IEA Newsletter for Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Welcome to the Institute for Education and the Arts’ weekly newsletter for May 30, 2007. The newsletter is published each Wednesday morning to the IEA's listserv and is archived here on the IEA blog.

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ARTISTS AND THEIR WORK
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Craft in America
PBS on-air and online, Wed., 5/30/07, 8-11pm
Grade Range: 6-8, 9-12
”This series of programs explore the vitality, history and significance of the craft movement in the United States and its impact on the nation's rich cultural heritage. The first episode takes a personal tour through craft's history in America. The second episode examines the relationship of craft artists with their physical environment, which serves as a source of materials and inspiration. The final episode focuses on the spiritual connection between artisans and their communities. The personal stories of gifted artisans reveal the deeply held belief that craft is about more than just the making of an object.”
Learn more and download lesson plans: http://www.pbs.org/craftinamerica

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ROLE OF CULTURE IN NATION-BUILDING
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EDITORIAL: DO NOT NEGLECT CULTURE
Nassrine Azimi, International Herald Tribune, 5/8/07
”The Rand Corporation recently published a study called ‘The Beginner's Guide to Nation-Building.’ It covers the basics with clarity and objectivity, defining the roles of the military, the police and the judiciary; distinguishing humanitarian relief from economic stabilization and development, explaining the complexities of governance and democratization. But the book has almost nothing about what is clearly the Achilles' heel of recent nation-building adventures: culture. No single chapter is devoted to it - nothing on the role of culture in countries being rebuilt and, just as importantly, nothing on the culture of the nation-builders themselves. Though we are reminded that six of the seven cases of nation-building initiated in the last decade by the United States were in Islamic countries, we do not learn much of the lessons of this extraordinary experience.”
Read the editorial: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/08/opinion/edazimi.php
Read the Rand Corporation study: http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG557/

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MAKING KINDERGARTEN ACADEMIC
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MORE WORK, LESS PLAY IN KINDERGARTEN:
LITERACY PUSH STARTS EARLIER, GAINS SPEED
Daniel de Vise, Washington Post, 5/23/07
“Kindergarten used to be mostly about play: singing songs, ‘housekeeping’ in a Little Tikes kitchen and being read to. That is changing largely because of full-day kindergarten, which has swept the nation's public schools in the past 20 years, stretching the instructional day from 2 1/2 hours to six. The new kindergarten is partly a societal concession to busy two-income families and partly a response to the growing sense that 5-year-olds are ready for formal study. Full-day kindergarten is required in the District and several states, including Maryland, where it is mandatory as of the fall. Virginia does not require it. And No Child Left Behind, with its focus on minority reading achievement, has ratcheted up pressure for kindergarten ‘to be more academic,’ said Marcia Invernizzi, a University of Virginia professor who oversees a statewide literacy assessment.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/22/AR2007052201696.html

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CREATIVITY IN SCHOOLS
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DO SCHOOLS KILL CREATIVITY?
Sir Ken Robinson at TED, Feb. 2006
”Robinson makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize -- much less cultivate -- the talents of many brilliant people. ‘We are educating people out of their creativity,’ Robinson says. The universality of his message is evidenced by its rampant popularity online.
Watch the video: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66

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FEDERAL ARTS FUNDING
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EARLY ENDORSEMENTS FOR AN INCREASE IN NEA FUNDING
Americans for the Arts, 5/23/07
[On May 23, 2007], “the House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, which sets the initial funding level for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), approved a $35 million increase for the NEA for its FY 2008 spending bill. If this funding level is maintained by the Senate and signed into law by President Bush, it will represent the largest increase in NEA history. The agency, currently funded at $124.4 million has only seen increases of under 3% for the last several years. In his first public action on arts issues as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Rep. Norm Dicks (D-WA) invited Americans for the Arts to organize a high profile panel of witnesses to testify at a congressional hearing, “Role of the Arts in Creativity and Innovation,” in conjunction with Arts Advocacy Day on March 13, 2007. This was the first hearing in over 12 years held on the importance of investing in the arts.”
Read the Americans for the Arts announcement: http://www.artsusa.org/get_involved/advocacy/legislative_news/2007.asp
Learn more about “Role of the Arts in Creativity and Innovation”: http://www.artsusa.org/get_involved/advocacy/advocacy_019.asp

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ACADEMIC INTERVENTION COURSES REPLACING ELECTIVES
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SCHOOLS PILE ON ENGLISH, MATH CLASSES
Shirley Dang, Contra Costa Times, 5/19/07
”At Glenbrook Middle School in Concord, 75 percent of students scored below the proficiency mark on state tests. Almost a third of the school's 660 students are enrolled in intervention courses that take the place of other subjects, said Principal Gary McAdam.With fewer students left to take extras, Glenbrook gutted the kind of offerings students look forward to. The school no longer offers art, shop class or home economics, and it barely hung onto music. ‘We have very few electives because there are so many remedial classes they have to take,’ McAdam said. Glenbrook still runs a yearbook class, which seventh-grader Kiana Pearson wanted to take. But when the 12-year-old received her schedule, she found math intervention in place of an elective. Researchers and school districts are beginning to question whether a double dose really helps students improve overall.”
Read more: http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_5936588

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GRANTS, FUNDING, CONTESTS, AND AWARDS
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INNOVATION GENERATION GRANTS
Motorola Foundation
”[T]he Motorola Foundation will provide US$3.5 million in Innovation Generation grants to U.S. initiatives that inspire young people, particularly girls and underserved minorities, to embrace science, technology, engineering and math … Innovation Generation grants will support breakthrough programs that use innovative approaches to develop interest in technology-related fields while strengthening leadership and problem-solving skills Funding will focus on initiatives that creatively generate a love of science early in life and show the new generation of inventors that careers involving science and math are important, challenging and possible. Priority will be given to programs that can incorporate Motorola employees as volunteers.” Deadline 6/15/07
Learn more: http://www.motorola.com/content.jsp?globalObjectId=8153

MAGAZINE COVER DESIGN CONTEST
“DISCOVER magazine is holding a nationwide contest among third through eighth graders to design an image for the cover of its October issue, “The State of Science in America.” The winning entry, to be selected by DISCOVER’s editorial team, will be the design that best captures the wonderment and possibilities of science. In addition to the winning entry, six finalists will be profiled in that issue and on the magazine’s home page.” Deadline 6/20/07

Read more: http://discovermagazine.com/2007/may/you-design-the-magazines-cover/?searchterm=cover%20art%20contest

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