Lucky we had reserved seats because the house was packed, as were all the other performances. Parents, grandparents, siblings, and local community members from every walk of life.

The music was supplied by the school’s 16-piece orchestra, and it was fabulous. The show was spectacular.

We were blown away by the acting, the singing, and the staging. The student talent was amazing. Some of the kids had acted in school productions for four, five, or six years. There must have been fifty students in the cast, maybe more, and many more working behind the scenes. The story of Jean Val Jean and Inspector Javert was presented with zest, passion, and the energy of youth.

It was really, really funny to see these beautiful children standing on the barricades and singing about the revolution and waving a big red flag in a community that voted by a small margin for Trump.

We loved the show and so did the rest of the audience. The cast and orchestra received a standing ovation and cheers that rocked the room.

We looked at each other and said, “Now we know why we pay taxes, and it is money well spent.”

An event like this performance is what makes a public school a community school. You can bet that the next bond issue will easily pass. Not just because of this production, but because of the vision that produces an education that unifies the community and gives all children a chance to shine.

America has many thousands of communities like this one. The public schools are the cement of the community.

Betsy DeVos doesn’t understand that. She never will. Sad.

Categories Arts Education, Joy, Students

California Teachers Form Statewide Alliance to Fight for Real School Reform

By dianeravitch
March 22, 2017 //
29

Teachers organizations from across the state of California have formed an alliance to fight for genuine School reform.

CALIFORNIA: 8 Teacher Union Locals Unite Against the Trump/DeVos Agenda, Fight for Public Schools through Collective Bargaining, Community Power

United around common struggles and a shared vision, The California Alliance for Community Schools is a groundbreaking coalition of educator unions from 8 of the largest cities in California, representing more than 50,000 educators. The alliance officially launches tomorrow, Thursday March 23 and includes: Anaheim Secondary Teachers Association, Oakland Education Association, San Bernardino Teachers Association, San Jose Teachers Association, San Diego Education Association, United Educators of San Francisco, United Teachers Los Angeles and United Teachers Richmond.

All 8 unions are uniting around statewide demands, through local bargaining as well as legislation, for more resources in schools, charter school accountability, lower class sizes and other critical improvements. Most of the locals are in contract bargaining or are interested in organizing around these key issues. The alliance plans to expand to include other labor and community partners.

As California faces a statewide teacher shortage, school districts issued more than 1,750 pink slips for educators last week. Trump released his proposed federal budget, which slashes funds for disadvantaged children, afterschool programs, teacher trainings and other vital services. Trump wants to spend $1.4 billion to expand vouchers, including private schools, and would pay for it from deep cuts to public schools. Voters in California have twice rejected voucher plans.

“We are reaching a state of emergency when it comes to our public schools,” said Hilda Rodriguez-Guzman, an Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment member and charter school parent since 1994. “We must support and reinvest in public education. I join educators in the fight for well-resourced, transparent, accountable, and democratically run schools, at the bargaining table and beyond.”

All 8 unions will use the power of bargaining and statewide organizing to fight for:

Lower class sizes

Resources for high-needs schools and students

Shared decision-making at local school sites, critical to student success

Charter school accountability

Safe and supportive school environments

The first significant step is the launch of the bargaining platform and petition, which includes statewide demands and specific contract demands for each local union. The petition reads:

“As educators in large urban school districts across California we face many of the same challenges. We are particularly concerned about disinvestment in schools and communities, especially those with the greatest needs; educational policies that discourage authentic teaching and learning; and the rapid expansion of privately managed and unregulated charter schools at the expense of our neighborhood schools.”

We applaud the work of these unions, who are fighting back the Trump/DeVos agenda and standing together with their students and communities to reinvest in public education.

To find out more, contact each union for more information:

Anaheim: Grant Schuster, CTA State Council Representative on ASTA Executive Board, schusters3@charter.net, (562) 810-4035

Los Angeles: Anna Bakalis, UTLA Communications Director mailto:abakalis@utla.net, (213)305-9654

Oakland: Trish Gorham, OEA President, oaklandeapresident@yahoo.com, (510) 763-4020,

San Diego: Jonathon Mello, mello_j@sdea.net, (619) 200-0010

San Francisco: Mathew Hardy, Communications Director, mhardy@uesf.org, (415) 513-3179

Richmond: Demetrio Gonzalez, UTR President, president@unitedteachersofrichmond.com, (760) 500-7044

San Jose: Jennifer Thomas, SJTA President, jthomas@sanjoseta.org, (408) 694-7393

San Bernardino: Ashley Alcalá, SBTA President, ashleysbta@gmail.com, (909) 881-6755
—

THE CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE FOR COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
We are a coalition of California parents, community, educators, and students united in our commitment to transforming public education in ways that contribute to a more just, equitable, and participatory society.

Together, we are fighting for well-resourced, community-centered, publicly funded and democratically run schools that prepare our students with the intellectual, social, and emotional skills necessary for success in a changing and often turbulent world.

Our Platform for The Schools All Our Students Deserve

1. Low Class Sizes: Quality instruction for all our students depends on limiting the number of students in a class. Lowering class sizes improves teaching and learning conditions leading to growth in student achievement and positive social interactions.

2. Adequate Resources for All Schools with Additional Resources for Our High Needs Schools and Students: All schools and students deserve adequate levels of funding and support, including but not limited to quality early childhood education programs, lower class size, lower Special Education caseloads, additional educators, after-school tutoring, counselors, nurses, certificated librarians, and other resources to address our students’ academic, emotional, and social needs. Schools and students with the highest need should receive additional funding and support. Site based governing bodies consisting of democratically selected staff, parents, students, and community partners should be responsible for deciding how such additional supports are to be used.

3. Shared Decision-Making at Our Local Schools: The needs of a school are best addressed by the members of the school community. Site based governance by democratically selected stakeholder representatives is a critical component for school and student success. Districts and unions should provide joint trainings to fully empower these bodies.

4. Charter Schools Accountable to Our Communities: All schools receiving public money must be held accountable and be locally and publicly controlled. Unfortunately, many privately run, under-regulated charter schools drain needed resources from neighborhood schools, are not fully transparent in their operations, and fail to provide equal access to all students. Common sense standards and adequate oversight are necessary. New charter schools should not be approved without ensuring accountability and transparency and without a comprehensive assessment of the economic and educational impact on existing public schools.

5. Safe and Supportive School Environments: All students at publicly funded schools, regardless of ethnicity, gender, economic status, religion, sexual orientation, and immigration status, have a right to an academically stimulating, emotionally and socially nurturing, and culturally responsive environment that recognizes and addresses the many stresses that affect student performance and behavior. Adequate trainings and supports for restorative justice programs must be provided as an alternative to punitive disciplinary programs.

Categories Arts Education, Budget Cuts, California, Class size, Early Childhood Education, Funding, Real Education, Teacher Shortage, Teachers, Unions

As Feared, Trump Proposes to Eliminate Federal Support for the Arts and Humanities, Public Radio and Television

By dianeravitch
March 16, 2017 //
22

Trump has proven himself to be a true barbarian by proposing to eliminate the modest federal funding for the National Endowments for the Arts and the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Why should there be a partisan divide over the funding of public programming for the arts, history, drama, museums, and public media? Don’t Republicans visit museums and listen to history programs on radio and television? Do they enjoy music and dance? Don’t they appreciate art as much as Democrats?

A deep fear came to pass for many artists, museums, and cultural organizations nationwide early Thursday morning when President Trump, in his first federal budget plan, proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

President Trump also proposed scrapping the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a key revenue source for PBS and National Public Radio stations, as well as the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

It was the first time a president has called for ending the endowments. They were created in 1965 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed legislation declaring that any “advanced civilization” must fully value the arts, the humanities, and cultural activity.

While the combined annual budgets of both endowments — about $300 million — are a tiny fraction of the $1.1 trillion of total annual discretionary spending, grants from these agencies have been deeply valued financial lifelines and highly coveted honors for artists, musicians, writers and scholars for decades.

Nothing will change for the endowments or other agencies immediately. Congress writes the federal budget, not the president, and White House budget plans are largely political documents that telegraph a president’s priorities.

Yet never before have Republicans, who have proposed eliminating the endowments in the past, controlled both Congress and the White House and were so well-positioned to close the agencies. Reagan administration officials wanted to slash the endowments at one point, for instance, but they faced a Democratic majority in Congress (as well as Reagan friends from Hollywood who favored the endowments).

As for 2017, it is unclear whether Republicans who are friendly to the endowments will fight their own party’s president on their behalf. Mr. Trump went ahead with the proposal even though his daughter Ivanka is a longtime supporter of the arts, and Karen Pence, the wife of Vice President Mike Pence, has been a staunch advocate for art therapy for years, being a painter herself.

Categories Arts Education, Media
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