IEA Weekly Newsletter - January 17, 2007

Welcome to the Institute for Education and the Arts weekly newsletter for January 17, 2007. The newsletter is published each Wednesday morning to the IEA listserv and is archived here on the IEA blog.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
EDUCATIONAL POLICY
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A MARSHALL PLAN FOR TEACHING:
WHAT IT WILL REALLY TAKE TO LEAVE NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
Linda Darling-Hammond, Education Week, 1/10/07
”Views about the No Child Left Behind Act are currently as divided as Berlin before the wall came down. But whatever one thinks about the 5-year-old federal law, it’s clear that developing more-skillful teaching is a sine qua non for attaining higher and more equitable achievement for students in the United States. Without teachers who have sophisticated skills for teaching challenging content to diverse learners, there is no way that children from all racial and ethnic, language, and socioeconomic backgrounds will reach the high academic standards envisioned by the law. For this reason, one of the most important aspects of the No Child Left Behind legislation is its demand for a “highly qualified” teacher for every child.”
Read more: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2007/01/10/18hammond.h26.html


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
MUSIC EDUCATION
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

BCM TO PROVIDE FREE MUSIC EDUCATION
Dave Nagel, T.H.E. Journal, 1/8/07
“Berklee College of Music (BCM) announced last week that it's entered into partnerships with community groups across the country to provide music education free of charge to young, ‘underserved’ students. The new initiative is a drastic expansion of BCM's City Music, a program serving Boston-area students. Pilot programs are set to launch in March in Boston, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Apple and trade group NAMM will be technology partners in the pilot program.”
Read more: http://www.thejournal.com/articles/19933

MENC CELEBRATES CENTENNIAL IN 2007
National Association for Music in Education (MENC), 1/5/07
MENC celebrates its centennial in 2007 with a variety of special events, including a symposium, new “audio logo,” finale of the National Anthem Project, and a special 100-year retrospective publication.
Learn more: http://www.menc.org/centennial


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HAPPINESS AND LEARNING
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH: QUESTIONS ABOUT STUDENT HAPPINESS ARE NEITHER RHETORICAL NOR FRIVOLOUS
Gary Stager, District Administration, January 2007
Susan Ohanian recently wrote an article for The Pulse: Education's Place for Debate ("What Schools Need Is a Happiness Index") in which she advanced the radical idea that schools should be happy places where children learn … One reader responded that American students are on a "happiness trip" and are coddled into believing that being "fat, lazy and happy" is just fine. There is just "too much happiness in our schools," he said. Is unhappiness a key to academic success? No credible learning or management theory suggests that fearful, unhappy or insecure people are more productive. Common sense and countless studies demonstrate that love is a better master than duty. For example, one popular yet wrong view of education suggests that school is a child's "job." This reduces learners to forced unpaid workers, as they do piecework in the name of higher standards, competitiveness and accountability. No learning theory suggests that fearful or insecure people are more productive.”
Read more: http://www.districtadministration.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=1054


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
DEMOCRACY AND LEARNING
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NEW APPROACHES IN THE CLASSROOM PREPARE STUDENTS FOR CIVIC INVOLVEMENT
Academy for Educational Development, 1/11/07
“At first blush, the connection between the way children are taught and the way a country is governed may not be completely obvious, but AED experts believe that decentralizing education creates systems that cater to children’s specific needs, support individual teachers, and empower communities. ‘Education in many ways really is the key to democracy,’ said Alison Price-Rom, a senior program officer with AED’s Participation, Education, and Knowledge Strengthening, or PEAKS, project. ‘It is about more than just teaching facts and skills. It is teaching children to participate in society.’”
Read more: http://aed.org/News/NewApproaches.cfm


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
TEACHING AND LEARNING IDEAS
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

REDESIGNED FEDERAL RESOURCES FOR EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE (FREE) WEBSITE
The U.S. Department of Education has redesigned its FREE website with a new organizational structure and search engine. The site features an RSS feed, improved navigation, subject-based searching in all major curriculum subjects, and new images.
Learn more at http://free.ed.gov


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FUNDING, GRANTS, AND AWARDS
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

APPLY FOR A FREE COPY OF ‘AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH’
Participant Productions is giving away copies of the DVD An Inconvenient Truth (based on Al Gore's global warming presentations) to the first 50,000 educators who request it.
Apply by January 18, 2007.
Details: http://www.participate.net/educators/DVD/giveaway

ALA’S SARA JAFFARIAN SCHOOL LIBRARY PROGRAM AWARD
FOR EXCELLENCE IN HUMANITIES PROGRAMS IN K-8 LIBRARIES
“The American Library Association Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award recognizes excellence in humanities programming in elementary and middle school libraries that serve children K-8. Maximum Award: $4,000. Eligibility: elementary or middle school (public or private) libraries; or any school library program in the United States that serves children in any combination of grades K-8. Deadline: February 28, 2007.”
Learn more: http://www.ala.org/ala/ppo/jaffarianaward.htm

NEW VOICES PROJECT
J-LAB: THE INSTITUTE FOR INTERACTIVE JOURNALISM
“J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism invites U.S. nonprofit groups and education organizations to apply for funding to launch new community news ventures and to cooperate with J-Lab in spotlighting best practices and lessons learned. Eligible to apply for funding under the New Voices project are 501(c)3 organizations and education institutions, including civic groups, community organizations, public broadcasters, schools, colleges and universities. Funding is available for start-up news initiatives only. Ongoing efforts are not eligible to apply unless they are proposing a new venture.”
Deadline: February 28, 2007
Learn more: http://www.j-newvoices.org/index.php/site/story/2007rfp

AARON COPLAND FUND FOR MUSIC PERFORMING ENSEMBLES
AMERICAN MUSIC CENTER
”The Program's objective is to support performing organizations whose artistic excellence encourages and improves public knowledge and appreciation of serious contemporary American music.” Awards range from $1,000 - $20,000
Deadline: June 30, 2007
Learn more: http://www.amc.net/resources/grants/performing.html

CONNECTIONS PROGRAM
Smarter Kids Foundation of Canada
”The Connections program offers a range of cross-cultural activities for sixth-grade teachers and students from the United States, Canada and Mexico designed to foster respect and appreciation for similarities and differences. Teachers and students from the participating classrooms collaborate on curriculum-based projects with the goal of encouraging mutual respect and understanding among students in North America. The SMARTer Kids Foundation of Canada equips participating schools with education technology for easy, effective collaboration and provides teacher professional development. The program culminates in the spring when teachers and select students visit Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for a week of friendship, adventure and learning. Contact the Connections program manager at info@smarterkids.org or 403.451.2131.
Deadline: March 30, 2007
Learn more: http://smarterkids.org/k12/connections/appform.asp

LEMELSON-MIT INVENTEAMS
”Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams is a national grants initiative … to foster inventiveness among high school students. InvenTeams composed of high school students, teachers and mentors are asked to collaboratively identify a problem that they want to solve, research the problem, and then develop a prototype invention as an in-class or extracurricular project. Grants of up to $10,000 support each team's efforts. InvenTeams are encouraged to work with community partners, specifically the potential beneficiaries of their invention.”
’Early action’ deadline for feedback: March 16, 2007
Regular deadline: April 27, 2007
Learn more: http://web.mit.edu/inventeams/index.html