IEA Newsletter for Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Welcome to the Institute for Education and the Arts’ weekly newsletter for January 30, 2008. The newsletter is published each Wednesday and is archived here on the IEA blog.

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REPORT
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CREATIVITY MATTERS: THE ARTS AND AGING
National Center for Creative Aging (NCCA); National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts, New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC)
1/28/08
”Participatory arts education programs for older adults have been shown to improve participants’ health and strengthen engagement. [This publication,] a first-of-its kind resource for arts, healthcare and/or aging services organizations, . . . exemplifies a combined commitment—on the part of NCCA, the National Guild, and NJPAC— to lifelong learning in the arts. Authored by Johanna Misey Boyer, the Toolkit describes the benefits of participatory arts education programs for older adults; the aging services infrastructure as it relates to the intersection between arts and aging; the arts infrastructure as it relates to the intersection between arts and aging; best practices in designing, funding , implementing, sustaining and evaluating arts education/participation programs for older adults, and case studies of exemplary programs.
Learn more>>
Order the report>>


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”CORE KNOWLEDGE” EDUCATION MODEL
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MILNER STUDENTS WILL BE EXPOSED TO “CORE KNOWLEDGE”
Rachel Gottlieb Frank, Hartford (CT) Courant, 1/22/08
It will be back to basics — math and art and literature and science and other stuff every child should know — when Milner Elementary, the city's lowest performing school, transforms into a Core Knowledge school next year … Like Montessori schools, Core Knowledge schools [based on the philosophy of E.D. Hirsch Jr.] adhere to a particular philosophy. Unlike Montessori, they don't tell teachers how to teach. Instead, they focus on what items to teach, and in what order they should be taught. Core Knowledge schools seek to foster a love of learning through engaging students with literature and poetry. And lessons are planned around the goal of teaching students to be culturally literate. Hirsch, a retired English professor from the University of Virginia and author of a series of books about what children should know in each elementary grade level, said students learn to read when they are interested in the subject being taught. And the time spent teaching reading, he said, is time that should be used to teach children about the world. ’What we need to do for these poor kids is year-by-year give them interesting stuff and then they'll become readers. How did we get into this fix? How did we begin not teaching content?’ Hirsch asked. The recent trend of drilling students for hours, using a series of disconnected, highly scripted exercises, is mind-numbing, he said.
Read more>>


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DEVELOPING IMAGINATION
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NATIONAL POLL ON IMAGINATION IN SCHOOLS
ImagineNation.com/Arts Education Partnership
Released 1/24/08
Results from a national poll were released today … identifying a new strand of swing voters poised to support candidates and policy that ensures building capacities of the imagination in schools. The new national survey of 1,000 likely voters, with a 3.1% margin of error, identifies that 30% of American voters are not only dissatisfied with public education’s narrow focus on the “so-called” basics but that they also believe developing the imagination is a critical, but missing, ingredient to student success in 21st century schools and moving students beyond average … The majority of voters surveyed believe that it is extremely important to have good public schools nationwide, but there is also concern that public education in the United States is behind what is offered to students in other parts of the world and that we devote less attention to developing the imagination, creative skills, and innovation than other nations.”
Learn more>>


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GATHERING VOICES
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FORTY-CENT TIP: STORIES OF NEW YORK CITY IMMIGRANT WORKERS
A project of What Kids Can Do (WKCD)
The WKCD project turned students into interviewers. The collected interviews have been collected in the book Forty-Cent Tip. WKCD encourages teachers and students to replicate this model. Visit the Web site to download a manual, request a complimentary copy of the book, or purchase additional books at cost.
Learn more>>


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JOB OPPORTUNITY
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DIRECTOR, ARTS EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP
Washington, DC
Position Open Until Filled
The Arts Education Partnership is searching for a new Director to replace founding director Richard Deasy upon his retirement in June 2008.
Learn more>>


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GRANTS AND AWARDS
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A+ FOR ENERGY GRANTS
BP America
Deadline: 3/7/08
Maximum Award: $10,000
”The A+ for Energy® program was developed by BP to recognize teachers for innovation and excellence in teaching energy and/or energy conservation in the classroom. Any public or private preK-12 teacher currently teaching in an accredited or licensed schoolin Alabama, California, Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, or Texas, is encouraged to apply.”
Learn more>>


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DID YOU KNOW?
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We archive past newsletters here on our searchable blog.

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IEA Newsletter for Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Welcome to the Institute for Education and the Arts’ weekly newsletter for January 23, 2008. The newsletter is published each Wednesday to the IEA listserv and is archived here on the IEA blog.

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REINVENTION THROUGH THE ARTS
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ARTISTIC RENAISSANCE
Ariella Cohen, New Orleans CityBusiness, 1/14/08
”Joshua Lee Nidenberg sold life insurance before Hurricane Katrina. In 2007, he traded his steady income for the creative freedom of … his new occupation as a fine art photographer.” Lee Nidenberg now pays the bills with proceeds from the prints he sells and shops and art markets or to corporate clients. ‘Photography has always been my passion so I decided to take a shot at trying to make it my career. Against all odds, it worked.’ The success story seemed unlikely in the months after Katrina, when galleries and artists were struggling to stay afloat without enough tourists and residents to buy work. Two and a half years later, the city’s creative community is making an unexpectedly strong rebound from Katrina.”
Read more>>


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HISTORICAL IMAGES ON FLICKR
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS IMAGES NOW ON FLICKR
This month, the Library of Congress opened an account on the popular photo sharing site Flickr. The project began with over 3000 photos culled from LC’s collection of about 14 million items. By posting these uncopyrighted photos to Flickr, LC allows viewers to view and comment on the images.
View the LC Flickr collection>>


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RIGHT-BRAINED THINKING
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THINKING RIGHT IN A LEFT-BRAIN ENVIRONMENT
Su Bacon, Kansas City (MO) Star, 1/12/08
“In a business firm full of CPAs, an MFA stands out like an oboe in a room full of calculators. Yet Lori Diffendaffer says the degree and her musical background prepared her well to handle marketing at Grant Thornton LLP in Kansas City. Diffendaffer is a marketing senior associate at the accounting, tax and business advisory firm. She works with accountants, auditors and business advisers to write promotional pieces, prepare proposals, create direct mail campaigns and plan special events. ‘Whenever I write a piece, I consider if the tone is right, the voice is right — skills I applied in music — but in a more abstract way, she said. Diffendaffer … holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance and a master of fine arts in performing arts management. Her job requires creativity, empathy and an ability to see the big picture — what are called ‘right-brain’ skills because they originate in the right hemisphere of the brain. The skills that make her stand out in a left-brain environment are becoming increasingly important in all jobs, maintains author Daniel H. Pink in Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. Left-brain skills — linear thinking, logic and analysis — still have a role to play, Pink writes, but success belongs to those with a skill set that also includes imagination, a sense of humor, intuition and understanding the needs of others.”
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/business/moneywise/story/441931.html


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PHILANTHROPY
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WEILL, BROAD ARE TOP U.S. ARTS DONORS IN 2007, CHRONICLE SAYS
Patrick Cole, Bloomberg News, 1/14/08
”Citigroup Inc. Chairman Emeritus Sanford Weill and billionaire Eli Broad were among the top philanthropists overall in the U.S. in 2007 and the leading patrons of the arts, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Weill, 74, gave a total of $328.5 million last year to charitable organizations and ranked sixth among U.S. philanthropists in overall donations. Weill's gifts included $11.5 million to Carnegie Hall to endow music education programs and $10 million to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to boost its endowment, the Chronicle said. Broad and his wife, Edythe, ranked tenth overall with $176 million, which included $26 million to Michigan State University to build a museum for modern and contemporary art.”
Read more>>


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CONFERENCE
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AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS 2008 CONFERENCE
June 20-22, Philadelphia, PA
Preview rates end 2/1/08
”The program's planned, the weather looks great, so now is the time to register for the 2008 Americans for Arts Annual Convention! Join more than 1,300 of your colleagues and hear from six great innovators in and around the arts; take advantage of fourteen different ARTventures throughout the city of Philadelphia; have an afternoon of personal growth with Career 360; participate in one of the new Advance Workshops; and learn and take back new ideas from more than 75 program sessions.”
Learn more>>


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GRANTS AND AWARDS
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PROMISING PRACTICES AWARDS FOR CHARACTER EDUCATION
Character Education Partnership
Deadline: 3/15/08
”CEP gives Promising Practices Awards to schools and districts for unique and specific strategies in character education that others may replicate.”
Learn more>>

SPRINT AHEAD FOR EDUCATION CHARACTER EDUCATION AWARDS
Sprint Foundation
Application Window: 3/3/08 – 4/15/08
”Through the Sprint Ahead for Education grant program, the Sprint Foundation will award grants to school districts and individual schools to fund the purchase of resource materials, supplies, equipment and software that facilitates and encourages character education among K-12 students. With a national reach, the program is open to all US public schools (K-12) and US public school districts. The Sprint Ahead for Education Grant program will accept applications for Character Education programs that promote youth leadership, youth volunteerism, school pride and a positive school culture.” Grants will be awarded up to $5000 for individual building projects and up to $25,000 for district initiatives.
Learn more>>


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DID YOU KNOW?
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We archive past newsletters here on our searchable blog .

IEA Newsletter for Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Welcome to the Institute for Education and the Arts’ weekly newsletter for January 16, 2008. The newsletter is published each Wednesday and is archived here on the IEA blog.

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REPORTS
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TOUGH CHOICES OR TOUGH TIMES: THE REPORT OF THE NEW COMMISION ON THE SKILLS OF THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE
National Center on Education and the Economy, 2007
According to this Fall 2007 report, the future "depends on a deep vein of creativity that is constantly renewing itself, and on a myriad of people who can imagine how people can use things that have never been available before, create ingenious marketing and sales campaigns, write books, build furniture, make movies, and imagine new kinds of software that will capture people’s imagination and become indispensable to millions. This is a world in which a very high level of preparation in reading, writing, speaking, mathematics, science, literature, history, and the arts will be an indispensable foundation for everything that comes after for most members of the workforce."
Learn more>>


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ARTS IN SCHOOLS
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TO PROVIDE QUALITY MUSIC EDUCATION NOW, SCHOOLS COULD LEARN FROM THE PAST
Allen Kozinn, New York Times, 12/25/07
“[I]n the marginalized world of music education, a good deal of serious thinking needs to be done … The crisis of the moment has partly to do with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s announcement last summer that New York City schools would be required to teach the arts, and that principals would be rated annually on their success, much as they are in other subjects. In theory this could put some muscle behind the adventurous curriculum that the city’s Department of Education and a panel of arts consultants drew up in 2004: a kindergarten-through-12th-grade program that envisions choral and instrumental performance, the fostering of musical literacy and the consideration of the role music plays in communities and the world at large …The problem is that [it] is recommended rather than required. Given the paucity of music teachers in the system … schools that could execute it in all its glory were few … Mr. Bloomberg has also decreed that the $67.5 million earmarked annually for Project Arts …will go directly to the schools. The fear is that it will be absorbed by programs other than those for arts education. That’s what arts organizations are worrying about publicly. But the fact is that Project Arts and grant programs like it have become a dependable gravy train for these groups. In the absence of the teachers and the budgets necessary to offer comprehensive and coherent arts courses, the schools, encouraged and financed by such programs, have formed partnerships with performing groups, charging the ensembles with the task of creating arts programs for children.”
Read more>>


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MEASURING CULTURE
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BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
Sean Redmond, New City Chicago, 1/8/08
”Dan Silver … [is] eager to talk about his achievements; working with fellow University of Chicago faculty members Lawrence Rothfield and Terry Nichols Clark, the three have recently completed a groundbreaking study on just what it takes to create a ‘scene,’ whether it be bohemian or otherwise. The enterprise, termed the Cultural Amenities Project, is a product of the U of C’s Cultural Policy Center. ‘The initial goal [was to see] to what extent do the cultural amenities drive urban development,’ explains Silver of the project’s origins. The three men hoped that a crude count of amenities could be used to help guide policies with the aim of augmenting a neighborhood’s cultural strengths in ways that could help stabilize communities, attract businesses and spur economic growth. What the three ultimately ended up with, however, was a much more complicated quantitative rubric by which they could judge a neighborhood or city based on a number of categories, which, when compiled and averaged, could then be compared to other cities and to ideal neighborhood types, such as ‘cosmopolitan,’ ‘urban’ and, yes, ‘bohemian.’”
Read more>>


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NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
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COUR REVIVES LAWSUIT AGAINST NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND LAW
Sam Dillon, New York Times, 1/8/08
”A federal appeals court on Monday revived a legal challenge to the federal No Child Left Behind education law, saying that school districts have been justified in complaining that the law required them to pay for testing and other programs without providing sufficient federal money. The 2-to-1 ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in Cincinnati, gave new life to a 2005 lawsuit and appeared to be a setback to the Bush administration. School districts in Michigan, Texas and Vermont joined with the National Education Association, the nation’s largest teachers’ union, in their 2005 lawsuit. In it, they argue that [Secretary of Education] Spellings had violated the United States Constitution in enacting the law by requiring states and school districts to spend local money to administer standardized tests and to meet other federal requirements. The suit was built in part around a paragraph in the law that says no state or district can be forced to spend its money on expenses the federal government has not covered. A federal judge in Michigan dismissed the suit. In the ruling Monday, the appeals court sent the suit back to the lower court, arguing that a passage of the Constitution known as the spending clause requires Congress to give states clear notice of their financial liabilities when they accept federal financing that may fall short of the full costs of complying with requirements from Washington …It also noted that because the states had been required to spend state and local money to meet requirements of the federal law, their ‘injury has already occurred and is ongoing.’”
Read more>>


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DIVERSITY AND CREATIVITY
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IN PROFESSOR’S MODEL, DIVERSITY = PRODUCTIVITY
Claudia Dreifus, New York Times, 1/8/08
“In the long-running debate on affirmative action, Scott E. Page, a professor of complex systems, political science and economics at the University of Michigan, is a fresh voice. His recently published book, ‘The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools and Societies’ (Princeton University Press), uses mathematical modeling and case studies to show how variety in staffing produces organizational strength. Rather than ponder moral questions like, ‘Why can’t we all get along?’ Dr. Page asks practical ones like, ‘How can we all be more productive together?’ The answer, he suggests, is in messy, creative organizations and environments with individuals from vastly different backgrounds and life experiences.”
Read more>>

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GRANTS AND AWARDS
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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR ARTS EDUCATORS
U.S. Department of Education
Deadline: 2/29/08
”This program supports the implementation of high-quality professional development model programs in music, dance, drama, media arts, or visual arts, including folk arts, for arts educators and other instructional staff of kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) students in high-poverty schools. Grants are intended to strengthen the capacity of teachers and schools to deliver standards-based arts education programs and to raise student academic achievement in the arts and ensure that all students meet challenging State academic content standards.” 30 grants averaging $200,000 each.
Learn more>>

IEA Newsletter for Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Welcome to the Institute for Education and the Arts’ weekly newsletter for January 9, 2008. The newsletter is published each Wednesday to the IEA email group and is archived here on the IEA blog.

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AN APOLOGY
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We apologize that a series of technical difficulties have prevented us from sending this newsletter recently. We have temporarily switched to a group email list in order to continue our newsletters to you.

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DC EVENT: THE ART OF ARCHITECTURE
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THE ART OF ARCHITECTURE
American University, 1/12/08
The School of Education, Teaching & Health and District of Columbia Public Schools, Department of Art Education, will launch The Art of Architecture, a curriculum guide for elementary and secondary classrooms designed by DCPS visual arts teachers, on Saturday, January 12, 2008, at the American University Katzen Arts Center, from 9:30am – 2pm. For information, call 202-885-3720.


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ARTS ADVOCACY DAY
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21ST ANNUAL ARTS ADVOCACY DAY
March 31 – April 2008, Washington, DC
Announced by the Americans for the Arts
“The 21st annual Arts Advocacy Day is the only national event that brings together a broad cross section of America’s cultural and civic organizations, along with hundreds of grassroots advocates from across the country, to underscore the importance of developing strong public policies and appropriating increased public funding for the arts. Learn how to lobby Congress, network with other attendees, and be heard.” The Nancy Hanks lecture will be delivered by best-selling author Daniel Pink.
Learn more>>


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WHO USES LIBRARIES? YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED
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STUDY: YOUNG ADULTS HEAVY LIBRARY USERS
Anick Jesdanun, Associated Press/Washington Post, 12/30/07
“Young adults are the heaviest users of public libraries despite the ease with which they can access a wealth of information over the Internet from the comforts of their homes, according to a new study …Education-related tasks _ making decisions about schooling, paying for it and getting job training _ are the most common problems drawing people to libraries, according to a joint study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign … And people are going to libraries not only for the Internet computers there but also for library reference books, newspapers and magazines. ‘It was truly surprising in this survey to find the youngest adults are the heaviest library users,’ [Lee]Rainie [Pew’s director] said.” The study contrasts with a 1996 Benton Foundation report that found that users aged 18-24 were the “least enthusiastic boosters” of libraries.
Read more>>


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ARTS IN SCHOOL
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ART OF SCHOOLING
Portland (OR) Tribune, 12/11/07
”There’s a quirky, creative spirit at Buckman Elementary that can be explained by only one thing: art. Hallways and stairwells have been transformed into galleries of student and artist works. Classrooms resemble happily cluttered artist studios. The curriculum is infused with visual art, music, drama and dance. Even subjects like math and science are taught through a lens of creativity here, at Portland Public Schools’ only arts magnet school. Integrating arts into everyday learning is an approach many national studies have linked to increased reading and math skills, higher thinking and social skills, and more overall success in school and life.”
Learn more>>


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THE ARTS AND MEDICINE
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GOOD VIBRATIONS: ARTS-IN-MEDICINE PROGRAMS AIM TO HEAL BY CUTTING STRESS, PROMOTING GOOD FEELINGS
Winston-Salem (NC) Journal, 1/2/08
”When Robyn L’Heureux checked into Tampa General Hospital earlier this year to receive a new heart, she knew that the road to recovery would be arduous. After six weeks, she was back in her Tampa home, on the mend from a life-saving transplant. But she has more to thank than her doctors and nurses. Mozart and the Beatles, of all people, played a part in her return to health. ‘You get depressed being in a hospital for that long, and music helps put you in another world,’ said L’Heureux, 54. ‘You forget the aches and pains, and it raises your spirits.’ L’Heureux didn’t just listen to recordings; musicians came to her room and performed live, everything from classical to jazz to pop to original works. It kept her focused on the positive.”
Read more>>


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GRANTS AND AWARDS
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COMING UP TALLER AWARDS
Deadline: 1/31/08
”Each year the Coming Up Taller Awards recognize and reward excellence in after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs for underserved children and youth. Award recipients receive $10,000 each, an individualized plaque, and an invitation to attend the annual Coming Up Taller Leadership Enhancement Conference. We encourage programs initiated by museums, libraries, performing arts organizations, universities, colleges, arts centers, community service organizations, schools, businesses, and eligible government entities to consider participating.”
Learn more>>

2008 SMART KIDS YOUTH ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Deadline: 1/31/08
“Nominations are now open for the fifth annual Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities Youth Achievement Award. This $1,000 award recognizing the strengths and accomplishments of young people with learning disabilities and ADHD will be given to a student 19 or younger who has demonstrated initiative, talent, and determination resulting in a notable accomplishment in any field—including art, music, science, math, athletics or community service. Honorable Mentions will also be awarded.”
Learn more>>

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