Archive for October, 2011

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Music at MAMLE: Sugarloaf

October 21, 2011

Maine Association for Middle Level Education (MAMLE) conference

Leonard Middle School music teacher Shianne Priest

I left my home before daylight yesterday to arrive at Sugarloaf Mountain for the annual MAMLE conference. One of the morning sessions I attended was called “Sevice Learning Through Music: Students Tell Their Story”. It is a great example of giving young adolescents enough space to take the lead with their learning. Leonard Middle School music educator Shianne Priest, provided the stage for the work after she took a graduate course where her learning included service learning. At first Shianne couldn’t imagine how service learning could work in the music classroom. After many questions, thinking, and soul searching she was forced to change the way she taught that provided the groundwork for the student and project success. It wasn’t a teacher centered learning experience for this music appreciation class, that is mandatory for all 7th graders who do not take another performing arts class (band or chorus). Shianne’s part was setting the stage, guiding the work, giving up power, and trusting that kids will take the lead. She is just thrilled at the outcome and wishes she had discovered service learning 14 years ago!

You might be asking or wondering what is Service Learning? In a nutshell it combines community with classroom curriculum. The key components of service learning are:

  1. Academic integrity – Project has clearly defined learning objectives that relate to state learning standards and local curricula.
  2. Apprentice Citizenship – student learn about civic engagement through  partnerships with active community members working on local needs.
  3. Student ownership – students share in decision-making with teacher, and teacher shares in learning with students. Teacher is a partner and coach, rather than an expert.

Singer/songwriter Lily and service learning project students presenting at MAMLE conference

Students in Shianne’s class brainstormed a list of over 100 ideas and narrowed down their choices to 4 causes before voting and determining that Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) would be their focus. Their mission was to raise awareness and educate others about AIDS. The challenge was how to connect music education to the idea. After much work they determined a pathway for that as well. Students researched AIDS and how to let others know about it. They found quotes by individuals with AIDS and decided to use those quotes in a song to raise awareness. They enlisted the help of singer/songwriter 8th grader Lily Muscatell to create the song. The students and Lily found the quote that moved them the greatest: “we are not dying from the disease but we are dying from being become untouchable”. And “Untouchable” became the title of the song. Students raised money for recording time and the New England School of Communications (NESCom) at Husson University donated 2 hours of studio time. The IT classes at Leonard Middle School designed the CD label and students sat for hours at local businesses to raise money for the cause. They have copywrited the song and donated the money (over $800.00) to AIDS research and relief with the Elton John AIDS Foundation. They’ve offered the copyright to the foundation and are waiting to hear from them. The CD is available for $3 and you can contact Shianne about purchasing it. WABI TV5 did a story which includes Lily performing the song on the project so you can click here to listen and learn more.

There are service learning grants available and one of them is from State Farm. Available for K-12 schools, $1000.00, the due date is November 9th, called the Good Neighbor Service – Learning Grants.

Posted in Community, Curriculum and Instruction, Music | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

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Misconceptions about ELA and Math Common Core

October 20, 2011

Common Core State Standards

While I am providing clarification on the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards and the Common Core click here for an article from the Harvard Education letter written by Robert Rothman that provides information about misconceptions. September/October 2011.

Posted in Food for thought, Standards | Leave a Comment »

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Dancin’ at Camden-Rockport Middle School

October 19, 2011

Erma teaches dance

80s- Dances of the Decades

I am a dance educator at Camden –Rockport Middle School in Camden, Maine. I have a BFA in dance performance. My dance journey has taken me from the love of performing, to the love of teaching dance to middle school students as a part of their academic studies. It has been a rewarding journey. Seven years ago I took a job as a substitute teacher with the ulterior motive of learning the academic curriculum, getting to know the teachers, and seeing where I could insert my dance training and knowledge into the school day.

No Child Left Behind and the “teaching to the test” have made my quest more of a challenge. My personal mission statement:

All children should feel comfortable with their bodies and enjoy expressing themselves through movement and dance.

This is most evident in the middle school population. The pre-teen years are a time of discovery and change, physically and mentally. For most students (particularly the boys) dance is tied to social events and all of the insecurities there in. I want all of the students to discover that dance is an individual activity that helps one develop self-esteem and just feel good inside.

La Cucaracha

Working with the 6th Grade Social Studies teacher, I developed a dance component for his academic unit called “Late 20th Century”.  Through dance, the students became a part of those decades. My success with that program is documented through 100% attendance during the residency week and the continuing mention of the event through high school. We are now in our 7th year. The new 6th graders are already asking me about the dances that will not take place for another 8 months.

This year, I collaborated with the 8th grade Spanish teacher to celebrate the National Hispanic Heritage Month. I was concerned that the 8th Graders would be more self-conscious than the 6th graders. I was pleasantly mistaken. All of the students were eager to get involved. I taught traditional dances from Hispanic countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The 8th grade Spanish teacher gave the students Spanish vocabulary and we taught the dance classes in Spanish (as best as I could, not having a Spanish language background). Students also researched the different dances and created a slide show to accompany the dances.

Erma at the state-wide arts coference, At the Creative Center, the Arts in Maine Schools in 2007

There are many different ideas of how dance should be taught in public schools. Dance can be taught through the Performing Arts program, Physical Education and integrated into the academic curriculum. My interest is in the third choice. Learning dance through the academic curriculum has benefits. It does not take away from the precious academic time. It introduces dance to the entire student body. It connects students to real people in other cultures and time periods. It brings classes of students together to work on a group project. Dance is an integral part of the human experience. I hope students will keep these experiences in their memories for years to come.

Thanks to Erma for contributing this great post!

Posted in Curriculum and Instruction, Dance, Integration, Music | Tagged | 2 Comments »

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Emails, Phone Calls, Questions about National Standards

October 18, 2011

Clarification

This blog post is to provide clarification around the national standards work for arts education. I have received questions, emails, and phone calls from arts educators and others wondering about where their local work fits with the “Common Core State Standards” (CCSS) and what is happening with the national work in arts education. Hopefully this post will answer questions and provide you with information to help guide your work at the local level.

The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) coalition is a newly formed partnership of organizations and states who will lead the revision of the 1994 National Standards for Arts Education. The NCCAS plans to complete its work and release new, national voluntary arts education standards by December, 2012. The standards will describe what students should know and be able to do as a result of a quality curricular arts education program. NCCAS is committed to developing a next generation of voluntary arts education standards that will build on the foundation created by the 1994 document, support the 21st-century needs of students and teachers, help ensure that all students are college and career ready, and affirm the place of arts education in a balanced core curriculum.

NCCAS will make the creation of the new arts standards an inclusive process, with input from a broad range of arts educators and decision-makers. The revised standards will be grounded in arts education best practice drawn from the United States and abroad, as well as a comprehensive review of developmental research.

The organizations who are partners in the NCCAS:

At the present time Maine arts educators are responsible for the Maine’s 2007 Learning Results: Parameters for Essential Instruction which are a comprehensive response to the educational needs of Maine students. This is described in the legislated document Regulation 132.

You may have read the post earlier this week called National Coalition for Core Arts Standards Seeking Candidates. The NCCAS coalition is seeking teams of 10 content experts for each of the discipline areas of dance, music, theatre and visual arts to help develop the next generation of voluntary arts standards. Each discipline writing team will include a balance of members across specific areas of expertise, geography, diversity and experience. Individuals interested in serving on a writing committee can apply at http://tinyurl.com/67lxbtd. The application process will close October 27, 2011.

What can you do to keep abreast of the progress of standards work for arts education?

  • Read the blog on a regular basis for updates – I will provide updates as the work progresses.
  • Check the NCCAS wiki page at http:nccas.wikispaces.com – as changes occur there will be news releases documented there.
  • Be proactive at the local level providing information on the arts education standards work as it unfolds.
  • Stay abreast of Maine’s arts assessment initiative so you can communicate with your administration, colleagues, and parents.

We are at an exciting time in education with many shifts that will benefit all students being successful! If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions please post them in the comment section or email me at argy.nestor@maine.gov.

Posted in Communication, Curriculum and Instruction, Leadership, Standards, VPA | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

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Van Gogh on 60 Minutes

October 17, 2011

Wonderful tribute

This 60 Minutes segment on Vincent van Gogh and his paintings is wonderful. It is well worth the few minutes it will take to watch and listen.

Please click here for link to segment. For more of the story please click here.

Posted in Visual Arts | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

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Return to J.C. Stone Sculpture Symposium

October 16, 2011

Wow – the creations

Yesterday I took some time and scooted to JC Stone on route 17 in Jefferson to see the progress that had been made in a week at the sculpture symposium. You might remember reading the post from earlier this week called J.C. Stone Sculpture Symposium. I was most curious to see what Miles Chapin and David Curry had created.

Shalimar photographing Miles holding his maquette of his sculpture

Miles with his sculpture

Miles is creating a very intricate piece. He shared some of this learnings with Wiscasset High School art teacher, Shalimar Poulin and myself.  He zoomed through several expensive diamond blades on his amazing sculpture. He’ll return home today after the show scheduled for 11-4:00 with his piece unfinished, but happy with his accomplishment and his opportunity to work side by side with other sculptors.

David was very happy with his accomplishment since he wasn’t sure what he had designed would actually work. His dove tail cut fit almost perfect into the second piece of stone. Both sculptors mentioned how much they learned through the experience by conversing with the other artists, seeing what tools they have in their tool boxes and how they use them.

David with his sculpture

It was great to hear the echo of life-long learning from both sculptors. I look forward to following their progression as they continue with their passion.

This is the second symposium that J.C. Stone is sponsoring and this year they are partnering with Maine Home & Design. You can read more at http://stonesymposium.jcstoneinc.com/

Posted in Community, Creativity, Visual Arts | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

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Washington County Assessment Workshop

October 16, 2011

Harvest of Ideas

Lisa presenting

There are 23 workshops scheduled throughout the state during this school year on arts assessment. The sessions will be facilitated by Maine’s arts assessment teacher leaders. Last week, Lisa Marin, Art teacher from Jonesport-Beals HS & Jonesport Elementary provided a regional workshop for Washington county teachers. Eight Visual Art teachers and one PE teacher! met on Tuesday, October 11 in Machias for Washington County’s annual Harvest of Ideas teachers’ conference held at the University of Maine. The day long workshop about creating authentic and meaningful assessments provided a great day of sharing and discussion.

Comments from teachers:
“A very fun and fruitful day, you gave me some good ideas that I can implement immediately.”
“I think we all need a broader vocabulary for rubrics and a lot more discussion.”
“kudos to everyone who has been working so diligently on the assessment piece.”

workshop participants

Concerns:
“The most important thing I learned in this session is…”
That I am a bit frustrated with the standards-based rubrics and need to rework my idea of a rubric.

Crucial question that still needs to be answered:
Why use a standards-based rubric if we are still resorting to number grades on report cards?

Lisa:                                                                                                                                                                 “There is still work to be done. The teachers agreed to meet again in December to continue the conversation, work on next steps, and to share their best assessments that really work for us!”

Lisa set up a wiki for the assessment work that has many resources. The address is:
http://newartassessmentswiki.pbworks.com If you’d like to view Lisa’s wiki you will need to go to the address and request permission to join.

Posted in Curriculum and Instruction, Leadership, Professional Development | Tagged , | 1 Comment »

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National Coalition for Core Arts Standards Seeking Candidates

October 15, 2011

Writing Team Application

The National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) is seeking teams of 10 content experts in the areas of dance, media/digital arts, music, theatre and visual arts to help us develop the next generation of voluntary Arts Standards.

NCCAS is committed to developing next generation standards that will build on the foundation created by the 1994 document (and the 2005 dance standards), support the 21st-century needs of students and teachers, help ensure that all students are college and career ready, and affirm the place of arts education in a balanced core curriculum.

Each discipline writing team will include a balance of members across specific areas of expertise, geography, diversity and experience.

The application is a two step process as follows:

  • complete the application online at:  http://tinyurl.com/67lxbtd
  • email a résumé to NCCAS Project Director Mr. Phil Shepherd at jazzjam@aol.com – if you have an online résumé simply supply the link in the last question of this application form.

This is a great opportunity for you and for Maine to participate in the development of the next generation of standards work. If you are planning to apply please send me an email and let me know. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email me at argy.nestor@maine.gov.

Posted in Opportunity, Standards | Tagged | Leave a Comment »

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J.C. Stone Sculpture Symposium

October 14, 2011

This week in Jefferson

David Curry

This week 14 sculptors are hard at work at J.C. Stone located on Route 17 not to far from Augusta in Jefferson. The symposium is open to the public on Saturday and Sunday. I visited last Sunday, one day into the symposium, and was amazed how much each artist had completed in the short time they had been working. Visiting provides you with a great opportunity to view how sculptors work and to learn more about sculpting and the sculptors process. Each artist is unique in their approach and it is fun to have conversations to learn more.

It is especially fun for me since I know two of the sculptors. One was a student, David Curry, in my middle school art class several years ago and a second is my sons best buddy, Miles Chapin. I was very curious to visit on Sunday so I can return this weekend and see what they’ve completed. Wow, my heart good to see young people creating large scale art!

Miles Chapin

This is the second symposium that J.C. Stone is sponsoring and this year they are partnering with Maine Home & Design. You can read more at http://stonesymposium.jcstoneinc.com/

This years sculptors are:

Paul Kozak

David Sywalski

Dan Ucci

Dick Alden

Roy Patterson

Andreas Von Huene

Mark Herrington

Joe Auciello

Kazumi Hoshino

Jesse Salisbury

David Curry

Miles Chapin

Daniel Gagnon

Perhaps I will see you at the symposium this weekend in Jefferson!

Posted in Community, Creativity, Visual Arts | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

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Arts Assessment – Midcoast Conference

October 13, 2011

Regional workshop

Shannon Cambpell with Jennie Driscoll and Audrey Grumbling at the teacher leader institute, Aug. 2011

Join Argy Nestor and teacher leaders Allysa Anderson (Camden-Rockport Middle School music teacher) and Shannon Campbell (Deer Isle-Stonington Elementary School) with experience in standards-based arts assessment for a day of learning, sharing and planning for your own classroom. Kristen Andersen (Camden-Rockport Middle School art teacher) will provide information on the Open Educational Resources that were identified by several arts educators last year.

The cost for the all day event is $5 with scholarships available to cover your substitute teacher fees for the day.

WHAT?

  • Learn new assessment methods and strategies to expand teaching and learning in your own classroom.
  • Have a collection of free, online resources that are aligned with Maine’s VPA Learning Results
  • Be familiar with Maine’s arts education assessment initiative
  • Understand and have messages to share about the value of assessment in the arts.

WHEN?

Allysa Anderson at statewide arts conference, October 2011

Friday, October 28

WHERE?
Jefferson Village School
(just above Damariscotta)

COST?
$5

SCHOLARSHIP POSSIBLE?
Yes–to cover your substitute fee if needed
(Must still pay $5 to register)

CONTACT HOURS
Certificate for 6 contact hours

TO REGISTER:

  1. Fill out the registration form at https://docs.google.com/a/maine.edu/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&pli=1&formkey=dFl5N29lWXhOUjdNME1jeDNsZ1JiU1E6MQ&ndplr=1#gid=0 
  2. Mail a check for $5 to: MRPDC Arts Conference, 7 Lions Lane, Camden, ME 04843
  3. Make check out to: Midcoast Superintendents Association
  4. To inquire about the scholarship to pay for your substitute or if you have any questions please contact Christine Anderson-Morehouse at christine.b.anderson@maine.edu

Posted in Opportunity, Professional Development, VPA | Tagged , , | Leave a Comment »

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