Wanted - Arts Activists

In a post last week, I made a statement that I want to take some time to explain.  In it, I said that "This is not a blog for arts advocates....This weblog is a place for arts activists" .  I didn't explain that very well,

iPads in Education

One of the no-brainers in education these days seems to me to be the iPad.

More Hybrid Education

In the last post, I put forth the idea of hybrid schools as a new paradigm for education that combines online technology with personal interaction with teachers and classmates.  In the excellent example of the Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School, that is accomplished by having online instruction with teachers and material on a flexible bases, and regional centers, where students and teachers, especially in the arts, can get together, and perform or display their skills, knowledge, and abilities.  

Today, I want to talk about another model for education that is getting rave reviews.  It is presented on network news programs as the largest 'virtual school' in the world.  It is the Khan Academy,

High Tech and High Touch

In the art of teaching, the challenge is to communicate information to the student in such a way that they receive, process, interiorize, apply and retain new knowledge.  To do that the teacher has available to them the seven senses of learning

Reading Improvement through Music, Movement and Play 'RITMMAP'

Up to this point, I've shared some principles and insights of educators, psychologists, and even neuro-biologists that have proven to be particularly instructive in my own understanding as I've taught thousands of students over the last two decades.  These insights are not new.  What is new however, is the convergence of the various sciences of cognition, neuroscience, learning theory, and psychology - especially as it relates to emotional development.

Notes and Neurons, Mozart & Einstein

I get puzzled by why so many people (often politicians and all too often, school officials) claim that we need more of an emphasis on math and science in our schools because we as a nation are falling so far behind other countries in the world in  grade-level tests 

Direct Instruction + Art = Engaged Students

In the last blog, I talked about how one of the arts, drama,  can enliven any classroom and significantly contribute to student interest, engagement and learning.

Drama In The Classroom

One of the statements that I made in my last blog is a little difficult to understand without some background.  The statement suggested that an infusion of the arts into teaching is how we all learn, all the time.