news & tips for teachers
Art and Education
Five Activities to Celebrate and Teach Thanksgiving in the Classroom
November 16th, 2012
Although the celebration of Thanksgiving goes back to the days of the pilgrims, it did not become an official holiday until 1941. That is when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt officially proclaimed the fourth Thursday in November to be the official national day …
Tale of Two Bills
October 24th, 2011
This month California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law two bills that directly affect the arts. One is a step in a positve direction, the other, a crushing blow. California Assembly Bill 1330 marks a huge victory for advocates of vocational …
The Right Thing versus The Smart Thing
October 21st, 2011
What if doing the right thing means not doing the smart thing? We are currently living in a time when our decisions, our actions and the way we operate may be totally out of sync with our belief system and integrity level. …
Listen
October 12th, 2011
The passing of Steve Jobs has generated a slew of text, blogs, op/eds and commentaries regarding his legendary status. If there is one constant in all the rhetoric it is that Jobs was a unequivocal visionary. “True visionary, icon, genius, prominent visionary”, …
Seriously Flawed
September 28th, 2011
Last week President Obama announced changes to the mandates of the policy “No Child Left Behind’. The Feds have admitted that the flawed policy has fallen short of its goals and perhaps educational reform is best left up to each individual state. …
Public Art or Public Shame?
September 21st, 2011
You have to wonder about an entity that handles millions of dollars a year in commissions and grants awarded to creative, groundbreaking cultural endeavors and yet fails to recognize the glaringly appalling history of a highly commissioned artist. In June, The …
The Heart of an Educator
September 14th, 2011
On August 31 School Superintendent Larry Powell retired from his position as head of the Fresno Unified School District. Not headline news unless you take into consideration that as a condition of his retirement, Powell agreed to be hired back by the …
A Visionary
August 29th, 2011
Every day this week our local newspaper has devoted a headline to Apple, Steve Jobs, his successor, or as today’s headline screamed, “Defining a Visionary”- a story that listed the next five “candidates” for the position of world tech visionary leader. The …
First Week of School
August 19th, 2011
The first week of school is almost over. New faces, new schedules, new kids; same room, same budget, same constraints. I’m already exhusted and the kids looked tired on day one. Part of it lies in the fact that one day we …
The New Normal
August 11th, 2011
Since the beginning of the Great Recession our country has witnessed a plunge in the housing market, a rise in unemployment, roller coaster stocks, global economic defaults, ever increasing oil prices and a federal government that resembles the characters from Wonderland. Every …
My Line
July 20th, 2011
We worked without a raise in pay or increase in benefits for seven years- because we were told that it would prevent massive layoffs. And still teachers lost their jobs. Then we accepted larger class sizes- because we were assured that doing …
All About Integrity
July 13th, 2011
In my next life I want to come back as someone with no integrity. It seems like those who have the least integrity garish the most rewards in this life. Case in point- Steve Lodge- ex police chief of Santa Clara County, …
Bravo Capitol One!
July 5th, 2011
I opened my Capitol One credit card statement this month and there he was – Alec Baldwin. Baldwin is the celebrity spokesperson for Americans for the Arts and he is working with Capitol One to increase funding for arts programs across the …
The Learning Gap
June 27th, 2011
I was having lunch with a colleague of mine who is retiring in a few days. “So, what will you do with all your free time now?” I asked her. “I’m going to take a course or a class.” She replied. “I …
Misinformation
June 23rd, 2011
Despite all the technology and “transparency” that increased communication has brought us, the misconceptions regarding the teaching profession continue to thrive. Just today I received a Facebook post which stated that the teaching profession is pretty good- after all “your job is …
Just When You thought it Couldn’t Get Worse
June 16th, 2011
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse……….. At the risk of writing what some may view as a complaint column, I’d like to share something that took place in my life this week regarding the upcoming school year. I just …
Summer Vacation
June 9th, 2011
School’s out!! At least for many of us, that is. So now that we have the summer before us, how will you use your time to revitalize your skills, amp up your creativity and advance your own arts learning? As much …
First Do No Harm
May 29th, 2011
While trying to take one step in the right direction, the state of California is taking ten steps back down the educational ladder. Assembly Bill 1330, currently in the legislature, would allow California high school students to substitute one year of vocational …
More Colored Pencils Please
May 25th, 2011
At the end of every semester I ask my students to complete an evaluation sheet about the class; their challenges, favorite, least favorite projects, three things that they learned about themselves, etc. When they choose to complete it honestly, it provides a …
The End of the Yellow Brick Road
May 17th, 2011
At the end of each school year I feel a little bit like the wizard from Frank Baum’s story, “The Wizard of Oz”. Not the “Great and Powerful” wizard, but the one who stepped from behind the curtain and helped each of …
Alec Rocks
May 9th, 2011
Although we hear about the rantings of Charlie Sheen and his Adonis DNA, and the almost daily criminal behavior of Lindsey Lohan, we never seem to hear about celebrities who are doing good things. Like Alec Baldwin, my new hero. Alec Baldwin …
The Unforgettable Mr. Thackery
May 4th, 2011
Today is National Teacher Appreciation Day. Ironically, last evening the man who inspired my teaching career was honored at Lincoln Center for being the recipient of the 38th annual Charlie Chaplin award. That man was Sidney Poitier- Mr. Thackery, better known as …
Old School
April 20th, 2011
I happened to be in a colleague’s classroom the other day- actually less of a classroom and more of a makeshift black box mini theatre fashioned from a portable classroom. I was looking at the stage design, created by his advanced class …
Leaving No Child Behind
April 13th, 2011
Thanks to No Child Left Behind, the last week of my life was spent proctoring the California STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting) test at my school site. The test is given to assess progress and academic achievement in the areas of math, …
Fifteen Minutes of Fame
March 31st, 2011
“In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.” Andy Warhol The above quote was made famous by the late celebrity Pop artist Andy Warhol. Warhol, who had earned fame silkscreening Campbell’s soup cans and portraits of Marilyn Monroe, became fascinated …
What Would You Save?
March 24th, 2011
In a conversation about great masterpieces, I was explaining to my students how some of the most priceless works of art are now on display behind bullet proof glass. They were shocked. “How is bullet proof glass going to prevent theft?” they …
Rethinking “Free” Education
March 16th, 2011
I have come to the conclusion that the only way to true education reform is to remove the “free” from public education. In recent years I have had more and more students in my classroom who take the educational system in this …
Can We Handle the Truth?
March 11th, 2011
We have received many responses to my blog regarding Pennsylvania teacher Natalie Munroe who was suspended from her job for complaining about her students on line. While many of you shared her sentiments, almost all the responses indicated that she should have …
On the Chopping Block
March 4th, 2011
On March 2, the United States government passed a stop gap funding measure for Fiscal Year 2011 to keep the government operational for another two weeks. The legislation written to allow this measure cut four billion dollars in domestic spending including the …
Who is at Fault?
February 21st, 2011
Last week Pennsylvania teacher Natalie Munroe was suspended from her job for calling her students “rude, lazy disengaged whiners” on her personal blog. The blog was intended for her own personal use, she did not name anyone specificly, nor did she identify …
Making Do?
February 16th, 2011
It ‘s February, and a whole month of March (with no vacations) looms ahead. Three more months of school and for the first time in twenty nine years of teaching I have run out of supplies. I have no more colored construction …
Is Free Education Really Free?
February 10th, 2011
Is a free education really free? According to the American Civil Liberties Union in California, it had better be. Completely. In September 2010 the ACLU filed a lawsuit against the state of California on behalf “Jane Doe” and “Jason Roe”- fictional names …
No Dumping Here
January 27th, 2011
“You must love teaching art.” I hear all that phrase all the time. Followed by, “At least the kids all want to be there.” Not true, I want to scream. I wish all the kids wanted to be in my class, but …
Do No Harm
January 10th, 2011
First do no harm — a part of the Hippocratic corpus in the physicians oath taken by prospective doctors. It should also be an oath sworn by prospective teachers, especially in this age of educational crisis. With dwindling budgets, parents pushing for …
AWOL
January 2nd, 2011
What is the sound of one hand clapping? How about one hand blogging? Being reduced to using only one hand due to a broken left wrist I have been unable to adequately submit blogs and articles — for which I sincerely apologize. …
Google This
November 12th, 2010
Sometimes I think that the American news media likes to rub our noses in the recession. They seem to go to great lengths to illustrate to ever widening gap between the haves and have-nots. Case in point, this week’s coverage of Google’s …
International Mindedness
October 27th, 2010
Who in the world, historical figure or living person, best personifies your idea of international mindedness? It was a question posed this past weekend during the visual arts workshop at the International Baccalaureate World Schools Program Conference. The International Baccalaureate program or …
National Arts and Humanities Month
October 12th, 2010
On October 1st, President Barack Obama proclaimed October as National Arts and Humanities month. As the arts lose strength in the standardized assessment based curricula being adopted by public schools, Obama’s proclaimation gives credence and value to our discipline. He sees the …
Back to School Night
October 6th, 2010
This week we are supposed to be hosting our annual Back to School Night for the parents of the students that we teach. Past years have proven that in our district, Back to School Night is not a well attended venue. Parents …
Money Talks
September 28th, 2010
This past week, Mark Zuckerberg, owner and founder of Facebook, donated $100 million dollars to the Newark New Jersey public school system. A charitable act worthy of the Oprah show, the donation is a sizable portion of the Newark district’s entire yearly …
More for Less
September 20th, 2010
As I search in vain for affordable airfare for my annual holiday trip home this year, I have noticed a disturbing trend in business: expect to get less, but pay more. Alot more. Airlines have started to charge for everything from checked …
What Have We Learned?
September 13th, 2010
It has been nine years since the horror of Sept. 11 2001. We have had nine years to grieve, contemplate and learn from the tragic incident, but have we? Captain Jason Dahl, who piloted United flight 93 which went down in Pennslyvania …
Leading by Example
August 19th, 2010
A few weeks ago the Roundabout Theatre Company in New York City hosted a week long series of workshops for teachers. Throughout the year, Roundabout works with and in the New York City public schools to promote arts education in the school …
Dress Code
July 26th, 2010
I was talking with a friend of mine this morning about the sad state of education these days and the conversational content included a concept that might be a bit touchy for teachers these days. Dress. Not student dress, but teacher dress. …
A Day at the Studio
July 15th, 2010
This summer I am teaching a program at my studio which incorporates arts and academics. The students, ages six through twelve, experience a rich curriculum of social studies, science, language arts and math- all taught through experiential learning and the arts. This …
Summer Advice
July 4th, 2010
Is it midway into summer vacation already? Even though the days are longer and lazier, the summer seems to slip right by us. All the best laid plans of reading all those books and articles that we just can’t seem to get …
Crayons or condoms?
June 24th, 2010
I heard today on the news that starting in the fall, Provincetown Massachusetts will enact a policy in their schools allowing for the distribution of condoms to elementary age students. According to the policy, students as young as first graders will be …
Summer Vacation
June 14th, 2010
Only a few days into summer vacation and already the thought of school is far behind! The frenzy that is the last few weeks of school can leave educators drained and empty, so the summer is not just a respite from teaching, …
Paying for Education
June 10th, 2010
With only two days of the school year left, I look back on what has been the hardest year in my educational career. Larger classes, less money, higher stress levels. Next year is slated to be even worse with the addition of …
An Ideal World
June 2nd, 2010
In an ideal world students would have a comprehensive list of electives to choose from to complete their high school elective requirements. But in our world, here in California, the choice for electives continues to dwindle due to financial inadequacies. Program improvement …
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