The Arts Saves Education
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CC12 35
azriel
halfwise
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The Arts Saves Education
Just saw this on the national news broadcast, can't find a print version. But it says so much.
A High School in the deteriorating town of Roxbury Massachussetts was beset by violence, the school had gone security to the max, and felt like a prison. Nothing seemed to work, and the school had 5 principals in 7 years, with nearly half the teachers leaving each year.
but principal #6 had a bold idea: he removed the security apparatus entirely and plowed the money into performing and visual arts programs. When he started people told him he had just killed his career; they couldn't have been more wrong. The turnaround was immediate - violence went down, student performance in academics sky rocketed. Within a few years it became one of the best schools in the state.
Need I even comment?
A High School in the deteriorating town of Roxbury Massachussetts was beset by violence, the school had gone security to the max, and felt like a prison. Nothing seemed to work, and the school had 5 principals in 7 years, with nearly half the teachers leaving each year.
but principal #6 had a bold idea: he removed the security apparatus entirely and plowed the money into performing and visual arts programs. When he started people told him he had just killed his career; they couldn't have been more wrong. The turnaround was immediate - violence went down, student performance in academics sky rocketed. Within a few years it became one of the best schools in the state.
Need I even comment?
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Halfwise, son of Halfwit. Brother of Nitwit, son of Halfwit. Half brother of Figwit.
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halfwise- Quintessence of Burrahobbitry
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Re: The Arts Saves Education
Mind you, that was a brave step on his part ! He must be very dedicated to his principles & beliefs. Goes to show, that if you treat people AS people & try to find & tap into a creative vent, you'll get good results. Caging people just demoralizes you, even into depression or despair. Well done him !
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azriel- Grumpy cat, rub my tummy, hear me purr
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Re: The Arts Saves Education
love the orchard gadens story with the Arts!!! Love, love, love; make education inspirational, NOT institutional, NOT a prison
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it's not that serious Caroline
CC12 35- Gypsy gal, the hands of Harlem
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Re: The Arts Saves Education
Yes, it brightened my day, and I'm so glad it was on national news. Hopefully the right people will see it and it will spread. When budgets get tight usually the first thing to get cut is the arts.
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Halfwise, son of Halfwit. Brother of Nitwit, son of Halfwit. Half brother of Figwit.
Then it gets complicated...
halfwise- Quintessence of Burrahobbitry
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Re: The Arts Saves Education
8yo girl in art class i'm assisting with is saving up £120 to buy a sewing machine so she can sew clothes for homeless
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it's not that serious Caroline
CC12 35- Gypsy gal, the hands of Harlem
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Re: The Arts Saves Education
Not being a Teacher, I know all the answers. (My Missus is a Teacher and so, obviously, knows little about what works, educationally speaking! )
My thought is, (and you'll no doubt agree with me if you're a sporty jock like me), if kids love sport, then get them playing at least half the day, with breaks every half hour or so to do things like learning game rules, how to score (using mathematics to calculate sums and stats), learning how to Umpire, write down strategies, learn about great sporting champions, great sporting moments, write a poem about great sporting moments, or a story about them and how they imagined becoming champions and visualized how to become campions, and read books about other champions and their lives (which wasn't all sport and may have included philosophy), painta opicture of a great moment (abstract too, if you want)... etc. etc. ....to foster a broad Education. If you're artsy fartsy (like me) then you could tackle education through artsy fartsy stuff (at least half the day) like that Principal of yours Halfy. Easy peasy, what! Good Teachers engage kids - meet them where the kid's at - and they become sponges (and have little time for boredom or distractions). An engaging Principal, that's what he was! Here to help! (Do I sound a bit like Rudolf Steiner? Not sure... )
My thought is, (and you'll no doubt agree with me if you're a sporty jock like me), if kids love sport, then get them playing at least half the day, with breaks every half hour or so to do things like learning game rules, how to score (using mathematics to calculate sums and stats), learning how to Umpire, write down strategies, learn about great sporting champions, great sporting moments, write a poem about great sporting moments, or a story about them and how they imagined becoming champions and visualized how to become campions, and read books about other champions and their lives (which wasn't all sport and may have included philosophy), painta opicture of a great moment (abstract too, if you want)... etc. etc. ....to foster a broad Education. If you're artsy fartsy (like me) then you could tackle education through artsy fartsy stuff (at least half the day) like that Principal of yours Halfy. Easy peasy, what! Good Teachers engage kids - meet them where the kid's at - and they become sponges (and have little time for boredom or distractions). An engaging Principal, that's what he was! Here to help! (Do I sound a bit like Rudolf Steiner? Not sure... )
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Orwell- Dark Presence with Gilt Edge
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Re: The Arts Saves Education
I hated sport at school.
Mrs Figg- Eel Wrangler from Bree
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Re: The Arts Saves Education
I once heard the famous physicist Freeman Dyson speak about education. He noted that the period when England ruled the world of intellect - producing Newton, Maxwell, Darwin, and whole slew of writers - was also the period when by our standards the educational curriculum was horrendous. Nothing but Latin and Greek and rhetoric, with a little compass and straightedge thrown in.
Having gone through the system himself, he had a theory. You see, the students hated the classical curriculum. But there was a library. Purely out of rebellion they would break into the library and discover all this wondrous stuff: physics and calculus and chemistry and modern literature and art theory. It became their playground, they owned this stuff.
So that was his theory of education: have the teachers concentrate hard on useless information. Have them beat you for it. Let the students discover the real stuff on their own, and they would treasure it and learn at their own pace and naturally follow their best inclinations.
Having gone through the system himself, he had a theory. You see, the students hated the classical curriculum. But there was a library. Purely out of rebellion they would break into the library and discover all this wondrous stuff: physics and calculus and chemistry and modern literature and art theory. It became their playground, they owned this stuff.
So that was his theory of education: have the teachers concentrate hard on useless information. Have them beat you for it. Let the students discover the real stuff on their own, and they would treasure it and learn at their own pace and naturally follow their best inclinations.
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Halfwise, son of Halfwit. Brother of Nitwit, son of Halfwit. Half brother of Figwit.
Then it gets complicated...
halfwise- Quintessence of Burrahobbitry
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Re: The Arts Saves Education
That's an interesting thought. My initial eaction though is that while that might work for the Newtons, Maxwells, and Darwins of the world, but education has to be concerned with more than just the very top-tier (though it shouldn't take them for granted either). And England is no intellectual slouch these days either, it's just that it's no longer a global hegemon so it doesn't rule any worlds (literal or figurative) anymore.
Re: The Arts Saves Education
Stop misusing grammar Nora!
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it's not that serious Caroline
CC12 35- Gypsy gal, the hands of Harlem
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Re: The Arts Saves Education
should b 4 periods there
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it's not that serious Caroline
CC12 35- Gypsy gal, the hands of Harlem
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Join date : 2012-10-27
Re: The Arts Saves Education
I thought I was the only person who ever noticed the number of ellipses.
Re: The Arts Saves Education
#universityundergradbitch
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it's not that serious Caroline
CC12 35- Gypsy gal, the hands of Harlem
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