I am not a novice with Social Media, dipping my fingers in various pots; even so, there are still many, many more pots waiting to be stirred. I’m also not a novice in regards to the arts and arts education.
I received the following from a FB acquaintance (thank you Susan Shatz), and knew I had to pass this on:
There are many people who live, breathe, eat, sleep, etc. The Arts (capital letters on purpose) but don’t have the exposure or professional gravitas which would give them the recognition that they deserve. They may be young in age, or “still new” in their respective turn at this part of their career. In Barry’s words:
Regular followers of this blog know that late every August I publish a list of the Most Powerful and Influential Leaders in the Nonprofit Arts. Most people understand that the list isn’t meritocracy based; it isn’t based on specific achievement or accomplishment per se; it doesn’t purport to necessarily identify the “best and brightest”, rather it merely identifies who has power and influence.
There has been some past comment that unfortunately the list excludes a whole cohort of serious thinkers – a group of younger (not necessarily chronologically younger) leaders omitted because their careers have not been long enough for them to develop the requisite power and influence the Most Powerful list embodies, and that there ought to be some mechanism that gives this cohort of leaders a voice and some recognition. They are, after all, our future.
If you are interested/concerned about the state of the arts and nonprofit arts, I strongly suggest that you click HERE for the full blog entry. I know I’ll be giving this some serious thought.
Opening up dialogue with new thinkers, the ones who are doing the work, who resist hearing & living “we’ve always done it this way”…this is one way to acknowledge those who might seem behind the scenes but need to have a more national, if not international voice.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks.
About Barry: Former Director of the California Arts Council; President of the California Assembly of Local Arts Agencies; Executive Director LINES Ballet. Author (Hardball Lobbying for Nonprofits – MacMillan & Co.; Youth Involvement in the Arts – 2 phase study for the Hewlett Foundation; Local Arts Agency Funding Study for the Aspen Institute; City Arts Toolkit), consultant, public speaker. Barry’s Blog is a service of the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF). The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of WESTAF.
A 68 year young bus monitor, in upstate New York, was verbally assaulted by a group of Middle School (MS) students. The abuse was caught on video and broadcast on YouTube and all over Facebook and Twitter. According to the article/CNN report, the students will be facing disciplinary actions, and the police are involved in this action.
I’m sure, by now, you’ve seen or heard about the video. The CNN link above only has a fraction of it, and I would not post the entirety of it here. The students who did this need consequences for their actions, not further hits on the video. I do send out my thoughts to the woman who was attacked. My hope is she can find some strength in the fact that she held her own, did not sink to their level and attack back, and that the majority of those sounding off on this are on her side.
We have our share of bullies in all age groups, in all parts of our society. Yet, the majority of our focus is on the school bullies. When I went looking for bully images to use with this post, there were few images that dealt with adults: one adult yelling at a group of kids; one woman berating another. The rest were signage, the red line through the word BULLY and the like.
Alongside issues of bullying in schools, which is desperately needed, I feel all adults (Parents, the workforce, police, politicians, teachers, principals, etc etc etc) need the same sort of awareness programs, if not more so. Not only do they need to learn how to properly deal with this behavior from students, the adults need to see what THEY do that constitutes bullying.
I saw it in action, recently, in working with an older population group. I have seen it in action in schools and business. It seems to be not only a common practice from management to workers at times, but along the peer level. Bullying tactics are not relegated to just children.
Adult bullies, to other adults &/or children, is a seen behavior that is picked up by the young. If an adult does it with little to no consequence, then why can’t a kid? They may not go through that exact thought process, but it’s there: we teach our children outright what we want them to learn, but we are not careful about the rest of our actions, what they observe and take in.
I think we need to label bullying, if we have to label at all, for what it truly is: a hate crime.
Bullying wasn’t okay in elementary school and it isn’t okay now, especially when it comes in the form of a U.S. Supreme Court decision. John Doolittle
Some people won’t be happy until they’ve pushed you to the ground. What you have to do is have the courage to stand your ground and not give them the time of day. Hold on to your power and never give it away.
― Donna Schoenrock
Here are two student video reactions to the bullying of the bus monitor.
One of the most disturbing things that I have heard from a student was:
“Why should I try? I’ll only be working at McDonald’s.”
I was an Artist-in-Residence for a year for a large school district in Westchester County, NY. Still early in my profession, that statement was both a shock and a revelation of a point of view I had never considered before: low expectations given, and projected; leading this student to live that that is all they can do. The young lady who said that to me was in a ninth grade repeat class. Most of them, I was told much later, were on their THIRD repeat of ninth grade.
Yes: she was a third timer.
It was not that working at McDonald’s is such a negative job, but the expectation of that is all she could expect in life is. There are jobs that many would never consider ever doing in their lives as “beneath” them; there are people who feel that there are jobs that are forever out of their reach.
I worked at a private Prep school (the capital P is on purpose) for five years. They were a usual sort of kids, except for one basic thing: their parents had power (=Money). Money enough to afford the very high K-12 tuition. If I remember correctly, all of these students went on to Ivy League universities , or “back-packed” across Europe, before coming back to such schools.
Were they born smarter, more diligent? Driven, yes, by their parents status. Academically as well. They were not taught to pass a test as the NYC public schools are (and have been) but really had a well rounded curriculum.
I’ve already written, a number of times, about this inequality in teaching. If Bloomberg and other mayors really cared, they’d look at the educational platforms that these private schools use. Yes, money pushes those kids along. We can’t fight that, but…we can elevate the level of how students are taught, what the curriculum is, and the entire structures of schools. I wrote about some ideals of mine in What Constitutes Education? and also in Public vs. Private Schools (there is a comparison of NYC schools and the same private prep school mentioned above…hopefully, it’s eye opening).
The other part, and it is a huge part: The Parents.
Parents have to be involved. Not just in making sure that their kids do their reading/homework, but support them, encourage them, take the time to invest in what they are learning, get involved in outside of school learning (excursions outside of their neighborhood)…being parents, not just adults whose house the kids reside in.
So, the next time you see your lawyer go to a McDonald’s drive through (or his/her aide), think of who is doing the ordering, and who is serving.
Taking a short hiatus from things can be good, now and then. I’ve wondered what to do with this blog: the guest posts have given me a wonderful respite, allowing me time to get better as well as well lend time to write when I felt like it, as opposed to just churning out something to post.
So…a huge thank you to all who have already guest blogged here, and to the ones that I still have in wait. I’m going to set up that schedule soon.
As to right now, I again find myself questioning directions for the next segment of my life. I am tired of all the negative chatter that surrounds us; doing something, anything, is preferable than sitting in a corner (to me). I am not sure if this is the proper forum for achieving any goals.
Is blogging just another Tower of Babel?
I took on the mantle of blogging just a wee bit more than a year ago: “get an internet presence!” was what my (then, hopeful) agent said to me, as well as others. In that year time, I am still not sure what greater good this has done for me or anyone else. So…
Now that I have that down, I need to take another step back, post the guest posts I have in hand, and figure out “What Comes Next.”
One thing: I commented on Bonnie Copeland’s (My Rivendell) The Foundations of Character post about what I feel breaks down character. I do think we are lacking in character, overall, and bend to who shouts the loudest. I called it a “non-community of yellers”, the age we’re living in.
Listen—really listen to someone’s POV. Place your own concerns aside for the moments it takes to really click with where someone is coming from. Communicate back: don’t condemn, place judgement (moral or religious or political) and LISTEN. Ask questions “Why?” or ask for clarification.
Does it take time? Sure, a bit more. But…we’d all be better off if we agreed to really hear what someone else has to say, really try to care why they feel that way.
Thanks for all of your support. It DOES mean a lot.
Do you: Go with your gut reaction? Weigh the pros & cons, and come to a decision you can back up and justify? Do you follow what your friends/family/confidants say &/or do, without question? Do you go against what you believe due to outside pressure?
On my way home from a great Interactive Theater workshop in NYC, I turned on the local NPR station (WNYC 93.9 FM). The program This American Life was on, and just in time: I had been hearing the teasers for the program and was hoping to catch it. A group of 5th graders (ten/eleven years old) were undergoing an amazing Process Drama:
“What if, say, the U.S.-led invasion of Grenada in 1983 had been decided, not by Ronald Reagan, but by a bunch of middle-schoolers?”
The students were led on an amazingly detailed program. Three rooms were set up for them: a press room, a command center, and the President’s office/war room. Split into three groups, the students were in role, being asked to make the hard decisions that adults with “experience” in these matters had struggled with almost thirty years ago.
I don’t want to spoil it for you. I included the link above (first one) so you can listen to the program (there are two other “acts”: one with a 14 year old discussing Global Climate changes and a school in Brooklyn that is governed by…the students). I hope after you listen you’ll come back here and leave some comments.
The second link is from the blog Woman Wielding Words about an amazing experience with practicing drama with kids from a very different culture.
The third link: really, the nuts and bolts of what I love to do with students: have them make personal discoveries and to think for themselves. Weigh it all out, find out what they feel is right or wrong, and then also look at how someone else see’s the same situation; How it is sometimes hard to make a decision at all.
There are applications for Arts in Education in all core curricula, as there is in Art in all aspects of life. That is part of what creativity comes into play.
Since the middle of October, I’ve been asking people across arts disciplines and other careers to answer a few basic questions about creativity in their lives, how they use it, how it impacts them and/or others.
Only a few educators answered my call.
Now, the easy answer is that creativity is being deleted from many schools. Many Arts-in-Education programs are being terminated; new ones are rarely appearing. Arts organizations are scrambling for grants as the schools are losing the fundings they’ve had to bring in Teaching Artists.
I don’t believe that the only creativity comes from the Arts classes: theater, music, dance and fine arts. I feel that a good teacher finds creative moments daily, when the student surprises them in a positive or negative way. Finding learning moments, working around the boundaries that seem to hamstring some, how they find creative life outside of the classroom and use it…I’m only touching the topic here.
So…why have so few educators answered my call?
Busy? Sure, I do understand being busy. There are times I’ve got so much on my plate it IS overwhelming. Forgetting? Oh yeah, that happens too. Life happens. I get it. (BTW: I asked for 300-600 word essay; this post is 319 words and took me a half hour: just saying)
Now that schools are coming to a close for the holiday break, I do hope to see some of the guest posts promised and maybe a few unexpected ones, not just from people in the arts but outside of it, who find creativity in their lives, whether it’s in their career or daily life outside of “work.”
Personally, I feel there is a LOT of creativity in Education, and it extends far beyond a classroom. Learning happens far beyond a school setting, and it should be life long. I know I search for new things.
Open your eyes.
What creative educational moments do you find in your lives?
“This week, Kurt Andersen asks: can computers make art? And if so, when? Will it be any good? We’ll meet a program named AARON that’s been painting for nearly 40 years, a filmmaker who replaced her editor with an algorithm, and professor who thinks what computers need is more Shakespeare.
It’s 4pm, and I’m in my car. I put on WYNC, the local NPR station, and the program Studio 360 begins. The question that starts the show is “Are Computers Creative?”, and the first thing you hear is about a computer named Brutus that is writing a novel.
What?
Well, the creator of Brutus goes on to say that all Brutus is doing, through its algorithms and pathways and thingamajigs is a copy of what he and the other programmers have, well, programmed it to do. It’s aping the apes, so to speak.
Then there is the inventor of The Creativity Machine, Stephen L. Thaler, Ph.D. An A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) computer that he states that yes, machines CAN be original and creative, and they have the machine to prove it. They just send a jumbled signal through, and it produces music and more.
Then there is AARON above, that has been painting for almost 40 years (photo on the linked page); a machine named Darci that judges Art, and…well, the program link is above. Just click on the title and it will take you to the Studio 360 page. Well worth the listen.
I started BornStoryteller in January of 2011. In the eight months of writing this blog, I’ve written about a lot of topics. In the beginning, I had no clue as to what this space was about or should be about, and eight months later:
I’m asking myself that same question.
So: I am asking YOU to please vote in the above poll. Tell me what you like to read on BornStoryteller. What should I spend most of my writing & thinking energy on?
PLEASE don’t throw it back in my lap, as many seem to like to do with the “write what you feel like” etc.
I am asking a question(s) here for the simple fact that I would like to know my readers opinions. Like many blogs, I get a lot of hits but no where near the amount of comments percentage wise. Comments help: they tell me I’m on the right track. But, I do an interview with almost no comments, and I almost triple the number of hits on the blog.
The above poll lists the main topics I touch on. I am thinking of making BornStoryteller a three or four times a week blog, posting content only on certain days. My schedule for writing my novel and other submissions is beginning to get tight, and as Ray Davies sang: Give the People What They Want!
So…you open your mouth, not even so much in condemnation, but with inquiry, with suggestions, possible solutions…
Oh, wait… that type of person, educator or not, is often frowned upon. Branded a trouble maker, not having Team Spirit, not following the herd, well, you better run, duck and cover… it’s a bumpy road ahead of you. That is, if they don’t fine a way to get rid of you, somehow.
Keep to the status quo, stay silent, vote the way we want you to vote, don’t upset the apple cart, and please: We’ve always done it this way! What are you? A radical?
Whenever death may surprise us, let it be welcome if our battle cry has reached even one receptive ear and another hand reaches out to take up our arms. Che Guevara
I sent out an interview/questionnaire to a number of people who have voiced concerns about the state of education today. Some, I never heard from. A few tell me that what I’ve asked is too much (12 questions) for them to devote any time to (that one I don’t get). Others are in the process of writing, with research and more. A few have asked to remain anonymous.
Before you cry “chicken” or “Stand and Deliver!” or whatever, understand: there is a lot of petty revenge that goes on in school administration and with policy makers. They can be vindictive, and jobs can be threatened (and right now, with our tanking economy, I understand the need to protect yourself but still want your voice heard. I have shot myself in the foot a number of times over the years, but I don’t suffer fools gladly.
Q&A #1
1. Why do you care about the educational system of today?
I am a teacher - I care about kids and the future.
2. What is your background (short bio)?
I was an unhappy student, and initially a reluctant teacher. I am now quite inspired and fulfilled with much of that job. I teach a variety of theatre arts classes in an urban magnet school grades 6 – 12.
3. What do you feel is an overriding problem(s) educators are facing today?
Apathy, cell phones, internet. Kids will do almost anything for a grade but don’t value their own learning.
4. How do you feel this problem (these problems) can be solved?
I don’t know.
5. What changes/paradigm shifts do you feel are necessary?
Experiental learning over testing – a given. But that’s easy…
6. What is your view on Process vs. Product?
Yes, I work hard to create a great product but I would toss that away for a rewarding process any day…it’s all about the journey.
7. Do you believe Arts-In-Education are important? Yes or No, can you please explain why you feel that way?
Yes!! You can learn almost any core subject from a book, the internet or TV. The arts help you to learn about yourself as a creative being, as an individual with a voice, as a member of society.
8. If you believe we should replace the Standardized Testing process, what form of assessment do you feel the students would benefit more from and the policy makers would be “happiest” with? If you agree with Standardized Testing, could you please explain why?
I do believe that Standardized Testing should go. Not sure on an alternate form of assessment.
9. What role do you feel parents/guardians should have with the schools?
A school should be a community with parents being a essential voice within that community.
Q & A #2
1. Why do you care about the educational system of today? As an overall human, it is the means by which we are creating our next generation. I have gotten into discussions with others about the funding of education and I maintain that while my wife and I will never be able to have children, we will benefit from a good educational system. I’d rather live in a society that is better educated than mine. As an educator….well, if I don’t care about the educational system then I am living a lie. I am an educator because I was put on this earth to be one and help others.
2. What is your background (short bio)? Arts for many years. History Teacher through a non-traditional licensing program.
3. What do you feel is an overriding problem(s) educators are facing today? Bloated and misunderstanding/selfish management struggling with “higher expectations” and smaller funding. The “education crisis” of today cries of the same worries about our educational system in the 50′s after Sputnik and the 80′s when “competing with Japan.” The newest wrinkles include economic recession(s), a chip on some shoulders that an earlier generation was wronged when in school and a lack of understanding from prior generations that the world/business model has changed. The old methods cannot work anymore because the job market has changed so drastically. It isn’t an academic link but this video made quite an impression on me a couple of years ago and it is still powerful (I’m going to have to send the link separately – it won’t let me without erasing everything else).
4. How do you feel this problem (these problems) can be solved? Stop trying to fix things with a broad, simple brushstroke. Swallow some pride and look in and outside of America to see what works. These are problems that need to be worked on by EVERYONE (politicians – though most major decisions need to be made on a very local basis as needs change from place to place, administrators, teachers, all of the adult family unit). The family unit is so important in the early cognitive development. We cannot regulate what goes on in the family, but educators need to reach out to the families in a more proactive way. I have seen too many times when families and educators view each other as the enemy. There are school systems that work well with the communities and those are usually the ones that show higher scores in testing.
5. What changes/paradigm shifts do you feel are necessary? In addition to the above there are too many teachers that simply give reading assignments, handouts with fill in the blank from those reading assignments, power point lecture with the answers to those fill in the blanks and give a (most of the time multiple guess) test over those hand outs. Educators cannot go about things with the same approach at all times. Besides, our students need to learn to reason, life is not multiple guess.
6. What is your view on Process vs. Product? Both need to be assessed at all times. The results of the process should be seen in the product and the results of the product should assess the process.
7. Do you believe Arts-In-Education are important? Yes or No, can you please explain why you feel that way? Yes. This is another area where “groups” should be working more closely. One can find most if not all of the “academic” classes in every medium of the arts. Both “arts” and “academic” educators need to find these connections and find a way to work together. Repetition is very important in education and being able to find where these intersections take place will only be beneficial to the students. Besides, it will help when overlapping learning styles.
8. If you believe we should replace the Standardized Testing process, what form of assessment do you feel the students would benefit more from and the policy makers would be “happiest” with? If you agree with Standardized Testing, could you please explain why? I believe there is a place for standardized testing, but too much emphasis is placed on it. There are many types of non-traditional assessments as well that can measure what our students are learning. I understand that agreeing what types should be included and cost can become an issue, but we must have multiple methods of assessing learning.
9. What role do you feel parents/guardians should have with the schools? Educators and administrators are partners of parents/guardians when it comes to the education of the children. We are all a part of a community and all should be treated as such.
10. You can create the ideal school:what THREE things must be in place that are non-negotiable? Strong Leadership with great communication; Firm, yet flexible (when appropriate) discipline; and respect for knowledge/learning.
Storytelling is the oldest form of communications. We told stories in gestures, painting in caves, in dance, in song, and from guttural uttering to languages, to finally the written word. “How did the hunt go?” led to many tales of bravery and “…you should have seen the mammoth that got away. It was THIS big!” (yes, the first lies too).
I have a Masters of Arts Oral Traditions, but that alone does not make me a Professional Storyteller. I tell (performance: my definition of storytelling) as one way of making a living. There are a variety of styles of storytellers and ways to tell stories as there are genre’s of books.
Most people associate storytelling with something you do with the kids. You crack open a picture book and hope they go to sleep happy. That is only one way of telling.It is not just for children, and it’s time people really realized it. It’s a community based sharing of cultures and morals and mores; stories were ways of giving out news, passing histories, commentary and caution (Red Riding Hood: watch out for strangers!).
There is: conversational storytelling; telling true stories (The Moth, etc); digital storytelling; picture book telling; corporate/organizational storytelling; and performance storytelling, where the teller orally presents a story from memory and heart, most often NOT memorized word for word, but beat by story beat. This type of storytelling allows for interpretations, mood and energy of the audience or events of the day, and takes into itself the personality of the teller. There are a few more, but these hit the major oral tradition points.
I’m a performance storyteller. Not always in costume (I do that for certain thematic shows), but I am always investing of myself into the tales I tell. I create my own, love traditional fairy and folk tales, really get into global tales, improvise many, and on occasion will tell a personal story. I take pleasure in the pleasure of the telling, and the reception of my audience. I am not a favorite of the “quiet, breathy” tellers. That’s OK. I’m boisterous and energetic, and I often try to find humorous spots in the story I tell, if not completely humorous. If Shakespeare could insert a bit of humor into his most tragic of tales, why shouldn’t I? He was of and for the common man, not some highfaluting (I never knew that was one word until now-FUN!) ways and prim and proper stuff. (OK..mini rant over).
So, Storytelling to ME is…
FUN
Pleasing
Energy
Sharing
Creative
Laughter
Touching
Adventurous
Connecting
Fulfilling
Stress Reducing
Mesmerizing
Sweat Worthy!
Exhilarating
Pleasurable
If you like storytelling, go find a storytelling event in your area. Create one yourself. It’s not hard: check out my article in the top menu here on World Storytelling Day. I set up one in less than a month.
If you like my writing, check out my fiction at Tale Spinning. I think you’ll enjoy my attempts at a variety of genres.
Exhilarating
Pleasurable
