IEA Newsletter for Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Welcome to the Institute for Education and the Arts weekly newsletter for April 4, 2007. The newsletter is published each Wednesday morning to the IEA listserv and is archived here on the IEA blog.

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IMPACT OF NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND ON EDUCATION
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INTEGRATING THE ARTS
Loren Moreno, Honolulu Adviser, 3/26/07
“Kehaulani Nakamoto's fifth-grade class at Kailua Elementary worked as a team on a set of batik wall hangings, donated to the Hawai'i State Hospital in Kane'ohe. But if not for a grant sought by parents and the school's community, her students might not have gotten the lesson from local artist Karen Kiefer that sparked the project. ‘Thank God for this grant,’ Nakamoto said. In an era of content standards, adequate yearly progress and test scores, art education is sometimes overlooked, she said. Visual art, dance, music and theater are often seen as nice rather than necessary.”
Read more.

SOCIAL STUDIES AND SCIENCE FEEL SQUEEZE:
SCHOOLS FOCUS MORE ON READING, MATH TO MEET NO CHILD MARKS
Lindsay Kastner, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 3/26/07
”The schedule on Butler's classroom wall allots two hours each day for reading instruction, an hour for math and about 55 minutes for science and social studies combined. But many days, science and social studies lessons are compressed even more, into five- or 10-minute capsules at the end of the day. ‘With science and social studies, that's about as much as you can get in, five or 10 minutes,’ Butler said after school one day. ‘Our main focus is reading and math.’ Science and social studies are being squeezed out of many elementary school days … In March 2006, the Center on Education Policy found that 71 percent of school systems reported reducing elementary school instructional time in at least one other subject to make more time for reading and math, which are the only subjects that must be tested in accordance with No Child Left Behind. The center is a nonprofit that releases annual reports about No Child Left Behind.
Read more.

MORE TEACHERS PUSH FOR CIVICS EDUCATION
Lucas L. Johnson II, Associated Press/Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 3/26/07
“Since the federal No Child Left Behind law was passed in 2002, schools have focused on reading and math, and that has squeezed out other subjects like arts, music and civics, educators say. So lawmakers in Tennessee and other states have proposed bills this year to save civics.”
Read more.

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DANCE EDUCATION
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DANCE LESSONS INSPIRED BY MERCE CUNNINGHAM
Pbs.org
Follow this lesson plan and learn how to use a movement journal to create a vocabulary for use in a student-created movement activity.
Learn more.

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BOOSTING THE ARTS IN SCHOOLS
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MPS ART PROGRAM GRANTS HITTING ALL THE RIGHT NOTES
Alan J. Borsuk, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3/25/07
“About 25 third- and fourth-grade students move in a circle in a large room at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center while an adult calls out the rhythmic count. It's part of learning how to keep time in music. It's part of learning to play string instruments, the actual subject of their lessons after school. It's part of bringing out the best in them and enriching their education, in the eyes of those behind the program. And it's part of giving low-income and minority children in Milwaukee opportunities to learn to sing, dance, act, play instruments and create visual art at a time when teaching the arts has been on the decline in schools in the city.”
Read more.

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JAZZ APPRECIATION MONTH
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JAZZ RESOURCES FROM JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER
Jazz at Lincoln Center, under the artistic leadership of Wynton Marsalis, offers many resources to educators.
Learn more at Jazz at Lincoln Center or Jazz for Young People

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NATIONAL POETRY MONTH
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30 WAYS TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL POETRY MONTH
April is National Poetry Month. ”National Poetry Month (NPM) brings together publishers, booksellers, literary organizations, libraries, schools, and poets around the country to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. Thousands of businesses and non-profit organizations participate through readings, festivals, book displays, workshops, and other events.” On this site, learn 30 ways to celebrate poetry, ranging from slipping a poem into someone’s lunch to carrying a poem in your pocket.”
Learn more.

VOICES & VISIONS VIDEOS FROM LEARNER.ORG

“The lives and works of 13 renowned American poets are interpreted through dramatic readings, archival photographs, dance, performances, and interviews in this inspiring series. Illustrative poems in each program are accompanied by insights into their historical and cultural connections. The series covers the terminology of poetry and the larger role of poets in American and world literature studies. Poets include Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Elizabeth Bishop.”
Learn more.

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BOOK ON ARTS-INTEGRATED LEARNING
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ACTIVE LEARNING THROUGH DRAMA, PODCASTING, AND PUPPETRY
“Contrary to the trend to do away with arts education as an unnecessary expense in schools trying to boost student test scores, this book promotes and explains the value of integrated arts instruction in furthering the accomplishment of curricular objectives and fostering student achievement. Accomplished library media specialist and arts instructor Kristin Fontichiaro discusses how drama, shadow puppetry, and podcasting can be used as tools to meet curriculum objectives in the K-8 media center. By concentrating on the process of creating a piece of drama or puppetry or a podcast, as opposed to the goal of performance, and by infusing the arts with curriculum objectives in story or research, these techniques can intensify a child's learning and provide context for classroom curriculum objectives. A discussion of the affective and academic benefits of this process-based work as well as sample lessons are included. Photographs and examples of student work illustrate the techniques. Grades K-8.” Ms. Fontichiaro is a consultant for the Institute for Education and the Arts.
Learn more at Amazon.com or Greenwood Press/Libraries Unlimited.

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CONFERENCES
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THE ESSENTIAL CONFERENCE – 8/3/07
Oklahoma A+ Schools
“Oklahoma A+ Schools hosts its not-to-be-missed statewide conference on August 3, 2007, at Oklahoma City University. Educators across the state should make this experiential, arts-infused conference a top priority. Expect integrated workshops facilitated by top educators in Oklahoma, dynamic sessions “from the field” of teachers in our A+ schools, and arts-for-YOUR-sake experiences. Howard Hanger Jazz Fantasy emcees the day adding that vital thread of energy and feedback for participants. The $75 registration covers refreshments, lunch and all conference materials. Throughout the day, attendees will enjoy exhibitors that espouse the A+ philosophy.” Online registration opens April 2, 2007.
Learn more: http://www.okaplus.ucok.edu or (405) 973-4779

BIOLOGY AND ART: TWO WORLDS OR ONE?
The New York Academy of Sciences
Apr 14, 2007, 8:00 AM - 7:00 PM
7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich Street, 40th floor, New York
Sponsor: The William A. Haseltine Foundation for Medical Sciences and the Arts
“This conference will explore the nature of the science-art interface, the inspiration this interface provides to scientists and artists alike, and the impact of these interactions on art, research and other human endeavors. More specifically, the conference will focus on how biological objects—whether viruses, animals, plants, cells, or organelles—become an inspiration for certain artists' work, and how scientists—ever so particular about accuracy and specificity—respond to such artistic representations. The Belgian conceptual artist Wim Delvoye, creator of the Cloaca Project, will give the keynote lecture. The rest of the day will be organized as a series of four conversations between artists and scientists. For each conversation, an artist will appear with a scientist who works with the biological objects that inspire that artist. Short talks and extensive discussions will provide a forum where ideas generated in these two very different spheres of creative endeavors—science and art—are expressed, elaborated and deliberated.”
Learn more: (212) 298-8600 or NYAS Web site.

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GRANTS, FUNDING, CONTESTS, AND AWARDS
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TARGET GRANTS FOR ARTS AND EDUCATION
Target gives 5% of its profits back to the community via grants for the arts, education, and social services.
Learn more about its various grant programs.

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