National Arts Education Policy
Making Policy One of the things that make a difference in our world is our ability to take good ideas and make good policy from them. How hard is that? Very. Good ideas have been eaten by bad policy for … Continued
ATM for ART? The Costs of Creating and Consuming Art
Where is Art? When I want to see some art, I turn to my museum. I was brought up by a family who regularly took me to the museums in New York City and who asked me to see what … Continued
Sharing Skills in the Arts with other Core Academic Content
Context David Byrne’s, “How Music Works,” (2012), starts with the chapter called, “Creation in Reverse.” In this first chapter, Byrne’s insight is that “context determines what is written, painted, sculpted, sung or performed” (page 13). He argues that artists don’t … Continued
Happy New Year 2018
As we ring in another year, we let go of the past and boldly embrace the future. I want to wish all of you a happy new year and a very productive, peaceful and successful 2018!
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to All
I want to wish you a snowy and merry Christmas and a warm and happy New Year! I am thankfulI for all of the people around me. I hope you can spend some time with friends and family and feel … Continued
Building Capacity for Life-Long Creativity
George Land’s Creativity Test Most people understand the need for children to play and create. However, by adulthood, creativity can be seen as a lonely activity for artists. Few of us may realize how central the idea of creativity is … Continued
Advancing Learning About Childhood Trauma
Learning About Childhood Trauma I was trained in urban universities who naturally study urban schools and students at risk. In twenty years of research on the arts and student achievement I find that the arts help these students achieve at … Continued
What’s App, Zombie Students of Art?
Rembrandt’s “Night Watch” Have you seen Rembrandt’s painting called, the Night Watch? It is huge! It is a masterpiece. This is of course Rembrandt’s famous painting, “The Night Watch” which is housed at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. This huge painting (12 … Continued
Finding Funding for Arts Integration
Introduction I have been looking at the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) that was just recently passed by Congress. There are a number of places for funding new work in arts integration. One of the most helpful documents I … Continued
The Healing Power of Art
Over this veterans day weekend I watched so many ways in which our country respects the people who guard us, fight for us and sometimes die for us. My family decided to climb an eight story tower on the coast … Continued