Futurists

From the Teaching Artists Union, we have received word that the School of the Future is now.

Cool. Why wait?

Not to be confused with that other school of the future, TAU's SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE is an art project and the "launching pad for the art movement of education."

More information is below, and on the group's website:

THE SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE
The School of the Future is an artist-run school for teaching artists. The school focuses on teaching artists as experts in the study of information through performing and visual arts; it serves as the first site devoted to the resourcefulness and adaptability of teaching artists. Each curriculum developed for the school is an art project, making the school a group show. The projects will be designed to use art as a learning process that activates and considers the site of the school.

The portable school building is fit with movable walls, so no barriers will remain between after school educators, professors, and substitute public school teachers. The school term is a process of discovery where the students and teachers refine this model of school from within the transparent school walls, engaging in a large collaborative artwork that analyzes, critiques, and pushes school out of its big brick buildings.

School of the Future opens this July in Bushwick’s Sgt. Dougherty Park for a month of programming. Starting in February, an open call for curriculum asks artists to consider the site of the school as an art project that they can engage a specific student body to perform.

The School of the Future is a project of the Teaching Artist Union—a group of NYC artists who consider teaching a part of their art practice. Principal Cassandra Thornton and Head Librarian Christopher Kennedy (Institute of Applied Aesthetics) are also supported by TrustArt, OpenSpaceAlliance, NYC Parks Department and the Association of Teaching Artists.

Site Visit Sunday January 24, 1pm
Join us on Sunday for a site visit to Sgt. Dougherty Park, the site for the SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE. The park is located on the corner of Meeker Ave. and Vandevoort Avenue. It is bordered by the BQE, Staples, and Con Ed property, in a wonderful industrial wasteland. Since projects at the school will respond to the site, please attend a group site visit or go solo, but please feel obliged to learn the park.

Also: Tron - Light Bikes w/ Jeff Bridges

To the Choir

The Bruce High Quality Foundation would like to remind you that "the $200,000-debt-model of art education is simply untenable." Instead, BHQF proposes exciting free alternatives, and encourages prospective students to Build Your Own University. Teaching artists who crave continuing education without the side effects, such as the strangled feeling that can come from being mired hopelessly in debt, might want to check it out.

Learning opportunities are listed below. I didn't make them up.

Bruce High Quality Foundation University is:

A university, a space for higher education and research, a community of scholars; an expansion of the BHQF practice to include more participants (that's where U come in); and a "fuck you"* to the hegemony of critical solemnity and market-mediocre despair.

To join a class, check their website or send an email to the listed address. Or come to Build Your Own University (BYOU) to find out more.

WRITING GROUP

Sundays, 12-4pm
chateauxmargo@gmail.com

OCCULT SHENANIGANS IN 20TH/21ST CENTURY ART
Sundays, 3-6pm
occultshenanigans@gmail.com

THE ARTIST AT WORK
Sundays, 6-9pm
Website

NASA (THE NATURAL ASSOCIATION OF STUDENTS OF ART)
Mondays, 12-4pm

Webpage

WHAT’S A METAPHOR?
Mondays, 6-8pm

Website

BHQFU DETECTIVE AGENCY

Mondays, 7:30pm

Website

eliascotez@googlemail.com

BYOU (BUILD YOUR OWN UNIVERSITY)

Jan 12, Feb 9, March 9, April 6, May 4, June 1, all at 7pm

Webpage

OPEN CRITIQUE

All the Tuesdays when BYOU is not scheduled. 7pm

Webpage

PHILOSOPHY OF MOTION PICTURES

Wednesdays, 7:30-10:30pm

Webpage

DRAMA

adrearose@gmail.com

MUSIC IN SPACE

Saturdays, 3-6pm

Website

Need To Know

ATA Board Member Russell Granet, who is a pioneer in the field of arts education and disability issues, hosts another installment in a series of useful webposiums for TAs. The first in the series, "Artists in Classrooms: The Role of the Teaching Artist", took place last year. It brought together TAs together from all over the world, and was sponsored, as is this one, by the DANA Foundation, leaders in the field of arts education research and funding.

Structured as a panel discussion, this latest webposium session will be streamed live, and viewers are invited to join in a Q and A at the end.

Not to be missed.

Details are below:

TEACHING ARTISTS & SPECIAL EDUCATION WEBPOSIUM

Friday, January 29, 2010

11:00-12:00 (CST) 12:00-1:00PM (EST)

What do teaching artists need to know, understand, and be able to do to achieve success in a self-contained or inclusion classroom?

Join us for an online discussion about the challenges and successes of working with students with disabilities.

The panel consists of artists and educators dedicated to making the arts accessible to all students. The panelists will discuss practical classroom strategies, lesson plan modifications, as well as the necessary questions to ask in order for everyone (artists, students, teachers, para-professionals, and administrators) to be successful.

Panelists include:

• Judith Jellison, Regents Professor of Music and Human Learning, Butler School of Music, University of Texas, Austin
• Allison Orr, Artistic Director, Forklift Danceworks, Austin, TX
• Sherry Snowden, Lecturer, Art Education, Texas State University
  

Moderator:

Russell Granet, Founder, Arts Education Resource

REGISTER NOW! Registration ends January 28 at 5:00pm

Lest We Forget

The Association of Teaching Artists (ATA) is a non-profit professional organization whose mission is to strengthen and serve Teaching Artists from all disciplines in New York State. The Association of Teaching Artists strives to create a community of professional Teaching Artists by: Empowering the practice of Teaching Artists' as a profession; Providing a network for communication and the exchange of resources; Shaping the field of Arts in Education; Providing advocacy, training, and professional development; Publicly recognizing distinguished achievement.

Video: Martin Luther King Jr. on Love and Non-Violence

Also: Marvin Gaye - Everybody Needs Love

Lifelines

The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes (TheARTS), is one of the key local arts councils serving New York State. TheArts serves as a "catalyst" for art, and administers a number of grant programs for teaching artists, and their allies, including NYFA's Strategic Opportunity Stipend, which has an upcoming deadline at the end of the month.

Thanks to Lynn Dates, TheARTS' Community Arts Development Director, for the heads up.

Details are below:

Strategic Opportunity Stipends (SOS)
New York Foundation for the Arts Strategic Opportunity Stipends <>Deadline: January 27, 2010

Strategic Opportunity Stipends (SOS) provides grants designed to help individual artists of all disciplines take advantage of specific, unique opportunities that will significantly benefit their work or career. These are $100-$600 grants for forthcoming opportunities (not necessarily projects) that are distinct from an artist's ongoing work. Deadlines are three times a year.
A panel of community members will evaluate applications. Applications should clearly articulate an opportunity that is new in relation to an artist's career thus far, and should clearly explain the benefits of participation in the opportunity.

Only residents in New York State (excluding NYC) are eligible to apply. To learn more about SOS and download an application, visit the New York Foundation for the Arts' website at www.nyfa.org/sos.

QuickARTS: Community Arts Money in a Jiffy!
QuickARTS awards are for individuals, artists, volunteer groups and organizations residing in Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben counties of New York.

Deadlines: February 3, June 2 and October 1, 2010, 5 pm (for postmark and hand delivery) This mini-grant program is designed to fund a broad range of arts and cultural projects through a process tailored to the unique needs of individuals and organizations in Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben counties.

QuickARTS is administered by The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes and funded by The Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes, Inc. Individuals and organizations may submit proposals to The ARTS three times a year. Grants ranging from $50 to $500 will be awarded to community-based arts and cultural projects that are accessible to the general public and marketed in a way to grow audience participation in and around Chemung County.

QuickArts is a competitive grant-making process and applicants are encouraged to submit the strongest proposal possible. TheARTS provides technical assistance where applicants may discuss proposal ideas. The panel process involves an optional applicant interview where applicants can verbally strengthen their proposals by an informal interview with the review panelists. To request an application or for more information contact Lynn Dates by calling 607-962-5871 x226 or emailing TheARTS@eARTS.org.

Learn more about TheARTS' opportunities for artists, organizations and schools.

Also: If it's Friday, this must be Facebook.

Story: Iroquois Creation Story @ the Smithsonian with text and streaming audio narration along with a searchable database of learning standards for the related exhibition. Spectacular.

Countless generations ago there existed beings who inhabited the Sky World. One day a great tree was uprooted in this world, creating a hole through which a pregnant woman fell. As she fell, the woman's descent was broken by a flock of water fowl, who then placed her on the back of a great sea turtle. The water animals retrieved some earth from the bottom of the sea and placed it on the turtle's back. As the woman walked about, the earth began to grow, forming Turtle Island.

In time the woman gave birth to a daughter. When the daughter reached womanhood, a spirit placed two arrows across her abdomen and she became pregnant with twins. The mother died during childbirth, and the twins argued incessantly as they grew to be young men. One twin created things of beauty, while the other twin created mischief. Eventually the twins fought, and the victorious brother turned to a final task. He formed a figure from the earth and gave it life. This being was the first of our people.

A Good Teacher

Even though John Dewey never had to walk through a metal detector to go teach a workshop, I think some of his writings on education remain useful for professional teaching artists to consider. I wonder what Mr. Dewey would say about a school system that daily requires thousands of young people of color to submit their bodies to inspection; surrendering their shoes, belts, jewelry and dignity before they are allowed to learn?

Reading: Dewey's Moral Philosophy @ Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

Excerpt: Preoccupation with the Disconnected

by John Dewey

The following is a talk given by Dewey to the New York Academy of Medicine, 1928.

The very problem of mind and body suggests division; I do not know of anything so disastrously affected by the habit of division as this particular theme. In its discussion are reflected the splitting off from each other of religion, morals and science; the divorce of philosophy from science and of both from the arts of conduct. The evils which we suffer in education, in religion, in the materialism of business and the aloofness of "intellectuals" from life, in the whole separation of knowledge and practice--all testify to the necessity of seeing mind-body as an integral whole.

The division in question is so deep-seated that it has affected even our language. We have no word by which to name mind-body in a unified wholeness of operation. For if we said "human life" few would recognize that it is precisely the unity of mind and body in action to which we were referring. Consequently, when we endeavor to establish this unity in human conduct, we still speak of body and mind and thus unconsciously perpetuate the very division we are striving to deny.

Read more...

View to a Thrill

The Queens Council on the Arts (QCA) offers teaching artists, and others, a uniquely inspiring resource. On their website, a short video segment called "How I got my grant" provides valuable insight into the process of applying for and securing a grant. If you are looking for seed money to launch your brand-new shiny idea, you might want to watch someone who's been there and done that. It's so simple. I watched, and I loved it.

In 3-minutes of terrific testimony, Jason Marr, the fearless leader of Hip to Hip Theatre Company, describes the process of successfully applying for the first grants he's ever written.

The video is posted below, and there are many more resources on the QCA site for teaching artists, including a Toolkit, and a link to the Urban Artist Initiative Forum.

Video: How I Got My Grant featuring Jason Marr of Hip to Hip Theatre.

Bold, Cautious, True

At the Katonah Museum in New York State, an interesting exhibition of work from the Civil War era takes its title from a Walt Whitman poem.

Bold, Cautious, True: Walt Whitman and American Art of the Civil War Era will be on exhibition in the Beitzel and Righter Galleries until January 24, 2010.

The show presents paintings by Eastman Johnson, Winslow Homer and others. Patrons may preview images from the exhibition online.

The image attached to this post is by Eastman Johnson. He lived from 1851-1899 and you can read his digitized personal correspondence on the website of the Smithsonian.

Also:

As Toilsome I Wander'd Virginia's Woods by Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

As toilsome I wander'd Virginia's woods,
To the music of rustling leaves kick'd by my feet, (for 'twas autumn,)
I mark'd at the foot of a tree the grave of a soldier;
Mortally wounded he and buried on the retreat, (easily all could
understand,)
The halt of a mid-day hour, when up! no time to lose--yet this sign left,
On a tablet scrawl'd and nail'd on the tree by the grave,
Bold, cautious, true, and my loving comrade.
Long, long I muse, then on my way go wandering,
Many a changeful season to follow, and many a scene of life,
Yet at times through changeful season and scene, abrupt, alone, or in the crowded street,
Comes before me the unknown soldier's grave, comes the inscription
rude in Virginia's woods,
Bold, cautious, true, and my loving comrade.

Westchester's Challenge

The Westchester Arts Council's Municipal Challenge grant program matches municipal funds raised by organizations. Only institutions with a funding track-record are eligible, and priority will be given to outdoor and summer events.

Download the 2010 Municipal Challenge Grant Guidelines here (PDF).

For the full application and detailed information, visit ArtsWestchester.org or contact Eric Siegel at esiegel@ArtsWestchester.org.

Art Plus

The Community Arts Training (CAT) Institute in St. Louis, Missouri invites teaching artists to be a part of a thrilling conversation about art and social change.

At the Crossroads: A Community Arts and Development Convening will take place from March 25 - 27, 2010 at the St. Louis Regional Arts Commission (RAC) Cultural Resource Center. Attendees should expect to join other practitioners for a dynamic conference designed to examine "new paths and crossways for the arts in these changing times."

Click here for registration information.

Click here to find an airline.

Also: Judy & Co. - The Trolley Song (Meet Me in St. Louis)

All Work

Teaching Artist jobs.

At Idealist.org our irregular Keyword search continues, despite the odds.

Here are this week's results.

Keyword: "Teaching Artist" returns 12 hits!

1. Program Director - Neighborhood Writing Alliance

   Neighborhood Writing Alliance
   Chicago, Illinois United States
   Last updated on: January 7, 2010
   Description: Job Description: Program Director Half-Time Position The Neighborhood Writing Alliance (NWA) provokes dialogue and promotes change by creating opportunities for adults in low-come communities to write, publish, and perform works about their live...

2. Program Coordinator

   Path with Art
   Seattle, Washington United States
   Last updated on: January 7, 2010
   Description: Path with Art recognizes the creative potential in all of us and its power to heal and inform in times of crisis and transition. It is our mission to provide arts programming to previously homeless and economically disadvantaged adults, using the creativ...

3. Children's Film Program Director

   Facets Multi-Media
   Chicago, Illinois United States
   Last updated on: January 6, 2010
   Description: Facets Multi-Media, a leading national non-profit media arts organization, seeks an exceptional individual to spearhead growth of Facets’ children’s media programs. Responsibilities include the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, the nation’s ...

4. Director of Development/Grants

   Boston Arts Academy
   Boston, Massachusetts United States
   Last updated on: January 6, 2010
   Description: Reports To: Executive Director, BAA Foundation Job Description: Director of Development/Grants The Boston Arts Academy, a public high school for the visual and performing arts, is currently in its 12th year with 440 students in Grades 9-12. It is a ...

5. Activity Specialist

   Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation
   Woodside, New York United States
   Last updated on: December 30, 2009
   Description: Our Academic, Activities and Sports Specialists are responsible for creating lessons, projects and objectives that meet the individual students’ needs. We have vacancies throughout the 5 boroughs. We are seeking part time staff for our after-school prog...

6. Visual Arts Consultant

   Sociedad Latina, Inc.
   Roxbury, Massachusetts United States
   Last updated on: December 28, 2009
   Description: Visual Arts Consultant For over thirty years the mission of Sociedad Latina has been to enhance the overall health and well-being of the Latino community by delivering programs that encourage community leadership through educational attainment, cultura...

7. Program Director

   Creative Arts Workshops for Kids
   New York, New York United States
   Last updated on: December 23, 2009
   Description: Creative Arts Workshops for Kids (CAW) seeks a full-time, inspiring and experienced Program Director to plan and lead the organization’s youth arts programs in Northern Manhattan (Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood) and work with its Executive Director...

8. Teaching artist

   Out of Site
   San Francisco, California United States
   Last updated on: December 17, 2009
   Description: The Out of Site Youth Arts Center is seeking experienced teacing artists to become a part of our vibrant non-profit arts center in San Francisco’s Ingleside/Excelsior neighborhood. We are particularly interested in teaching artists for the following class...

9. Group Leader- Art

   Phipps Community Development Corporation
   New York, New York United States
   Last updated on: December 17, 2009
   Description: Program Name: Phipps After School at the Plazas Qualifications: The candidate must have a BA Degree or be currently enrolled in college. Must have strong classroom management skills. Previous work experience teaching in a community based or school ag...

10. CAMP DIRECTOR

    The Harlem School of the Arts
    New York, New York United States
    Last updated on: December 17, 2009
    Description: The Harlem School of the Arts, Inc. The Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) is a nonprofit, community-based school of the arts that offers instruction in dance, music, theater and the visual arts to over 3,000 students annually. Founded in 1964, our missio...

11. PROGRAM ADMINSTRATOR

    University of Washington
    Seattle, Washington United States
    Last updated on: December 14, 2009
    Description: The University of Washington (UW) is proud to be one of the nation’s premier educational and research institutions. Our people are the most important asset in our pursuit of achieving excellence in education, research, and community service. Our staff not...

12. Ceramics Instructor

    Inner-City Arts
    Los Angeles, California United States
    Last updated on: December 1, 2009
    Description: Inner-City Arts is dedicated to bringing the best of creative experiences to the thousands of children who live in the downtown area, and attend public schools in Los Angeles Unified School District. Working with LAUSD and community partners, we offer com...

Keyword: "Arts Education" brings up 197 hits!

Here are the first few, or thirty:

1. Become a Teacher in Prince George's County.

   Prince George's County Teaching Fellows
   Upper Marlboro, Maryland United States
   Last updated on: January 7, 2010
   Description: Become a Teacher in Prince George's County! Prince George's County Teaching Fellows The Prince George’s County Teaching Fellows is looking for talented, motivated recent college graduates and career-changers dedicated to joining us in changing the qua...

2. Theater Manager

   Inner-City Arts
   Los Angeles, California United States
   Last updated on: January 7, 2010
   Description: Theater Manager - Position Available Inner-City Arts is a multi-disciplinary arts campus located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, serving over 8,000 children, youth, teachers and families during the school day, after school and on weekends. We belie...

3. Social Studies Teacher

   The Believe High School Network
   Brooklyn, New York United States
   Last updated on: January 7, 2010
   Description: Mission Statement Believe High Schools unite youth, families, staff, teachers, and the community at large in providing young people with the tools necessary to make sense of the world and prepares them in their journey to become successful and literate c...

4. Math Teacher

   The Believe High School Network
   Brooklyn, New York United States
   Last updated on: January 7, 2010
   Description: Mission Statement Believe High Schools unite youth, families, staff, teachers, and the community at large in providing young people with the tools necessary to make sense of the world and prepares them in their journey to become successful and literate c...

5. Development Manager

   Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation
   Woodside, New York United States
   Last updated on: January 7, 2010
   Description: Career-making opportunity to help expand the revenue base of the largest school-based after-school organization in New York City - Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation (SASF: www.sasfny.org) which served 50,000 young people in 2008-09. The organization has...

6. Senior Editor & Literary Programs Manager

   Center for the Art of Translation
   San Francisco, California United States
   Last updated on: January 7, 2010
   Description: TWO LINES SENIOR EDITOR & LITERARY PROGRAMS MANAGER The Center for the Art of Translation is a San Francisco-based non profit promoting international literature and translation through programs in publishing, education, and public events. The Center is...

7. Senior Programs Officer, Africa -- Washington, D.C.

   Freedom House
   Washington, District of Columbia United States
   Last updated on: January 7, 2010
   Description: Freedom House, founded in 1941, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes an engaged U.S. foreign policy; evaluates human rights conditions; sponsors public education campaigns; facilitates training and other assistance to promote democracy a...

8. After-School Program Director

   Sports & Arts in Schools Foundation
   Queens, New York United States
   Last updated on: January 7, 2010
   Description: After-School Program Director Want a job that you can feel passionate about? Want to make a real difference in someone’s life? If you love to work with youth and are a fun and engaging person that treats’ others with the utmost respect then consider j...

9. Queens Family Court Education & Information Site Coordinator

   Legal Information for Families Today (LIFT)
   Queens, New York United States
   Last updated on: January 7, 2010
   Description: LIFT offers one-of-a-kind services to some of the City’s most vulnerable families as they navigate through the Court system. We seek a one-of-a-kind Site Coordinator to join our team. Working from our Queens Family Court-based Education & Information ...

10. After-School Instructor - Wilson Community School

    Center for Community Partnerships - University of Pennsylvania
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania United States
    Last updated on: January 7, 2010
    Description: Program Description: Wilson Community School is a partnership between Alexander Wilson Elementary School and the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania. Wilson Community School (WCS) is responsible for developing and o...

11. Program Coordinator

    Path with Art
    Seattle, Washington United States
    Last updated on: January 7, 2010
    Description: Path with Art recognizes the creative potential in all of us and its power to heal and inform in times of crisis and transition. It is our mission to provide arts programming to previously homeless and economically disadvantaged adults, using the creativ...

12. Teacher

    Afya Public Charter School
    Baltimore, Maryland United States
    Last updated on: January 6, 2010
    Description: Afya is seeking experienced, enthusiastic educators to join our middle school teaching team. Applicants should be fully certified and experienced in their content area and experts at working with early adolescents “Afya” means health in Swahili. Our scho...

13. Children's Film Program Director

    Facets Multi-Media
    Chicago, Illinois United States
    Last updated on: January 6, 2010
    Description: Facets Multi-Media, a leading national non-profit media arts organization, seeks an exceptional individual to spearhead growth of Facets’ children’s media programs. Responsibilities include the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, the nation’s ...

14. Programming/Communications Position

    Yiddishkayt
    Los Angeles, California United States
    Last updated on: January 6, 2010
    Description: PROGRAMMING/COMMUNICATIONS POSITION (Creative configurations are possible, from full-time to part-time, from programming to communications) MISSION Yiddishkayt strives to ensure the survival of the endangered thousand-year legacy of Yiddish langu...

15. Middle School Language Arts Teacher

    Two Rivers Public Charter School
    Washington, District of Columbia United States
    Last updated on: January 6, 2010
    Description: Two Rivers Public Charter School is looking for a dynamic, dedicated, flexible middle school language arts teacher to become part of a vibrant educational community. The position is available immediately. Background Two Rivers Public Charter School...

16. Community Education Coordinator

    Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette
    Portland, Oregon United States
    Last updated on: January 6, 2010
    Description: Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette is in search of a Community Education and Outreach Coordinator to work in our Education and Training Department. Our business is providing, promoting, and protecting access to reproductive and sexual health ca...

17. Director of Development/Grants

    Boston Arts Academy
    Boston, Massachusetts United States
    Last updated on: January 6, 2010
    Description: Reports To: Executive Director, BAA Foundation Job Description: Director of Development/Grants The Boston Arts Academy, a public high school for the visual and performing arts, is currently in its 12th year with 440 students in Grades 9-12. It is a ...

18. Business Development Manager

    Acoustiguide, Inc.
    New York, New York United States
    Last updated on: January 6, 2010
    Description: Business Development for Museum Lover Do you have solid marketing and sales experience, with a strong interest in working with museums and cultural arts centers? Are you an excellent writer and communicator who has developed sales plans, proposals and...

19. ART CENTER DIRECTOR

    Arts Horizons
    Englewood, New Jersey United States
    Last updated on: January 6, 2010
    Description: Arts Horizons, a well respected arts education organization, seeks a Director for our Arts Horizons LeRoy Neiman Art Center (LNAC) in Harlem. The Center’s mission is to provide students PreK-12, families and adults with quality art experiences, primarily ...

20. Program Coordinator Population and Development Program

    Hampshire College
    Amherst, Massachusetts United States
    Last updated on: January 6, 2010
    Description: Hampshire College, an independent, innovative liberal arts college, is seeking a program coordinator for the Population and Development Program, a research, advocacy and educational program on reproductive rights, women’s health, international development...

21. Manager of Individuals & Major Gifts

    Free Arts NYC
    New York, New York United States
    Last updated on: January 5, 2010
    Description: 1.With a thorough understanding of Free Arts NYC programs, develop and implement a strategic fund development plan to acquire major gift contributions from individuals, corporations and private foundations, including planned giving and bequests. 2.Manage...

22. Executive Assistant/Research Assistant #3141

    WestEd
    San Francisco, California United States
    Last updated on: January 5, 2010
    Description: WestEd’s Assessment and Standards Development Services (ASDS) program is involved extensively at the state and national levels in planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating standards and assessment tools, methods, and systems. ASDS serves as the t...

23. Director, Finance & Administration

    Lenox Hill Neighborhood House
    New York, New York United States
    Last updated on: January 5, 2010
    Description: Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, widely recognized as one of New York’s premier human services providers, is a 115-year-old settlement house that provides an extensive array of effective and integrated evidence-based programs--social, educational, legal, ho...

24. KIPP NYC Operations Manager

    KIPP NYC
    New York, New York United States
    Last updated on: January 5, 2010
    Description: About KIPP NYC KIPP NYC is the family of KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) charter schools and related services in New York City, all dedicated to teaching students the academic and character skills necessary for success in high school, college, and beyo...

25. Instructional Development Assistant

    Harlem Success Academy
    New York, New York United States
    Last updated on: January 4, 2010
    Description: Join our movement Success Charter Network is an ambitious charter management network of four high-performing charter schools in New York City, is actively seeking an Instructional Development Assistant to support curriculum and professional development i...

26. Public Relations & Marketing Coordinator

    City Parks Foundation
    New York, New York United States
    Last updated on: January 4, 2010
    Description: DATES: March 1- October 15, 2010 The City Parks Foundation (CPF) is an independent, non-profit organization that produces arts, sports and educational programs, largely free of charge, for over 600,000 kids and adults in 750 parks throughout New York C...

27. Vice President, Finance & Administration

    Koya Consulting LLC
    United States
    Last updated on: January 4, 2010
    Description: School Leaders Network, an emerging leader in the education reform space that is dedicated to providing the structure, time, space, collaboration and skills that principals need to systemically understand and solve problems of practice related to student ...

28. Assistant to the President & CEO

    All Stars Project Inc.
    New York, New York United States
    Last updated on: January 4, 2010
    Description: The All Stars Project, Inc., a cutting edge, independent youth development and performing arts institution dedicated to promoting human development through a performance-based educational model seeks an Assistant to the President and CEO. This person wil...

29. Become an Inspired Teacher in Washington, DC.

    Center for Inspired Teaching
    Washington, District of Columbia United States
    Last updated on: January 4, 2010
    Description: Become a teacher in Washington, DC! You've heard about the problems with education in Washington, DC. Now you can be a part of the solution. Inspire. Teach. Change. Become an Inspired Teacher in our Nation's Capital. Program Description Cen...

30. Head Teacher, Staten Island Children's Center

    Safe Horizon
    Staten Island, New York United States
    Last updated on: January 4, 2010
    Description: The Head Teacher position provides a structured, educational, day care support to children of adults involved in court proceedings, and is responsible for the overall management of the center. The ages of the children can range from infancy to 12 years o...

Happy Friday!

Who Can Say?

Why School?, a provocatively titled work of non-fiction, is our book of the week. Author Mike Rose, who keeps a nice blog, examines the state of public education in our country, and finds it lacking. I am curious about what would happen if we all collectively, and authentically, paused to consider the possibility that maybe we've been going about this whole thing the wrong way.

Also: This week, Mike Rose will be interviewed by Krista Tippet on her show Speaking of Faith, which deals with religion and ethics, and which I've never tuned into. The interview will air on Public Radio, and be made available online as a podcast.

Check here for details in your area.

Also: Madness - Our House

Mindblowing

Lincoln Center Institute is offering an online survey course in "Imaginative Learning."

Of course, it looks fabulous.

The registration page says the course costs $750 for 3 Graduate Credits and $350 for PDU Credit. An application is required.

Also: Rudyard Kipling - The Elephant's Child

I KEEP six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,
For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
For they are hungry men.
But different folk have different views;
I know a person small-
She keeps ten million serving-men,
Who get no rest at all!

She sends'em abroad on her own affairs,
From the second she opens her eyes-
One million Hows, two million Wheres,
And seven million Whys!

Workforce Potential

Room to Grow: Tapping the After-School Workforce Potential, a new policy brief published by The After-School Corporation, makes the case for a new and better approach to professional development.

The report, defines the problem as a lack of access to professional training and recommends that steps be taken to better fashion a professional identity for after-school workers--proposing "that policymakers, educators and leaders in this field collaborate to build an after-school professional development system that will lay down career paths and support staff members in their current practice."

It goes on to recommend that "Informal training should be sequenced, credited and aligned to this larger professional development system so staff members who participate in on-the-job training are rewarded."

Download a copy of Room to Grow: Tapping the After-school Workforce Potential on TASC's website.

Finally: Irene Cara - What A Feeling

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The Association of Teaching Artists (ATA) is a non-profit professional organization whose mission is to strengthen and serve Teaching Artists from all disciplines in New York State. The Association of Teaching Artists strives to create a community of professional Teaching Artists by: Empowering the practice of Teaching Artists' as a profession; Providing a network for communication and the exchange of resources; Shaping the field of Arts in Education; Providing advocacy, training, and professional development; Publicly recognizing distinguished achievement.

You can visit ATA here and here and here.

The year is 2010, because everything changes!

Also: Miles Davis - The Birth of the Cool

Eric Booth: Why I Support ATA

Why I Support ATA

by Eric Booth

I just snail mailed my support check to ATA in thanks for all they do.

A few years ago, I was in a discussion at Harvard Project Zero about whether teaching artists should try to create a non-profit national service organization. We thought about what those service organizations actually do, and what it takes to sustain them, and it kept not adding up as a the right next step for our growing field. We asked ourselves, "What is it that we really need, and how can we provide that without creating another institution that doesn't feel like 'us'?"

The answer that arose was that for now what we needed most was information, ways to communicate with one another, and a responsive lead group that can prompt us as needed. We need time to authentically grow into what we want to become. At that time I realized that the ATA was doing exactly what the field needed, and doing it well. If we can support it well (and we haven't done that well to date--our ATA leaders work heroically without adequate support), we can grow authentically to become what we want to be as a field. Thank you ATA--my check is in the mail.

Eric Booth


Editor's Note:

Contributions to ATA are tax-deductible, and may be made here.

Thank you.

Why I Support ATA

Why I Support ATA

By Phil Alexander

The soloist enchants us, while the choir provides us with incomparable depth and richness.

The poem delights us, while the book creates an entirely new universe for us.

The sculpture engages us, while the museum opens us up to brand new understandings.

The lesson teaches us, while the whole course transforms us.

Simply put, collective action reaches us deeper and lasts longer than individual experiences.

ATA is the embodiment of collective action, it's a collective voice, a unified chorus of individuals who often cannot be heard. The incomparable listserve , the ATA website, and the blog are just a few of the most obvious tools in which ATA collects and shares the voices of teaching artists. The
board and staff of ATA are committed to hearing the needs of teaching artists, and sharing your concerns with the world at large. We have plans to provide more opportunities and events for teaching artists in the future, such as the first Teaching Artists conference, but with assorted financial challenges, everything must be reconsidered and no opportunity is secure.

During this period of appeals and gift giving, it's hard to claim that one cause is more worthy than others. So I'm left asking this question: What will be heard, if ATA"s voice is silenced?

Philip A. Alexander, Ph.D.
Senior Program Officer
ESP Office of Partnership Support and Research
www.espartsed.org


Editor's Note:

Contributions to ATA are tax-deductible, and may be made here.

Thank you.