Art in Medicine and the Economy

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting two articles relating to the power of the arts in medicine and the economy.

Art Boosts Alzheimer's Patients' Spirits
Washington Post - AP, 8/3/2006

"A program called Memories in the Making, begun in California in 1988, now has "dozens of chapters in 26 states and experts say the artwork has provided an extraordinary outlet for Alzheimer's patients. . . . There is research that suggests artwork helps Alzheimer's patients. A small study last year of 12 people, ages 65 to 85, found that weekly sessions helped Alzheimer's patients focus their attention for 30 to 45 minutes and that completing artwork brought them 'pleasure and satisfaction.' . . . The only activity that comes close to helping Alzheimer's patients the same way is music, the researchers said."

Read the complete Washington Post article here.

America in the Creative and Innovative Economy
Government Technology, 8/3/2006

"Most economists now seem to agree that the emerging so-called 'creative and innovative' economy represents America's salvation," says John Eger. "As we talk about the foreshadowing of a whole economy based upon creativity and innovation . . . we are more acutely aware of the importance of reinventing our business strategies, our corporations, our communities, our schools, our housing and land-use policies and more. . . . We need to redesign our high school and college curricula in particular, to focus on preparing students for this new competition."

Read the complete Government Technology article here.

American Express Grants to Performing Arts Institutions

American Express Announces $1.3 Million Commitment to Performing Arts Institutions

Philanthropy News Digest, 8/5/2006

"The American Express Company has announced $1.3 million in grants to twelve performing arts institutions in support of audience-building activities."

Learn more here.

Tax Support for Arts

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting two articles relating to local tax support for the arts.

Mayor Supports Arts Tax
WCPN (Cleveland, OH), 8/3/2006

"A November ballot issue that will put a tax on cigarettes to help fund local arts organizations got a boost today when Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and the
Cleveland City Council endorsed it. The issue calls for a 30 cent tax on each pack of cigarettes sold in Cuyahoga County."

Read more here.


Tax hike for arts in voters' hands
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN), 8/7/2006

In Crittenden County, Arkansas, "voters will decide Tuesday whether they want a temporary tax increase to support local arts programs. The county will hold a special referendum on a one year, one mill tax increase to benefit the Crittenden Arts Council." The money would "fund operations of an arts education program in Crittenden County, Arkansas for the purpose of implementing its goal of artistic growth, educational excellence, community access, and diverse audiences through arts education programs."

Read the full article here.

McGraw-Hill Writing Contest

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting a writing contest opportunity for students.

MCGRAW-HILL WRITING CONTEST FOR TEACHERS

From McGraw-Hill:

The McGraw-Hill Learning Group invites teachers to submit original children's stories or poems to its national writing contest, "What's the Story?" Winning entries will be published in a preK-6 reading and language arts curriculum. For more information, contact Suzanne Toney.

PBS Arts-Oriented Programming

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting listings for PBS programs for teachers.

From PBS Teacher Source

Welcome to PBS Teacher Previews, the weekly newsletter from PBS designed specifically for preK-12 educators. Program Times listed are for WETA TV 26. To change your local PBS station, please visit the "My Profile" area on PBS Teachersource

Jazz Lesson: "Improvisation Permutations"
PBS Online
Middle / High School

Calculate how many different rhythmic combinations can be improvised in a jazz/blues piece by using trial and error techniques, deriving a mathematical formula and applying the formula.

Leonardo's Dream Machines (part 1 of 2)
PBS TV
Middle / High School
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
9:00 - 10:00 PM
This two-part program follows the world's leading experts as they attempt for the first time to build some of Leonardo da Vinci's dream machines -- to his exact specification and scale -- 500 years after he first committed his ideas to paper. (CC, Stereo, 1 year)

Leonardo's Dream Machines (part 2 of 2)
PBS TV
Middle / High School
Tune in for the second part of this program to find out if Leonardo's ideas were the flights of fancy of a gifted artist or revolutionary designs hundreds of years ahead of their time. (CC, Stereo, 1 year)

"The Hobart Shakespeareans"
PBS TV & PBS ONLINE
High School
This film discovers how teacher Rafe Esquith's uncommon commitment and resourcefulness have opened up worlds of opportunity for his "disadvantaged" students -- and perhaps have demonstrated a way forward for America's beleaguered public education system. (CC, Stereo, 1 year)

Go online to read what teacher Rafe Esquith has to say about teaching, raising and instilling values in children.

The Artist's Toolkit
PBS ONLINE
Elementary / Middle / High School
This site focuses on visual elements and principles such as line, shape, space, movement, color and balance. Each element is introduced with an animated demonstration, examples from various museums and an opportunity to create your own composition. This site is not to be missed by art teachers and students.

Music in Our Schools

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting two articles relating to music in schools and education.

Marching Bands on the Wane
From the Arizona Republic in Phoenix:

Music teachers and experts say NCLB pressures to raise test scores have cut arts program budgets at the elementary level, leaving fewer student musicians to staff high school bands. One Arizona high school band director, who more than tripled the size of his band in the past three years through aggressive recruiting, points out that music programs may be the only hook keeping some students in school.

Read the full article here.

Music Deepens Students' Grasp of History

From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

University of Pittsburgh music professor Deane Root has been holding summer seminars to show teachers how to use songs and lyrics to enrich the study of history, English and other humanities. Songs illuminate the issues of their time in a way that engages today's teens, advocates of Root's approach say.

Read the full article here (free registration required).

Warhol Foundation Funding Opportunity; Arts Research Monitor: Libraries and Literacy

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting two funding opportunities.

ARTS
Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts announces funds to curatorial projects and programs at museums, artists' organizations, and other cultural institutions to originate innovative and scholarly presentations of contemporary visual arts. Projects may include exhibitions, catalogues, and other organizational activities directly related to these areas. The Foundation also supports efforts to strengthen areas that directly affect the context in which artists work, such as freedom of artistic expression and equitable access to resources.
Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations. Deadline for applications is September 1, 2006. For further information: http://www.warholfoundation.org .

LIBRARIES AND LITERACY
Submitted by Hill Strategies Research Inc.
This month in the Arts Research Monitor: a focus on libraries, literacy and incomes, including a report on the importance of school libraries and teacher-librarians for student achievement as well as two Statistics Canadareports that link literacy to earnings. Other Statistics Canadareports provide information about the differences in literacy results based on geographic, demographic and technological factors. For more information, visit http://www.ArtsResearchMonitor.com .

Ezra Jack Keats Foundation - Mini-Grants for Libraries

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting a grant opportunity for literacy and creative programming.

$350 to Help Libraries Fund Literacy and Creativity Programs

The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation awards mini-grants of up to $350 to public libraries and public school libraries to support programming that encourages literacy and creativity in children.

Grant Title: Ezra Jack Keats Mini-Grants
Organization: The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation
Eligibility: Public libraries and public school libraries
Value: $350 per award
Deadline: September 15, 2006
Contact: http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org

Technology and Learning: Podcasts; Microsoft Donations in Mass.

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting two articles discussing the use of technology in learning.

Historic Sites Educate Through Podcasts
The Mercury News/Associated Press

Historic landmarks and museums like Monticello and the Boston Freedom Trail are using podcasts to reach a far-flung audience and hopefully boost attendance. Colonial Williamsburg, in Virginia, for example, hired former NBC News anchor Lloyd Dobyns to conduct podcast interviews with its artisans, historians and tour guides.

Read the complete article here.






Microsoft Donates Software for Public Schools and Universities
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Boston Globe

Microsoft on Tuesday announced it would donate a computer software package that includes advanced software-writing and Web-building technology to every public
high school and college in the state.

Read the complete Globe article here.

Educators in America

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting two articles concerning educators in America.

No Educators Left Behind?

From an article in USA Today:

Worried that the USA could lose ground in global competitiveness, a group of academic and business leaders wants to increase the pay of public school teachers immediately by as much as 20% and up to 50% in the foreseeable future.

Read the complete article here.

The Cracks in Our Education Pipeline

From an article in Education Week:

We can no longer afford the inequities that have long characterized our system of education. As our need for educated workers grows, the American workforce is going to come increasingly from the ethnic groups that have been least well served at all levels of American education. By 2020, some 30 percent of our working-age population will be African-American or Hispanic, nearly double the percentage in 1980. And for these students, writes Charles E.M. Kolb, the pipeline isn't just leaking; it is gushing. With their eyes on the global competition, America's business leaders may be uniquely positioned to appreciate the urgency of the current situation. It is, thus, incumbent upon them to make the case to politicians and the public for systemic higher education reform -- for the investments necessary to ensure that

(1) more students receive better preparation for higher education,

(2) institutions of higher education are affordable, particularly for disadvantaged students,

(3) colleges and universities have the commitment and capacity to educate all students who are motivated and eligible to attend, and

(4) financial and academic support is provided to help students graduate.

Read the complete article here.

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Arts Grants!

The Institute for Education and the Arts is posting an announcement for Bangor Arts Integration Grant, and a grant opportunity for arts teachers to partner with math teachers.

Bangor arts integration nets grant
Bangor Daily News (ME), 7/19/2006

Bangor, Maine, has created the state's first cultural commission within city government. Bangor not only has a municipal cultural plan, but has incorporated the arts and culture into its comprehensive plan. A grant from the Maine Arts Commission will help it assess and address the area's cultural needs.

Read the complete article here.

NCTM Connecting Mathematics to Other Subject Areas Grants for Grades 9-12 Teachers

Organization: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Eligibility: Grades 9-12 mathematics teachers who are members of NCTM
Value: $3,000 each; number of awards varies
Deadline: November 3, 2006

This is a great opportunity for arts teachers to partner with HS math teachers to develop strong arts/math integrated lessons.

The purpose of this grant is to create senior high classroom materials or lessons connecting mathematics to other fields. For 2007-2008, grants with a maximum of $3,000 each will be awarded to educators currently teaching mathematics in grades 9-12. Materials may be in the form of books, visual displays, computer programs or displays, slide shows, videotapes, or other appropriate medium. The focus of these materials should be on showing the connectivity of mathematics to other fields or to the world around us. Any acquisition of equipment must support the proposed plan but not be the primary focus of the grant. Any published sources must be documented. Entries will be judged on the following criteria: clarity of plans for developing and evaluating materials, overall creativity of planned materials and their connectivity to other fields or disciplines, and anticipated impact on students' learning.

Contact: http://www.nctm.org/about/met/pappas.htm