Donde estas, Senor Saville?

Well guys, it’s been a whirlwind two months. I recently accepted a new job and am ecstatic with my new role, but time flies when you’re learning something new. And I’ve been learning a lot. A lot a lot. However, I still hold education near and dear and am thankful I get to continue my work with Free Arts.

Rebounds and possibilities

Well hi.
So it's been a little while since I last wrote. Apparently, students are back in school and it has kept me insanely busy. Hit the jump for a quick update and thoughts that will be fleshed out in a series of posts over the next month

Groundswellin' it uuuuuup!

I'm reading an amazing book right now that has some pretty interesting applications for education. Hit the jump for more.

It's about the kids

One of my favorite phrases by educators, principals, and reformers is the classic "it's about the kids." The reason it's a choice phrase is because it covers all manners of sins. Hit the jump to read which sins it covers and how to absolve them. Ha. See what I did there?

Electoral reform and why we need it

All right gang. Our credit has been downgraded and all the rancor in Washington has given me a tummy ache. It's getting hard to read the news now with all the posturing going on. Hit the jump for a little posturing of my own.

Society and the arts

Kansas and Other States Cut Arts Funds - NYTimes.com

Which came first? Society or the arts?

Tenure Woes

Tenure Granted to 58% of Eligible Teachers in City - NYTimes.com

Another interesting article... there's always something cooking about education.

Chinese couple arrested after selling their children for MMO money

I Heart Chaos — Chinese couple arrested after selling their children for MMO money

Hi again! I've been crazed this week, but it's time to get down and dirty with a couple of articles. Ready to jump in the mud?

Free market principles at work in education

At Best Schools Competing for Best Performers, Students May Be Left Behind - NYTimes.com

A pretty interesting article... thoughts after you hit the jump, jump (Kriss Kross style)

Museum resources in NYC

Given the last post, I thought I'd leverage some cultural institutions in our great city. Want to take students somewhere? Here's info for many of the museums in our great city. At the bottom are all the ones free for NYC students. Enjoy!

WWJD...D?

What Would John Dewey Do?

Beth Taylor (shout out!) recently sent me an article (click to read) about Charlotte, NC principals engaging in the cultural institutions of the city. What was interesting was they were having a blast getting educated about the resources in their backyard. And why not? Education should be fun.

One metric of a highly effective teacher

Okay - before I get into today's topic, I just want to give a big shout out to all the people who have enthusiastically emailed or posted regarding my food challenge. The last two days have shown a lot of energy and I'm excited to focus this into some real concrete actions. I'll update later regarding where this boat is heading.

Curious about a metric for highly effective teachers? See that button there? Click it.

Cooking challenge on a Food Stamp budget

Hi all,

I have a rather unusual request for you... I'm a teacher in the Bronx and my kids are suffering from really bad diet choices. Parents are overworked and have little time to put together a healthy, nutritious meal for breakfast and dinner. I recently revamped my diet based on how little time I have to spend on cooking and found myself healthier and happier in just a few months. Turns out it was also cheaper than what I used to pay. I ultimately want to slate these into a calendar to be a resource for the parent coordinator at our school. Not only will recipes be readily available, but also a hassle free schedule of great food so time (such a precious commodity for parents holding down 2-3 jobs and raising kids) is even less an issue.

What I'm looking for:

Simple, healthy meals that provide tons of nutrients, are filling, and can feed a family for a few days. I'm thinking if a parent only needs to cook once or twice a week they will be more likely to cook healthy (I certainly am!). Further, simple meals might be able to be made by high schoolers getting a feel for the kitchen, which can boost self esteem!

The challenge: a family of four on food stamps in NYC gets $668 a month to eat. Let's call this $620 for the family after incidentals. Break that down into four weeks and you get $155 to provide breakfast and dinner.

Based on this, can you cooking gurus out there with families or expertise cooking big come up with some meals so I can create a recipe master list? The more the better. Some can last a week, others can last a few days. The idea is to cook cheap, nutritious, yummy food that lasts a few days. Let's keep it simple and say there are two adults and two kids (both late elementary-high school age: 10-18 yrs) and there are no dietary restrictions. 

So, get to cooking and any feedback/recipes would be greatly appreciated.

Cook on,

-ian

An overhaul to the evaluation systems.

I've been travelling and recovering from a long (but good!) year... so lots of blog posts are brewing...

Saw this article today and it got me thinking.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/16/nyregion/deal-on-teacher-evaluations-reached-by-union-and-new-york-city.html?ref=education

Want to know what I was thinking? Hit the jumpity jump jump.

Why Bill Gates is wrong.

Can We Improve Education By Increasing Class Size? - Education - GOOD

Okay, I know this is "old hat" news, but I wanted to address it since it came up with some teacher friends (yes, I have friends) over drinks the other night. And it bothers me. A lot.

Even Before Layoffs, Schools Lost 135 Arts Teachers - NYTimes.com

Even Before Layoffs, Schools Lost 135 Arts Teachers - NYTimes.com

Okay, as someone who experienced these cuts first hand, let's rap about art education.

RTI training

Hey kids, another post, another day.
I went to an RTI training with the UFT Teachers' Center today and while I don't teach the "core" subjects, I left feeling a little more optimistic that someone knows what's going on. Hit the juuuump.

How to Eat Healthy

So I mentioned my lunch as school in the last post, but what about breakfast and dinner? How do you maintain a healthy diet in a high stress job while minimizing the time you need to cook. Find out after the jump

The One Bag Philosophy

After two years of teaching and schlepping an inordinate number of bags, preparing lunches, and trying to hold it together, I've come up with a philosophy all teachers should abide by. Hit the jump to see what I mean.

Welcome!

Welcome! This is that time honored introductory blog post where you, the reader, feel welcomed by my sweet, sweet hospitality. The point of this blog is to take up the big ideas of where the now defunct www.teacherartists.org left off. I'll be sharing ideas and philosophy regarding the teaching profession. Because right now things are a hot mess in the world of education. What? You didn't get that memo?

So welcome! And let's start a conversation about what's really happening in the world of education. And by starting that conversation, maybe we can come up with some new and exciting creative alternatives to education policy. No big deal, right?