Education = Future

Quite simply, the video below rocks.

This speech, entitled "Changing the Education Paradigm," by Sir Ken Robinson, is well crafted, well researched, and well said. It is also accompanied by some incredible artwork. Go ahead.
You'd take 10 minutes to cruise Facebook or flip through the channels in a heartbeat.
Take 10 minutes to watch it. Your life will be the better for it.




What did you think?

What I truly love about this video is that it's not just about listing the problems in our educational system. It is also about creating solutions.

I saw "Waiting for Superman," I hear about the looming budget cuts coming our way next year in South Carolina, and I read newspaper articles about the dismal placement of American students' science scores compared to China. I know that it is truly time for some radical changes to be made, or our struggling economy is hardly going to improve over the next 50 years.

Remember that picture at the top of this entry? I truly believe that our future depends on the education of our children.

As a teacher I have very little sway in how many students are placed in my classroom. I can't do much about being furloughed. I don't get a say in how budgets are earmarked.

But I can help to develop my students' divergent thinking.

One of the ways I do that every day is through arts integration. As you'll hear, Sir Ken talks about that in his video. For the past two years, I've been privileged to be a part of the smartIDEA program through the Peace Center. The Peace Center is not only an incredible local venue for off-Broadway shows and amazing concerts, it is a nonprofit dedicated to developing the arts in our community. They bring in master teachers from the Kennedy Center to help teachers teach content through the arts.

So instead of just reading about the 1920s or listening to jazz music or looking at a collage made my Romare Bearden - we make our own collages inspired by him (while listening to jazz) to show what we've learned about different facets of the time period. Get it?

Through this program, I have learned teaching methods that don't just work - they work wonders. When I use arts integration to teach, my students don't just remember things. They understand them. They perform higher on standardized tests (another issue entirely).

But my point is - we can't let the arts fall by the wayside. We can't deny results that the arts irrefutably bring to the table. We can't let budget cuts dictate the future of our kids, our country, or our world.

Everyone has been saying recently how we need to send letters to our congressmen and let them know how we feel about the impact of their decisions.

I'm going to send them a link to my class blog instead.

I want them to see first-hand the high achievement of students that have had the benefit of arts integration and arts education. The proof is here:



Now I know (and I hope you do too):
Arts are not optional. They are essential.

Heartbook

Maybe it's because it's Valentine's Day and I've seen hearts absolutely everywhere. Maybe it's because I'm sick of reading all of the sicky-sweet "I love my pookie-wookie-ookie bear" statuses that keep cropping up on my Facebook news feed.

But tonight, I'm imagining a world without Facebook.

Instead, I'd like to see someone's Heartbook.

Isn't that a funny idea?

A Heartbook wouldn't just have our most attractive pictures tagged, our favorite song lyrics posted and a number of "friends" climbing endlessly higher. It wouldn't post what you want people to know about you. It wouldn't allow you to shape an image based around a persona you create with groups and favorites and likes and dislikes.

It would be real and true, revealing the very condition of our hearts. Instead of counting friends, it would count good deeds. Instead of posting superficial comments, it would force you to speak only the truth, what you really think.

It would be like in the movie "Shallow Hal" when Hal actually sees people for their character instead of for their looks.

Don't you think it would challenge you to act differently if the picture of you displayed what your heart is like on the inside? If the words on your page revealed your inner thoughts and feelings?

Isn't that a cool idea?!

But now I'm starting to wonder - what would my Heartbook look like?

What would yours?

Now I Know:
Just add truth serum, and I am the next Mark Zuckerberg.

Waxing Poetic

Sing a Song of Springtime
A sunny sunshine kind of day
Birds and kids and bumblebees
Come outside to play

White puffy clouds fill the air
Soft cool breezes blow
We say goodbye to icicles
Freezing rain and snow

Bare white legs are all around
Flip flops grace our cooped-up feet
How glorious when soft green grass
And winterized toes do meet!

But wait, what's that?
Another chill? Winter storms and skies so gray?
Yes, just wait til March, I warn to those
who think spring has come to stay.

I know the thought is pessimistic,
Upsetting and quite scary
That winter is not over yet.
But it's only February.


Now I know:
My Asheville-bred cynicism of an early spring runs deep.

Song Saturday #2

Somehow I didn't discover Will Hoge until after I left Furman.

I had no idea just how much I was missing. Will Hoge is a scruffy-faced, scruffy-voiced singer songwriter with a whole lotta grit. He writes poignant lyrics, puts a rock-and-roll twist on the melody, and sings it with all the passion and soul possible.

I chose this song today because it is all about having big dreams and never giving up on them. If you're living in green, that's exactly the kind of motto you want to have.

I just love Will Hoge. I also love that he always chews gum live in concert and also on this recording.

Now that's talent.



Even if it Breaks Your Heart

Way back on a radio dial
Fire got lit inside a bright eyed child
Every note just wrapped around your soul
From steel guitar to Memphis all the way to rock and roll

Whoa, I can hear 'em playing
I can hear the ringing of a beat up old guitar
Whoa, I can hear 'em saying
Keep on dreaming even if it breaks your heart

Downtown, where I used to wander
Old enough to get there but too young to get inside
I would stand out on the sidewalk
Listen to the music playing every Friday night

Whoa, I can hear 'em playing
I can hear the ringing of a beat up old guitar
Whoa, I can hear 'em saying
Keep on dreaming even if it breaks your heart

Some dreams stay with you forever
Drag you around and lead you back to where you were
Some dreams keep on getting better
Got to keep believing if you want to know for sure

Whoa, I can hear 'em playing
I can hear the ringing of a beat up old guitar
Whoa, I can hear 'em saying
Keep on dreaming even if it breaks your heart

Whoa, I can hear 'em playing
I can hear the ringing of a beat up old guitar
Whoa, I can hear 'em saying
Keep on dreaming even if it breaks your heart
Keep on dreaming even if it breaks your heart

Keep on dreaming

Don't let it break your heart

Marcel #2

I think this guy is super cute, hilariously funny, and endlessly quotable.

I like him a whole better than Marcel Duchamp.


Now I know:
If I was a shell I couldn't drink so much Diet Coke.
The bubbles would make me float up to the ceiling.

Marcel #1

I remember learning in Art History about Marcel Duchamp. The professor showed us a slide of his work titled "In Advance of the Broken Arm." You can see this "masterpiece" above.

Uh huh. It's simply a snowshovel.

"Did he make it?" someone asked. "No, he didn't make it," the professor replied. "Oh. Well did he change it somehow? Or paint it?" said another curious student. The answer was no.

Marcel Duchamp took a pre-fab snow shovel, gave it a title, and it ended up at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Check out another one of my favorites, "The Fountain."


Yep. That's an upside down urinal.

Anyway, I guess this really helped to give shape to what my mind considers to be art. It broadened my creative boundaries and helped me to understand that creativity keeps pushing those boundaries further. That's not to say that I absolutely love every modern piece, or that I think Marcel Duchamp was a genius.

But he playfully challenged the standards of his time. He got people talking. He made people think.

In my completely humble opinion, the truly great artists make you think.

I stumbled upon (literally, stumbledupon.com) a website with some street art pieces that I consider totally brilliant. The newspaper is a perfect medium to convey the idea behind the series, called "Slowly Cleared Away by the Environment." Amazing, right?!


Click on the link to see more:
http://www.streetartutopia.com/?p=1431

Now I know:
I want this blog to make you think.

Tag...You're it

Today I learned about making a tag cloud (www.tagxedo.com). Props to my sister-dork, Brett, for being as excited about technology as me!!

This one's made from frequent words on my blog. The more you use a word, the bigger it is in the tag cloud.

I really like how the two biggest words are "Share" and "Love." That makes me feel good about what I'm writing.

I made it into the shape of a four leaf clover because this week I'm feeling lucky.

Come back tomorrow and I'll show you why.