Suggestions for a healthy transition to kindergarten
By Jessica Clark
Learning to walk and how to dress one's self are big steps for a child, but entering kindergarten is one of the most pivotal times in a young child's life. A Kansas State University education professor gives tips on how children, and their parents, can make the transition to kindergarten a breeze.
Lori Norton-Meier, assistant professor of elementary education, says going to kindergarten is a big transition for children because it is the start of a new experience in a new environment.
"There is usually more focus on academics and more expectations upon entering kindergarten," she said. "Whether children were cared for at home or at a day care, they have to adjust to a new way of doing things and different classroom structures such as larger classes."
Children may be anxious about entering kindergarten because they do not know what to expect.
"They have been told about kindergarten and may feel some of their parents' tension and may be fearful of the unknown," said Norton-Meier.
Other concerns for children may be finding the bathrooms, where they will eat lunch and wondering when they are going to learn how to read, she said.
Norton-Meier said kindergarten is also a big transition for parents. Kindergarten is a time when parents realize how quickly their child is growing up and gaining more independence. It may also bring up memories, both positive and negative, of when they were in school.
"Parents know that kindergarten is the start of a journey for both their children and themselves and they just hope their child will adjust well and have a good experience in school," Norton-Meier said.
Although most children will enjoy school and adjust well to kindergarten, others may not.
"If your child begins acting differently and you notice changes in their behavior, this may be a sign of stress or unhappiness," Norton-Meier said. "It is important to dig beyond the surface and find out what is making them unhappy so the problem can be addressed.
"The first parent-teacher conference is essential. It comes at a time when children have had a little time to settle in and get used to their new environment and routines. It gives the child, the parents and the teacher an opportunity to talk together and find answers to any possible problems."
Parent-teacher conferences also give parents the opportunity to find out what their child is doing in the classroom and what they are learning about. Parents can use parent-teacher conferences as a way to initiate conversation and communicate better with their child about their experiences at school, Norton-Meier said.
Suggestions to help your child's transition to kindergarten include:
* Be aware - read newsletters and communicate with teachers to know what your child is learning about
* Be interested - ask specific questions such as, "Can you tell me three things you did in school today?"
* Communication is key - talk with teachers at any time; you don't have to wait until parent- teacher conferences to address concerns
* Read books - there are many books about kindergarten that can be shared with your child to ease fears and initiate conversation with them about their experiences
"Kindergarten is set up to be this huge thing that often brings many expectations for children, making it so important for parents to take proactive steps in helping their children adjust to kindergarten and enjoy their new journey," Norton-Meier said.


Note: To protect the privacy of our members, e-mail addresses have been removed from the archived messages. As a result, some links may be broken.
Re: photography at the elementary level
[ Thread ][ Subject ][ Author ][ Date ]The Cheevers
Fri, 26 Mar 1999 21:45:02 -0500
I would get that light sensitive paper that develops in water as an
introduction to how chemicals can change with exposure and liquids. It would
also be good to make compositions with different textures. Have them set up
a composition first and then rearrange it later. Have feathers, keys, cut
outs, things that have interesting negative space.
Also Polaroids are fun to mess with. The emulsion can be pushed if they work
on it right away. Take simple objects, still lifes close up or peoples
faces. See the work of Lucas Samaras. Have fun.
From: Jackie Settle <photot
Date: Friday, March 26, 1999 4:56 PM
Subject: photography at the elementary level
> I will soon be working with elementary students teaching photographic
>composition. Does anyone have ideas on how best to approach this subject at
>the elementary level, grades 1-6?
> I've taught photography at the secondary level with a complete darkroom in
>80 minute blocks. I'd appreciate any suggestions, since I haven't worked
>with the younger students since practice teaching for my art education
> Jackie Settle


Just when it seems that this long, frigid winter will never end, spring is set to make a grand entrance on campus. One of its earliest appearances will occur near the northeast entrance to Ketchum Hall when the large round buds on the Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas) tree burst open with a flourish of showy yellow blossoms. Growing in small, tight clusters, these blossoms will remain for several weeks. Then Cornelian Cherry will be dressed in deep green leaves, elliptical in shape, with prominent arcuate, or curved, veins.
Cornus mas is a member of the Dogwood family and is native to central and southern Europe and western Asia. William Turner, the sixteenth-century British physician and natural historian, recorded its presence in the British Isles in 1551. Although it is popular in the U.S. as an ornamental shrub or tree, the Cornelian Cherry was originally cultivated for its fruit. When they ripen in late summer, these ruby-hued berries add yet another color to the landscape.
The fruit, which does not fully ripen until it drops from the tree, has been compared in taste to the cranberry or a sour cherry. Humans have discovered multiple uses for the fruit, including herbal medicines, jams, syrup, wine and liqueurs; it is even kept in brine and used like olives. Non-human consumers include bees, birds, rabbits and squirrels. Butterflies find it a suitable larval host and are attracted to its nectar.
The name Cornus, meaning “horn,” is a reference to the hard wood of the tree. It is extremely dense and does not float in water. Ancient craftsman preferred it for the production of weapons and tools; it is still used for tools and machine parts. The felt used to make the Turkish fez was colored with dye made from the bark, and oil can be extracted from the pits.
The Cornelian Cherry is a slow-growing, relatively small tree, reaching only 15 to 25 feet in height at maturity. But what it lacks in stature is more than made up in the beauty and color it adds to our campus. Be sure to watch for it to blossom in the coming days. This tree was planted in the Maud Gordon Holmes Arboretum as a memorial to Dr. Z. D. Robinson and his wife, Patricia McNaney Robinson.
You can support our beautiful urban campus by making a gift to the Campus Beautification/BSCenery Fund (310509) through the Faculty and Staff Appeal.
Article submitted by Laura Klenk, assistant professor, Elementary Education and Reading Department
Photo by Michael Gallo, instructional support assistant, Campus Services


Arunas Oslapas, a professor of industrial design in the engineering technology department, leads his students in creating innovative solutions to everyday problems. Demonstrating their ability to blend art with technology, his students have regularly provided creative directions to industry and have collaborated with several business clients, including Microsoft, Boeing, Trek Bicycles and Cascade Designs. Oslapas received the Mayor’s Art Award this year for art education and leadership. His M.F.A. is from the University of Illinois.
Mind Mapping: Getting the Most from Your Brain
Our minds think in pictures, but we speak in words. This pattern immediately creates a conflict in communicating ideas. Join Arunas Oslapas in an exercise with “mind mapping,” a brainstorming process originated by Tony Buzan of the Learning Methods Group in England. Mind mapping was designed to overcome some of the obstacles to creativity and developing new ways of thinking that we experience. You will see how mind mapping can be used to solve problems, generate quantities of ideas, and organize presentations. Mind mapping can help anyone faced with making business presentations, developing creative solutions or sorting through difficult personal decisions.


|This article needs additional citations for verification. (August 2013)|
A foundation course is a preparatory course for university-level art and design education, used particularly in the United Kingdom.
The foundation course is a one or two year preparatory course for school-leavers who want to qualify for a place on a bachelors degree course in art, design or architecture. The course is almost entirely practical in nature, although increasingly elements of art and design history have been introduced, and it is considered sufficient to qualify those who pass it to move on to a degree course without further study. It is the dominant form of entry to university and art college degree courses in the United Kingdom, but versions of it exist in several other countries, particularly where British influence over art education has been historically strong. In Ireland it is known at the Core Studies course, and versions of the foundation course also exist in Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Malta and New Zealand.
Origin and methodology
The origin of the foundation course dates back to the 1950s in the north of England, when William Coldstream began teaching at King's College, Newcastle, and Harry Thubron at Leeds College of Art. Together they began to establish a team to deliver a new form of art preparation course they called the Basic Design Course. The aim of the course was to teach what were considered to be the basic skills that underpin all art and design activities, including architecture. This resulted in projects designed to develop skills in using colour, articulating two- and three-dimensional space, defining form and experimenting with diverse materials. Many of these theories were tested by Thubron at a series of art summer schools in the seaside town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, which attracted art students, artists and art teachers from throughout Britain. The result of this was that the theories of the basic design course were very widely disseminated, which helped the programme to become so widespread.
This approach to preparing art and design students for degree level study had its origins in the writings of Herbert Read, and Coldstream, Thubron and Read regularly met to discuss their ideas at Read's house in the village of Stonegrave, North Yorkshire. Read's ideas had their origin the German Bauhaus school of art, which had used a similar method prior to its closure by the Nazis in 1933.
A notable feature of this method of the foundation course method is that it does not teach basic versions of later art or design practices, so that someone wanting to be a painter would not be taught basic painting, or a student wanting to be a graphic designer would not be taught basic graphic design. Specific skills were left to be taught in the specific degree course itself, whereas the foundation course only focused on the core skills that are perceived to be common to all art and design practices.
Although the foundation course still exists in Britain and elsewhere, in recent years there has been a major erosion of the original aims of the course as universities have started demanding that applicants have an increasing amount of knowledge that is specific to the art and design practice they want to specialise in. This has meant that many further education colleges that once offered the Foundation Course have now switched to subject-specific preparation courses, abandoning the generalist Foundation Course model. Nonetheless, the foundation course survives, with the main British validating bodies being:
- University of the Arts London Awarding Body
- Welsh Joint Education Committee
- ABC Awards
Outside of the UK most Foundation Course programmes are validated by universities or national education authorities, although the programmes in Malta and Cyprus are validated by UK examining boards.


Quality Television Shows That Focus on Early Literacy
With the winter months upon us there is a good chance you will be spending a lot more of your time indoors. For those with preschool and kindergarten-aged children, additional indoors time means finding new ways for making the most of the time you have together. Today’s educational television programming is a great option for caregivers like you who are looking for ways to spend quality time with children, or for the times when you need to give choices for what your children can watch when you step away. So, grab a cup of hot chocolate, curl up on the couch, and settle in for some special time with loveable characters, catchy songs and new learning activities to keep you and your child giggling and learning whenever the television is turned on.
While the long-term effects of television viewing in the early years are often up for debate, pediatricians and researchers can agree that young children who watch television need supervision and guidelines for the amount of television to which they are exposed and the types of shows they can access. Young children are constantly in the process of developing their ability to understand information and make sense of what is real and what is pretend. Exposing children to developmentally inappropriate information and images on television can leave them feeling confused, frightened or upset. This is why choosing appropriate television shows for your children is a critical element of their development. The good news is, watching developmentally appropriate programming with your children can have many positive benefits (bonding between caregiver and child, the introduction of new vocabulary words, exploring new places together, etc.). Thankfully, there are lots of exceptional television shows for young children that are fun and engaging and that can help children build their early literacy skills along the way.
To make finding shows easier for you (and to help visiting grandparents, babysitters and friends) you might consider printing out local show times of your favorite shows and leaving them near the family television for easy access. In addition, all of the shows we recommend have companion websites that you can visit with your child. These websites are stocked with free games, learning activities, songs and additional information on your favorite characters and programs. Posting the website addresses near the family computer will help ensure that fun and learning continues after the television is turned off. Below you'll find a few of our favorite shows.
64 Zoo Lane
64 Zoo Lane is an animated series developed to introduce children to new vocabulary and foster a love of language through interesting characters and storytelling. Developed for children ages four to six, this program provides children and adults with many opportunities to explore how language is used and uses problem-solving techniques to explore new vocabulary. Each 30-minute episode takes the viewers along as the main character, Lucy, visits her neighborhood zoo after hours, when all the animals are eager to share their stories.
Between the Lions
Since its launch, Between the Lions has been embraced by young children, educators and parents as a playful spot to build literacy skills. Developed by several members of the original creative team of Sesame Street, Between the Lions is designed to foster literacy skills in young children between four and seven years old. Based on a family of lions who live in a library, this show gives children many of the experiences they need to be successful readers when they enter school.
Each 30-minute show revolves around the cast of characters in the library as they discover the power and pleasure connected to reading and storytelling. The show introduces early literacy elements like the sounds letters make and rhyming as well as fluency, sight words and early phonics. Between the Lions is broadcast through your local PBS stations. In addition, the Between the Lions website is a great place to visit with your child to practice early literacy skills. On the Between the Lions web site you'll find early literacy games, past episodes, curriculum information for educators and caregivers as well as learning activities.
Jack’s Big Music Show
Jack’s Big Music Show was developed to help children develop an appreciation for the music and sounds that surround them. How does music appreciation connect to early literacy skill development? When children learn about music, they’re also picking up vital skills that will assist them in their early literacy skill development. Understanding of music principles helps children learn to develop their listening skills, learn new vocabulary, identify rhyming sounds and repetition and differentiate environmental sounds - all skills that are crucial to early literacy development. Each 30-minute program walks children ages three to six year olds through Jack’s world of music-loving friends and neighbors in his backyard clubhouse. Tune in to get your preschooler up and moving as well as learning about music and sounds.
This show is broadcast on Nick Jr. Visit Jack’s Big Music Show Web site to learn more about this show and connect with show-specific activities and games. This channel is available on digital cable and satellite networks across the country; check your provider for local times.


Art by Emily and other students at Bridgeville and Willowbrook schools is on display at the Fortuna Library throughout May.
Environmental artwork by 4th through 7th grade students from Willowbrook and Bridgeville Elementary schools will be displayed at the Fortuna Library throughout the entire month of May. Working with local artists and art educators Michael Guerriero and Donvieve, the students created screen prints, relief prints of plants, and drawings of landscapes and mammals.
Funded by a Save the Redwoods League education grant, the program “What is an Old Growth Coastal Redwood Forest?” provides classroom lessons and outdoor field trips. Students are engaged in a variety of outdoor lessons that integrate science and math in a fun way. They get plenty of hands on experience while learning about the ecology of the ancient redwood forest.
”Every day we provide three science lessons and an environmental art lesson delivered by local professional artists, said Barbara Domanchuk, ecology and art education program director.
Many local resources and agencies including Humboldt County Parks, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, California State Parks, AmeriCorps, California Native Plant Society, Humboldt Wildlife Care Center and Humboldt Redwoods Company provide professional mentorship for the students. Representatives from these agencies also lead lessons about old growth forests, the plants and the types of creatures that live there. The Fortuna Library is located at 753 14th St. Library hours are Tuesday 12-5 pm, Wednesday 12-9 p.m., and 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.


United Way and its Young Leaders Society are committed to ensuring that children and youth achieve their full potential. We realize that in order to do so we need to focus on the most pressing issues impacting the education of our young people.
By mobilizing volunteer readers and mentors to promote the value of reading at a younger age, ultimately helping to reduce the nearly 17 percent high school drop-out rate in our county. This is an alarming statistic that we believe needs to be addressed for the betterment of our youth and the greater society. What does it mean for a student to not receive the basic ingredients one needs to obtain a quality job. For many it means hardship, less opportunity and an uphill climb through life. In today's economic times, a high school education is barely scratching the surface of economic opportunity; one now needs to succeed in obtaining a degree of higher education in order to secure access to the American dream.
The Young Leaders Society has taken the lead in developing strategies and establishing partnerships to confront these alarming trends. Since it takes 12 years to fail, strategies to address high school dropout must start with early childhood literacy. As we dove into learning about childhood literacy we discovered through alarming statistics compiled by United Way Worldwide that 46% of 4th Graders were not reading proficiently. When a child is not reading proficiently early-on, they will be less likely to successfully transition into later grades.
United Way and our Young Leaders Society are committed to improving educational outcomes for Ventura County children and youth, but it takes a village to be part of the solution. We can't just rely on the parents of these children or the education system itself. As tax-payers, we all invest in public education and the results of our public education system will impact all of us. That's why we have embarked on a journey that develops empowerment opportunities for our youth to succeed in school, work, and life. Here are some ways you can join us in making that goal a reality:
· Books Bonanza is a childhood literacy program that engages volunteer readers with 1st and 2nd Grade school children one Saturday a month at Art Haycox Elementary School in Port Hueneme.
· Reading First is a childhood literacy partnership with Wells Fargo to connect volunteer readers with 1st and 2nd grade classrooms in multiple school districts in the Greater Oxnard area. For thirty-minutes a week for ten weeks, volunteers get the opportunity to promote the love of reading and help impact literacy development.
· X-Change is a career and life mentoring program that connects business professionals with students in our public schools. Volunteer mentors speak about their life experiences and share career knowledge as a way to expose students about the need for preparation as they transition in adulthood. Career mentoring opportunities are available in Camarillo, Newbury Park and Oxnard.
· Youth Empowerment Summit is a day of workshops and intense life skills training for high school and community college students to be held in May at Oxnard College.
· YLS Scholarship Fund was developed to provide financial assistance for high school and community college students to help advance their educational attainment. Sign-up to receive updates here.
As you can see, the United Way's Young Leaders Society is being a proactive force of young professionals committed to promoting the value of education. We believe in working together to empower the youth of Ventura County. How about joining this movement and doing something positive about the direction of our country right here?
Monday-Friday: 6am-3pm / Saturday: 6:30am-10:30am / Sunday: 7am-11am


What’s New in Literacy Teaching?
Reinvite Drama Into Classrooms:
With an Old Form
Nancy Roser, Miriam Martinez, & Holly Carrell Moore
Classroom-based drama activities such as mime, choral response, tableaux, Readers Theatre, and story reenactments help students to think critically about a text in order to understand characters’ motivation and viewpoints, which promotes a deeper understanding of story narratives. See how dramatic play looks in real classrooms, and learn how it contributes to children’s literacy development.
IRA Members: This publication and all IRA E-ssentials are available to you free of charge when you log in to the IRA Members-Only area.
Nonmembers: This publication is available as a PDF e-book, which you can access from your My Account page for 7 days after purchase. If you don't already have an online account, you will be asked to create one during checkout.


A Timeline History of Movable Books
by Ellen G.K. Rubin
Matthew Paris (1200-1259) English historian, artist, and Benedictine monk
used gatefolds to map pilgrimages from England to the Holy Land and Jerusalem. He is the first known paper engineer, devising volvelles to determine the dates of Easter and other Holy Days.
Ramón Llull (1235-c1316) mystic from Majorca, Spain sought to collate all areas of man’s knowledge and used volvelles as the organizing tool.
Johannes Gutenberg creates movable type and prints the Bible opening the doors for the proliferationof literacy.
Petrus Apianus, aka Peter Bienewitz(1495-1552), printed the Astronomicum Caesareum (The Emperor’s Astronomy) for Charles V in Ingolstadt, Germany using volvelles to portray the movement of the heavenly bodies (sun, planets and the moon).
Robert Sayer (England) Produced the first true movable for children, generically called a Harlequinade, after a popular character of that time. Illustrated paper flaps were folded up or down to change the illustration and thereby, change the story.
The First Golden Age of Pop-ups
Beginning with paper dolls (The History of Little Fanny, S.J. Fuller-1810), the use of movable paper proliferated as elements in books, especially in England and Germany.
The Industrial Revolution is underway creating a leisure class with money to spend on expensive books and the time to read them to their children. In 1870, the Elementary Education Acts in England/Wales provided for compulsory elementary education creating a more literate society.
The best-known publishers through the turn of the 19th century were:
- Ernest Nister (England & Germany) (animate Nister's movable!)
- Raphael Tuck (England & Germany)
- Dean & Sons (England) (see Dean's movable!)
- McLoughlin (USA)
The printing for most of these books was done in Germany where the chromolithography was best.
Lothar Meggendorfer (1847-1925-German) invented rivets for multiple action with one tab. He is considered the genius of all time for paper engineering. (animate Meggendorfer's movables!)
WORLD WAR I (1914-1918)
Production of movable books drops off due to scarcity of hand labor, paper, and access to German printing.
S. Louis Giraud (1879-1950 England) begins publishing books with true pop-ups, activated by turning the page. The series, The Daily Express, was then followed by the Bookano Books. (Theodore Brown is believed to have been the inventor and shares the patent.) The pop-ups were referred to as ‘spring-ups’. The last edition was published in 1949.
Blue Ribbon Press (Chicago, Ill.) copyrights the term ‘pop-up’ and produces a series of books of cultural icons (Mickey Mouse, Flash Gordon, Dick Tracy) as well as classical fairy tales.
Vojtěch Kubašta (1914-1992) begins making pop-up books and ephemera in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Read more about Kubašta.
The Second Golden Age of Pop-ups
Waldo ‘Wally’ Hunt (b.1921) sees the work of Kubašta, and forms Graphics International to use pop-ups for advertising. Bennett Cerf’s Pop-up Riddle Book is used as a sales premium for Maxwell House Coffee. Cerf, editor of Random House Books, uses the pop-up format for children’s books. Hallmark Cards buys Graphics International and produces its own series of children’s pop-up books. In 1975, Hunt forms Intervisual, the largest packager of pop-up books in the US.
Ann Montanaro (b.1942) forms the Movable Book Society for collectors, artists, librarians and packagers and publishes a quarterly newsletter, Movable Stationery. She also has published two bibliographies of movable books, both entitled, Pop-up and Movable Books; Scarecrow Press, Lanham, MD, 1993, 2000.
Robert Sabuda (b.1966) wins the Movable Book Society’s first Meggendorfer Prize (1998) for his The Christmas Alphabet (1994-Orchard Books).
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Tuesday, September 7, 1999 Published at 18:27 GMT 19:27 UK
Deaf children helped to beat numeracy gap
Deaf children are behind with numeracy skills
A few hours of extra teaching can help deaf children overcome numeracy problems, which leave them struggling to keep up with their peers, say researchers.
It is estimated that deaf children are three and a half years behind hearing children in numeracy skills.
Researchers at the Institute of Education in London believe one of the reasons is that they miss out on much non-direct learning.
This includes games which help teach children numeracy skills and general background conversation, for example, about shopping and the value of money.
Professor Terezinha Nunes, one of the researchers, said: "Hearing children may find out how numbers work through incidental learning in everyday life.
"Deaf children have fewer opportunities to pick up on environmental conversation so miss out on crucial bits of experience which is vital for maths.
"So much of education of deaf people is geared to teaching about words."
The researchers have developed a simple extra lessons which they think can accelerate learning.
"It doesn't take weeks. It's a matter of hours or minutes. It involves teaching deaf people how to use a particular mathematical concept."
Teachers have been experimenting with the system and the researchers are analysing the results to see if it closes the learning gap.
The researchers also studied the emotional and social development of 36 eight- and nine-year-old deaf children in mainstream and special schools.
They studied their relationship with hearing children and found that hearing children did not exclude deaf children when choosing friends.
Some even expressed an interest in learning sign language so they could better communicate with their deaf friends.
The researchers also spoke to the parents of deaf children and found that the birth of a deaf child to hearing parents could provoke a crisis in communication.
Some 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents.
Professor Nunes said parents had to decide how to communicate with their child and some rejected sign language, fearing it was a very visible sign of disability and could stigmatise their child.
Others chose to use hearing aids and other hi-tech gadgets, telling their children that many children had problems and deafness was just another thing to be overcome.
"They choose a medical model, seeing deafness as something like needing glasses to read. But for most deaf people it is not as simple as that," said Professor Nunes.
"Sign language might not solve all the problems, but at least it is a more direct way of trying to communicate with children."
Special schools for the deaf are increasingly being closed, with the government trying to get more pupils into mainstream education.
The researchers said their study was important to ascertain the social and emotional development of children in special schools so they could measure whether their absorption into mainstream schools made any big difference.


The international community has responded generously to the human suffering occasioned by the famine in Somalia. The World Food Program has acted swiftly by providing relief food to millions affected by the famine and vaccines and medical assistance are being offered in Mogadishu and refugee camps to address the spreading cholera epidemic, cases of measles, and acute malnutrition. The response to the famine is not limited to traditional donors such as the United States and European Union; other countries have been generous in their humanitarian assistance, including Saudi Arabia, Sudan and China. With resources continuing to pour in, the long-term consequences of the famine, in terms of the country’s future human capital endowment, must now be given sufficient attention, especially with the limited access to quality educational opportunities by impacted children and youth.
The immediate needs in the region are dire as conditions continue to deteriorate. The consequences of the worst drought in 60 years will extend long beyond the next rainfall. In Somalia, children are among the victims who have suffered the most at the hands of the famine and, without access to learning opportunities, the crisis could set them back for life. A recent study by UNICEF cautions that half of the teachers in southern Somalia will not return to their schools once they reopen due to permanent population movement to the capital and the loss of essential teaching incentives. Additionally, 200,000 children may drop out of school as a result of the famine, adding to the country’s already dismal 33 percent primary enrollment rate.
Severe malnutrition and starvation can handicap children later in life. Research shows that critical brain development occurs from pregnancy to age three and quality early childhood development is a key priority for ensuring that children enter primary school prepared to learn basic literacy and numeracy skills with the rest of their peers. Quality early childhood development opportunities have shown to increase school attendance, lower rates of repetition and attrition, and improve learning achievement. A promising sign in Somalia are the therapeutic feeding centers and supplementary feeding programs. These ensure children receive the nutrients essential for brain development, which will help children not only survive this travesty, but thrive later in life.
Furthermore, children and youth living in conflict and crisis-affected areas often face additional disadvantages and marginalization in accessing quality education. In Somalia, students contend with ongoing security concerns that are now compounded by the challenges brought on by the famine. Together, these conditions have resulted in a massive refugee crisis, with over 400,000 people now living in the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, and thousands more outside its gates. Worldwide, a displaced individual lives in a refugee camp for an average of 17 years – a lifetime for those displaced as children or born into refugee camps. Almost half of all children who are not in school live in countries affected by conflict; furthermore, learning outcomes for girls living in conflict-affected regions are among the worst in the world.
In Somalia, emergency assistance to address the famine and health situation is needed immediately and must be the priority of all donors and humanitarian organizations. However, providing education opportunities should also be part of the medium and long-term response to the crisis. Ensuring children have adequate nutrition through school meal programs and receive adequate health care through school-based vaccinations will encourage parents to send their children to school and improve children’s performance while enrolled. Establishing schooling environments – whether formal or non-formal – in refugee camps and providing educators with training and incentives will help create safe spaces for children and youth to receive a quality education. Because of the ongoing conflict in Somalia, some students have already lived in a state of vulnerability for much of their lives. Ensuring youth develop workforce and livelihood skills through opportunities beyond primary school is critical to the development of the next generation of leaders and citizens who can help to stabilize the nation and prevent the next famine. These are all steps that will mitigate the long-term social effects of an otherwise debilitating crisis and help the country rebuild a strong workforce and enhance human capital.


Art and Design Education: Give Your Kids a Creative Advantage
Elmhurst, IL February 5, 2013. How many times have you heard the phrases, “creative thinking”, and “think outside the box” in recent years? Besides being fun catch phrases, these words indicate a growing acceptance for creativity as a positive attribute in our society.
Jeanette Nyberg, an art-educated mom in suburban Chicago, has launched a website, Artchoo.com, dedicated to promoting art and design for kids. As art begins a (very slow) ascent back into the favor of Americans, more studies are surfacing to prove the importance of creativity to a child’s future.
Ms. Nyberg began the site in response to the lack of education kids are receiving in public schools, “My kids aren’t getting much art time in school, but I’ve heard from some parents whose kids are getting zero. That’s tragic.”
Artchoo.com focuses not only on providing tips and resources, but really exploring the way art education is important to the future of our children. In any given week, posts on the site cover everything from art projects for all ages of kids to unique public spaces for kids to artist features to creative gift ideas.
“I think many parents are intimidated to go beyond crayons and markers at home because they don’t know what materials to buy (http://artchoo.com/
Ms. Nyberg graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, and spent some time as an exhibiting painter, but feels that art and design education benefits everyone. Businesses are embracing creative thinking and innovation as sought-after skills in employees, and many kids aren’t exposed to this way of thinking in their schooling.
While there are a number of sites that are dedicated to providing art projects for children, Artchoo.com takes a more comprehensive approach that appeals to parents who are interested in the idea of raising generally creative kids.
Some examples of Artchoo’s most popular posts are as follows:
Sharpie Shoes (http://artchoo.com/
Sketchbook Cover Ideas (http://artchoo.com/
Kids Learn Installation Art- Andy Goldsworthy http://artchoo.com/
If you are in the Chicago area, Artchoo.com maintains a comprehensive list of the area’s art classes here: http://artchoo.com/
Chicago Area Kids’ Art Classes (http://artchoo.com/
Follow Artchoo here:
Artchoo Facebook Page (http://www.facebook.com/
Artchoo Pinterest Page (https://pinterest.com/
Artchoo on Twitter (https://twitter.com/


Greg Mortenson, co-founder of the Central Asia Institute and best-selling co-author of Three Cups of Tea, pays tribute to his friends Galen and Barbara Rowell and discusses his life's work in promoting education and literacy - especially for girls - in the remote mountain regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Greg Mortenson is the co-founder (with Dr. Jean Hoerni) and Executive Director of nonprofit Central Asia Institute.
Since a 1993 climb on Pakistan's K2, he has dedicated his life to promote community-based education and literacy programs, especially for girls, in remote mountain regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Mortenson is also founder of Pennies For Peace and co-author of the #1 New York Times best-seller, Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School At A Time.
Greg Mortenson, humanitarian and co-author of Three Cups of Tea, explains that the book was originally subtitled "One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism," and that he had to fight to change it to "One Man's Mission to Promote Peace."
Greg Mortenson discusses the importance of educating women in Afghanistan. He argues that not only does education improve the quality of life of everyone in the village, but that it also helps fight terrorism, as evinced by the Taliban's staunch opposition on schooling for women.
Learning that takes place in schools or school-like environments (formal education) or in the world at large; the transmission of the values and accumulated knowledge of a society. In developing cultures there is often little formal education; children learn from their environment and activities, and the adults around them act as teachers. In more complex societies, where there is more knowledge to be passed on, a more selective and efficient means of transmissionthe school and teacherbecomes necessary. The content of formal education, its duration, and who receives it have varied widely from culture to culture and age to age, as has the philosophy of education. Some philosophers (e.g., John Locke) have seen individuals as blank slates onto which knowledge can be written. Others (e.g., Jean-Jacques Rousseau) have seen the innate human state as desirable in itself and therefore to be tampered with as little as possible, a view often taken in alternative education. See alsobehaviourism; John Dewey; elementary education; higher education; kindergarten; lyceum movement; progressive education; public school; special education; teaching.
Well, Alienlquirer, it seems there are already schools for boys so they are gaining their education. I think the point is that schools are now being erected for girls as well. As for men gaining their education first and then women, the Western culture did that because we didn't know any better. But it's the year 2009 and we should be able to expedite these processes.
I agree with rick manges. As Americans, we are to support equal rights.
Think about the possibilities. If girls receive up to a fifth grade education and can achieve so much, imagine if they were able to continue their education. From said results, it seems we would be one step closer to world peace.
My interpersonal communications class is studying Three Cups of Tea along side of our textbook. This man and his organization are doing great work. Educate the men first? Isn't that the attitude already in place? The girls have a divine right to the same education; that is not just my opinion, but is also stated in the Muslim's most holy book, the Koran.


After serving with the British Army in Malaysia, he was employed by Hugh Tracey in the International Library of African Music (ILAM) and further studied music and culture of the Venda people in South Africa in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1965 he was awarded a Ph.D. (D Litt, rather) from the University of the Witwatersrand for his work on Venda children's songs, and in the same year he was made Professor and Head of the Department of Social Anthropology.
In the field of ethnomusicology, Blacking is known for his early and energetic advocacy of an anthropological perspective in the study of music (others are David McAllester [1916-2006] and Alan Merriam [1923-1980]).
He spent most of his later academic career at Queen's University Belfast, in Northern Ireland, where he was professor of social anthropology from 1970 until his death in 1990. Many of his ideas about the social impact of music can be found in his 1973 book How Musical is Man?. In this highly influential book, Blacking called for a study of music as "Humanly Organized Sound" (that's the title of Chapter One), arguing that "it is the activities of Man the Music Maker that are of more interest and consequence to humanity than the particular musical achievements of Western man", and that "no musical style has 'its own terms': its terms are the terms of its society and culture".
His other books include Venda Children's Songs (1967), one of the first ethnomusicological works to focus directly on the interpenetration of music and culture, Anthropology of the Body (London:Academic Press,1977) and A Commonsense View of All Music: reflections on Percy Grainger's contribution to ethnomusicology and music education (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989).
The Callaway Centre in University of Western Australia holds an archive of his field notes and tapes, the John Blacking Collection. He wrote and presented a series, Dancing, for Ulster Television. John Blacking House was named in Belfast, in honour of his involvement with the Open Door Housing Association.
- Reily, Suza Ann & Lev Weinstock, ed. (March 1998). "John Blacking". Venda Girls' Initiation Schools. Department of Social Anthropology, Queen's University of Belfast. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
- Blacking 1973, p. 4.
- Blacking 1973, pp. 16f.
- Blacking, J. How Musical is Man? University of Washington Press, Seattle, U.S.A, 1973. 116p. ISBN 0-295-95338-1
- Blacking, John Anthony Randoll (1928–1990), social anthropologist and ethnomusicologist, in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
- Cross, Ian, (June 2007). Book review of The Musical Human: Rethinking John Blacking's Ethnomusicology in the Twenty-first Century (Aldershot, Ashgate, 2006. ISBN 0-7546-5138-X ISBN 978-0754651383) in Music Perception 24:507-510 ISSN: 0730-7829


Bachelor of Science in Education: Special and Elementary Education
Equal access for all students
As we move to an inclusive educational environment where all
children work and learn together, our programs promote inclusive practices
through our dual major in special and elementary education and the content
emphasis in special education.
We offer this plan to prepare you to become a certified teacher of children and youth who have disabilities, as well as those who do not. The courses included in the program of study are designed to address the Professional Standards for the Council for Exceptional Children, in addition to the Professional Standards for Arizona Teachers, adopted by the Arizona Department of Education. This plan prepares you to teach students with mild to moderate disabilities such as:
- learning disabilities
- emotional/behavioral disorders
- mild-moderate intellectual disabilities
- orthopedic and health impairments
Courses in low-incidence disabilities prepare you to teach students with a variety of moderate to severe/profound disabilities:
- traumatic brain injury
- multiple disabilities
- moderate-to-severe intellectual disabilities
- sensory impairments
You student teach for one semester, with your time divided
between special education and elementary education settings.
When you complete your degree, you will have earned one
certificate in special education (grades K-12 cross-categorical special
education) and one in elementary education (K-8).
With training in both special and elementary education,
graduates of our dual major program are highly sought-after candidates for job
You may also pursue a single major in elementary education
with a content emphasis in special education.
A special education content emphasis does not require
student teaching, and it does not result in special-education certification.
As a special-education major, you may wish to take education
coursework in a school-based program. At this time, we offer three unique
school-based programs to special-education dual majors.
In each of these programs, you spend several hours each day
working with students in public-school classrooms under the supervision of
cooperating teachers and university faculty.
Rural ESL special education
The College of Education offers a rural special education
program with an embedded ESL course of study, located in Kayenta, AZ, on the
Navajo Indian Reservation.
Programs funded by a US Department of Education grant, when available, offer the dual major program in the greater Yuma area.
The third program, Praxis, is based in an elementary school
in Flagstaff. This three-semester
program is currently the only school-based program through which dual majors
can take all of their elementary and special-education courses.
We accept applications for these programs each fall and
conduct interviews during late fall and early spring. For more information, see
You must be admitted to the College of Education’s teacher education
program before you take any education courses except EDF 200 and ESE 380.
Carefully review the information about admission requirements for our teacher education
For more information on this degree, please visit the Academic Catalog.


DOHA, Qatar — Around the world, 57 million children are denied primary education. That is one of the more stunning statistics discussed here at the 5th World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) this week.
Another eye-opening statistic is that even after spending four years in school, 250 million children still cannot read or write. This includes youngsters in advanced economies as well.
The conference had the theme “Reinventing Education for Life” and was attended by 1,200 participants from 100 countries. I spoke here on 21st century/global citizenship, with global responsibility and action being recurring topics during the conference.
Disclosure: I’m the chair of the board of directors of an international foundation — meltonfoundation.org — that promotes global citizenship.
One initiative that was launched at WISE, the Educate a Child (EAC) project, has the ambitious goal to bring 10 million school children into education programs by the end of the 2015 school year.
In just 12 months, EAC has already managed to reach 2 million children. The financing gap for education in low-income countries is estimated to be $26 billion annually. Incidentally, that is approximately the same amount our economy lost during the two-week government shutdown.
As economists have discovered in numerous studies, investing in elementary education results in some of the largest returns in terms of overall life-quality and economic growth. However, it is at least as important how resources made available for that purpose are spent. Efficiency and effectiveness are key, here, too.
And that’s what makes the conversations and initiatives at WISE so exciting. The conference is a platform for discussions that happen far too infrequently — and not just in developing countries.
Practitioners, academics, social entrepreneurs, students and many other stakeholders are invited to present and debate creative and disruptive teaching ideas.
How many discussions about school quality in advanced economies would actually have the courage to start out with the question: “Can we have education without teachers?”
However, the work doesn’t stop with asking questions. This gathering is purposefully designed to create action and serve as a global reference for new approaches to education.
Given some of the more disappointing developments in world affairs, one can find a breath of fresh air at conferences such as WISE.
You can run into a woman who started an organization that has managed to build up hundreds of schools in Africa providing quality primary education to 65,000 students. There is the young man trying to harness the power of online content to bring college-level education to students in Ghana for $10 a year or the social entrepreneur who fights to teach children in Afghanistan about peace, something that the last three generations have never experienced for any sustained period of time.
Global citizenship in the 21st century is not just some nebulous concept that we can ignore. We would do so at our own peril because opportunities and problems do not stop at national or culture borders anymore. That’s why it so important to support educators who champion novel and entrepreneurial approaches to teaching.
The sooner we come to grips with the idea that 56 million children a year without access to primary education is bad for the long-run outlook of our country, too, the more likely we are to create a brighter future for our kids as well.
Michael Reksulak has taught economics and public finance in Georgia Southern University’s College of Business Administration. He can be contacted at MReksulak.SMN@gmail.com.


So you’re thinking about a career in music?
Whether your interests lie in music education, performance, industry, or any number of other venues, the field of music provides countless opportunities for finding a fulfilling and rewarding career. On these pages are a collection of resources designed to help students, parents, teachers, and all those curious, in discovering the many possibilities.
You may want to begin by reading our Glossary of Careers for complete descriptions of numerous music career options. Our “Careers in Music” online brochure also gives insight into specifics for 16 career fields, such as the recommended training, skills, personal qualifications, and average salaries. As you continue to explore the other pages, the information and resources you will find delve deeper into performing and teaching careers, the music industry, the study of music, continuing education, teacher certification, and much more.
The links below provide a further look into music careers in general, after which we hope you will visit the other areas of this site. Then, when you start to ask yourself “Should I study music?” take a moment to read “What it Takes To Be a Music Major.” The links and resources on our Web site will help you make the decision on going into the music field.
Along with the resources on this site, you can find additional music career information by visiting the following:
- Berklee College of Music — Concise descriptions of music related careers of all kinds.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — The Occupational Outlook Handbook provides helpful information about several music careers, including salary and employment outlook. Look under M for music careers.
- NAfME Publication, Exploring Careers in Music, 2nd Edition. An in-depth guide to music careers, featuring a section on technology, a directory of resources, and contributions from current professionals in the music field.
The below publications and others can be found on Amazon.com:
- Opportunities in Music Careers, Revised Edition By Robert Gerardi, with Foreword by Dr. Billy Taylor; VGM Career Books, The McGraw-Hill Companies; ISBN 0071387161 (hardcover), ISBN 007138717X (paperback)
- Great Jobs for Music Majors, Jan Goldberg; The McGraw-Hill Company; 2nd edition (2004) ISBN: 0071411607 (paperback)
Note: Web sites linked from this site are listed for information purposes only. Their inclusion does not constitute endorsement of their content by the National Association for Music Education.


There are many studies that prove Arts learning is linked to positive student outcomes such as engagement and persistence, overall academic achievement, communication and collaboration, and positive behavior.
On July 26, 2012, our U.S. Representatives agreed by passed a resolution designating the second week of September as Arts in Education Week to promote and show the importance of art education in making engaged and successful students.
The resolution states:
Arts education, comprising a rich array of disciplines including dance, music, theatre, media arts, literature, design, and visual arts, is a core academic subject and an essential element of a complete and balanced education for all students.
There are also many Art in Education websites dedicated to prove the importance of the arts in the classroom. The websites listed below work together to inform parents, students and teachers of activities to engage students in the classroom this week and throughout the year.
K-12 Curriculum Resources
The Art and Science of Impressionist Color
Students will learn about the Impressionist painters’ use of color and how it connected to early-19th-century scientific theories about color. They will explore combinations of primary and secondary colors, experiment creating secondary colors, and create a landscape using complementary colors.
Creating Comic Strips
Starting with the familiar Peanuts comic strip characters in the form of video and print media, students explore comic strips as a form of communication of both fiction and nonfiction. In this lesson, each student creates an original comic strip to convey a mathematical concept to share with a younger student.
21st Century Skills Map ( PDF, 2.5 MB, 17 pgs.)
This Skills Map from the Partnership of 21st Century Skills (P21) presents just a few of the many ways that children acquire 21st Century Learning Skills through arts study.
(List compiled by the National Education Association. For more information visit www.nea.com)
Get the facts about the benefits of arts learning for students and teachers. Visit ArtsEdSearch.org, a first-of-its-kind clearinghouse of arts education research, to learn more about these and other benefits of arts learning for teachers and students.
Find out what is going on in your school, district, and state. What are the policies in place in your community that either support or hinder student access and participation in arts learning? You can use the Arts Education State Policy Database to find out information about your state. This searchable database contains the latest information on arts education state policies and practices. Since 1999, AEP has gathered these data through an annual survey of arts education personnel in state education agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
(Thanks to the Arts in Education Partnership. For more ways to get involved, visit http://www.aep-arts.org.)


Burgess, Hilary; Southworth, Geoff and Webb, Rosemary
(1994). Whole school planning in the primary school.
In: Pollard, Andrew ed.
Look Before You Leap? Research Evidence for the Curriculum at Key Stage Two.
UK: Tufnell Press, pp. 37–49.
[About the book]:
'Commonsense' suggests that one should 'look before you leap'. When people do not, they cannot be quite sure where they will land.
The educational reforms of the late 1980s and early 1990s would have benefited from such precautions. As it was, education policy moved forward with a bold, but almost blind, decisiveness throughout the education system. Any problems which arose were also likely to affect the 25,000 schools of England and Wales and the experiences of all of their seven million school-age children.
The papers in this book arise from the work of a task group of fourteen researchers which met in 1992/3 to review the practicalities and consequences of attempting to implement the National Curriculum in primary schools. The authors are all experts in their fields and this collection is the most comprehensive and up-to-date review of research evidence currently available on primary education.
The task group set out to go 'back to basics' interpreted as clarifying the findings and issues suggested by educational research which might contribute to future deliberations of the Government and other groups engaged in policy formation for the primary school curriculum.
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Sociocultural Contexts of Language and Literacy
Edited by Bertha Perez, Teresa L. McCarty, Lucille J. Watahomigie, Mar¡a E. Torres-Guzman, To thi Dien
Routledge – 2004 – 404 pages
Sociocultural Contexts of Language and Literacy, Second Edition engages prospective and in-service teachers in learning about linguistically and culturally diverse students, and in using this knowledge to enrich literacy learning in classrooms and communities. The text is grounded in current research and theory that integrate sociocultural and constructivist concepts and perspectives and provide a framework teachers can use to develop strategies for teaching reading, writing, and thinking to diverse students.
The focus on English literacy development does not imply advocacy for "English only" or ESL as the primary mode of literacy instruction. Rather, the authors take the position that learners need to develop literacy in their native language and that the concepts and skills learned in developing the native language create a foundation of strength from which students can develop English literacy.
Part I introduces relevant research and language learning theories. Part II provides research reviews and information about literacy learning within specific culturally and linguistically diverse communities. The chapters in Part III challenge the reader to view the multiple social, intellectual, cultural, and language differences children bring to the classroom as an opportunity for learning and building on the diversity among students. Activities and suggested readings at the end of each chapter involve readers in reflection, observation, meaning making, and the construction of application processes for their new understandings.
New in the Second Edition:
*updated research and theory on multilingual and second language literacy;
*a focus on the interpretation of these research findings to make them useful for teachers and teacher educators in understanding and articulating the research bases for literacy practices;
*attention to current intensely debated issues, such as standards, the phonics movement, and high-stakes testing; and
*new activities and suggested readings.
Contents: Preface. Part I: Theoretical Perspectives on Language and Literacy. B. Pérez, Literacy, Diversity, and Programmatic Responses. B. Pérez, Language, Literacy, and Biliteracy. B. Pérez, Writing Across Writing Systems. Part II: Language and Literacy Acquisition in Diverse Communities. T.L. McCarty, L.J. Watahomigie, Language and Literacy in American Indian and Alaska Native Communities. M.E. Torres-Guzmán, Language, Culture, and Literacy in Puerto Rican Communities. T.T. Dien, Language and Literacy in Vietnamese American Communities. J-M. Chang, Language and Literacy in Chinese American Communities. H.L. Smith, Literacy and Instruction in African American Communities: Shall We Overcome? A. Dávila de Silva, Emergent Spanish Writing of a Second Grader in a Whole-Language Classroom. Part III: Literacy Development in Multilingual, Multicultural Classrooms. B. Pérez, A. Nordlander, Making Decisions About Literacy Instructional Practices. B. Pérez, Creating a Classroom Community for Literacy. B. Pérez, Literacy, Curriculum, and Language Diversity.


Copyright © 2014 Handwriting Without Tears® All Rights Reserved
Stepping Into Handwriting: For Students Studying Elementary Education introduces future elementary school teachers to the methods of successful handwriting instruction. The program touches on key aspects of handwriting, giving pre-service teachers sufficient preparation with both handwriting strategies and challenges faced in the elementary classroom. This program provides opportunities for hands-on practice, so that tomorrow's teachers can feel comfortable teaching handwriting with any handwriting program in their future classrooms.
This course includes:
You might also be interested in these products:
Guide for the student workbook, Letters and Numbers for Me. Tips for kindergarten teachers, parents and therapists. Lesson plans for easy, effective instruction. Daily plan for post workbook practice.
Guide for the
student workbook, Cursive Success.
Tips for 4th grade teachers, parents and therapists. Lesson plans for easy, effective instruction. Daily plan
for post workbook practice.
Download Sample Pages
Use Digital Teaching Tools to bring your teaching to life, reduce teacher prep time, and promote handwriting success for your students in grades Pre-K–4+. This web-based program engages students, reduces teacher prep time, and brings your classroom to life.
Make pre-writing instruction easy. Children learn capital formations as they imitate the teacher piece by piece. Use the set for teaching size, shape, position words, and concepts, too! Includes 26 pieces: 8 Big Lines, 6 Big Curves, 6 Little Lines, 6 Little Curves.
Unique lessons are memorable and provide real-life context, so children can easily master new concepts. Skills are taught explicitly and sequenced from the easiest to the most challenging to provide opportunities for differentiated instruction. 210 pages.


|| Music & Drama
|| Global Passport Program
Schmitz Park School is committed to academic excellence for every child. Our data demonstrate our success in academic achievement, but that only tells a part of the story. The real heart of our academic excellence is found in a blend of taking a balanced academic approach, committing to each individual child and motivating all students to meet high standards. Our commitment ensures that students experience hands-on integrated learning with solid development of foundational skills
For fouryears, the faculty at Schmitz Park have been deeply committed to developing their elementary math program based on the principles and design of Singapore Math. We are committed to the highly effective mastery-based structure for developing number sense and mental math strategies as well as problem solving skills. All Singapore Math lessons follow a clear progression for students from concrete, to pictorial, to abstract thinking. Schmitz Park teachers carefully follow a K-5 continuum of math skills that we have developed to meet state standards and ensure a highly level of math performance in middle school.
Resources: The New York Times, Educational Leadership
The Writer’s Workshop model focuses on individual student growth and ownership of the writing process. Lessons typically start with a whole group mini-lesson in which the teacher frequently shares his or her own writing as they model the daily writing focus (which could be a writing convention, a writing strategy, etc.). Students work as “writers” from selecting their topics, prewriting, drafting, editing, revising to publishing their work. Classes (frequently an entire grade level) will hold a writing celebration to recognize the students’ “published” work. Typically, over the course of the year, students will work through the following units of study: personal narrative, fiction, poetry, and expository writing (such as an “All About…” book or a persuasive essay). Literacy also includes “word work” which is the time for vocabulary development and spelling. Our writers have the opportunity to write on a variety of topics, and for many audiences and purposes--skills they will use throughout their life to explain, to create, and to communicate in the world.


This major is a favorite of people who, obviously, have a love of music, and wish to give that gift to others through instruction. They have an affinity for performances and composition. Music education majors are often inquisitive, analytical, observant, able to think abstractly, able to draw, and enjoy coordinated activities and sports. Often artistic, this kind of person enjoys various kinds of art like theatre, types of artwork, and creative expression.
Is Music Education the right major for you?
Take the MyMajors Quiz and find out if it is one of your top recommended majors!
The required and elective courses you would take for Music Education majors vary considerably among institutions. Courses are listed here that are illustrative of the breadth of topics you are likely to experience were you to major in this field.
Various specializations related to a major in Music Education may be offered by colleges and universities. These specializations may be of greater or lesser interest to you. A few of these specializations related to this field include, but are not limited to:
The fastest way toward knowing if Music Teacher Education is the major for you is to take this quiz to find your best college majors.


We all know that music education has a lot of pros and some cons, but why do people have to focus more on the cons rather than the pros? I’m not sure if I’m the only one thinking this but it clearly doesn’t make sense. The benefits of music education far out weighs the number of cons!
I have heard, and read, only one con that music education brings. It’s “Music education takes time away from students core classes and negatively affects their learning.” I very much disagree with this over used statement. If someone can provide evidence that supports this, then I will gladly tip my hat to them but I have found no such evidence. On the contrary, I have found statistics that prove that music education has positive effects on students and makes them more academically and emotionally stable, intelligent, and even healthier than students who don’t participate in such music education.
According to Gregory Blankenbehler, a music educator with over 25 years of experience performing and teaching music from PitchPerfectPublishing.org, he says that on average, students with music education have had 27% higher math scores, 57 points higher on SAT’s and 46% higher IQ scores.(Blankenbehler, 2010) That’s a great reason to use some class time for music education. He also says that students with music education experience the lowest rate of gang activity and substance abuse. And the list goes on! Music participants receive more academic awards for grades over B’s, 73% of teens who play an instrument are less likely to have discipline problems, students who are rhythmically skilled also tend to better plan, sequence, and coordinate actions in their daily lives, and music educated students show less test anxiety and performance anxiety than other students.
Another benefit I would like to point out is that music education not only helps young and older students but adults and elderly people as well. According to Pitch Perfect Publishing, it has been tested and proven that music education lessens depression, loneliness, stroke, pain, migraines, and stress. It also helps Alzheimer's patients lessen agitation, increase focus and concentration, enhance ability to respond verbally and behaviorally, and have better social interactions.
I know some of you are saying to yourselves that we have to cut music education because we can’t cut anymore teacher’s salaries, we can’t cut anymore faculty positions, and we need more funding for core classes. I’m saying that music education should become a core class. With all of the benefits I have listed above, it does not make sense to cut music education.
During an average music class, students are learning history, math, and reading. Music education incorporates history because somehow, music has been changed throughout the years by someone or something. Mozart is a great example. He was called the world’s best musician. He came up with new tones, playing styles, and rhythms that have changed the way music is played and written forever. Math is a huge part of music. You need a way to count rhythms and measures. Reading is also an important part. There needs to be some way of reading notes, so why not use letters. Almost all of the core classes are incorporated in music education, another reason to not cut it!
To wrap this up, I would like to ask you a question. What do Aristotle, Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and Steven Halking have in common? They were all musicians! Coincidence? Certainly not.
Blankenbehler, G.B. (2010). The importance of music education in public schools. Pitch Perfect Publishing, Retrieved from http://pitchperfectmusic.org/articles/importance-music-education-public-schools/
Blankenbehler, G.B. (2010). Studies showing the benefits of music education. Pitch Perfect Publishing, Retrieved from http://pitchperfectmusic.org/articles/studies-showing-benefits-music-education/


Kacey Harper is a Third Grade Teacher at Webb Elementary School. She knows the importance of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Initiative—or STEM—but said a missing letter is equally as important: “R.”
“If you can't read, then, I mean, they won't know what's going on in the world, or how to get anywhere. It's just very crucial. It's very important,” said Harper.
However, when the Annie P. Casey Foundation found a large number of 4th graders in Alabama are not reading on grade level, department heads became concerned.
“We want our kids on grade level by the third grade,” said Anthony Stewart, Elementary Curriculum Supervisor of Houston County Schools.
Stewart said their reading rates are above that study simply because cognitive reading goes beyond the classroom.
“We do a lot of group work. We pull kids back into small groups. We also challenge those kids that are already there. As parents, we want to know that our kids are being challenged,” explained Stewart.
Houston County’s School System uses a program called DIBELS—a series of short tests that keep track of a child's reading comprehension.
Stewart said, “If they don't have the reading, they're not going to get the math, they're not going to get the science, not going to get the social studies. So, it's no doubt the most important goal that we have in elementary education.”
For Harper, the proof is in the performance.
“In the beginning of the year, I had to do a lot of modeling. Now, when I give the students a question, they know what to do.”


Home > Health & Wellness > Health Library > Down Syndrome: Helping Your Child Learn to Walk and Use Other Motor Skills
Down syndrome have reduced muscle tone, which can delay
development of their motor skills. Children with delays may roll over, sit up, pull
up, stand, and walk later than other children their age.
motor skill development through active play.
Guide your baby in playful exercises, which helps him or her
learn to walk.
July 1, 2013
John Pope, MD - Pediatrics & Louis Pellegrino, MD - Developmental Pediatrics
How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
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Why Didn't I Think of That? - Objectives, Materials, and Other Music Education Headings
Yesterday I received in my inbox an email notifying me Susan Paradis had posted a new blog entry of a cute coloring sheet in the shape of a bunny, called Bunny to Color Piano Keys. I couldn't get there fast enough because I needed to print it out to give to my beginners this week. What an adorable activity, and perfect timing too! Once I arrived at her blog, I noticed something I had not noticed before. Susan used headings such as "objectives", "materials", "ages", etc., when writing her blog post. What a brilliant idea! I had used similar headings on lesson plans during my days of teaching classroom music education courses, but I had not thought to use the headings within my blog entries. I asked her about it and she said the idea came from her days as a classroom music educator :)
Listing objectives, materials, ages, and other headings in future blog posts will help clarify and organize my entries even more. Why didn't I think of that?


Botswana Curriculum Framework (Basic Education)
Curriculum Philosophy and overall approach
In its document, Curriculum Programmes, the MoE describes its primary programme as emphasising the acquisition and application of
‘foundation skills’, particularly ‘communication, literacy and numeracy skills, the development of an awareness of the interrelationship between Science, Technology and Society and the acquisition of desirable skills and attributes’.
The components of Botswana’s Basic Education are listed in its Curriculum Framework as
- a. Foundation skills ‘applicable to work situations, such as decision-making and problem-solving, self-presentation, team-work and computing’, developed through ‘cross-curricular approaches’ and attention to processes as well as content
- b. The vocational orientation of academic subjects which are to be ‘taught in such a way that they are related to the world of work’ and, where appropriate, applied to ‘various jobs’ that will be available to students on completion of basic education
- c. Practical subjects to enhance students’ understanding and appreciation of technology, as well as developing manipulative skills and familiarity with tools, equipment and materials
- d. Readiness for the world of work through both curricular (through, for example, the study of the subject Commerce) and cocurricular (such as structured visits to companies and simulated work or business activities.
- e. Careers Guidance to assist them in identifying their own capacities and interests as well as understanding the labour market.
The general approach of Botswana’s Basic Education curriculum is therefore very strongly focused on the development of generic life and work competencies and skills through a range of curriculum design strategies. Botswana’s aims and objectives for Basic Education are founded firmly on a base of competency and skills development within a framework of personal growth and personal and social responsibility…
With regard to time allocations, considerable flexibility is afforded to schools in the primary levels – ‘To allow for provision of full experiences, schools will have to work out suitable timetables based on the current length of the school day. The number of periods per week in Junior Secondary is prescribed in Table 7, which reflects a general requirement for ‘the weighting among core subjects, optional subjects and Guidance and Counselling will approximately be 78%, 20% and 2% respectively’ (Curriculum Framework, p. 10).
Source: Georgescu, D. et al. 2008. Preparation for Life and Work. Comparative Study with a Focus on Basic (Primary and Lower Secondary) Education in Developing African Countries. GTZ, MBZ and UNESCO IBE, Eschborn. (pp. 54.55)


'Action needed' on numeracy skills in Scottish secondary schools
More than half of S2 pupils are not doing well at maths, according to Scotland's first national survey.
But the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN) suggested primary pupils were performing at a high standard in the subject.
Education Secretary Michael Russell said the results showed the new Curriculum for Excellence was working well in primary schools.
But he said more focused action was needed in secondaries.
Mr Russell added that the link between deprivation and attainment in Scottish schools remained too strong.
More than 5,000 teachers and 11,000 pupils were surveyed for the SSLN.
Test your maths ability
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The results showed 76% of P4 pupils were performing well or very well in numeracy, with 72% of P7 pupils reaching the same standard.
But in S2 only 42% pupils were performing well or very well.
The percentage of pupils not yet working within their respective levels in numeracy was less than 1% in P4, about 2% in P7 and 32% in S2.
Boys tended to outperform girls in numeracy at P4 and P7.
And S2 pupils living in areas with lower levels of deprivation were twice as likely to be performing well or very well as pupils living in areas with higher levels of deprivation.
The vast majority of pupils said they enjoyed learning, though the strength of agreement reduced among older pupils, and more than 90% of pupils agreed what they were learning would be useful to them outside school.
End Quote Michael Russell Education secretary
It is particularly welcoming to see the high performance in P4 maintained through to P7 under Curriculum for Excellence”
More than 90% of primary school teachers and more than 80% of secondary school teachers reported they were very or fairly confident they could improve learning using the Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes for their area.
In February, a report by the Royal Society of Arts praised the teaching of maths in Scottish schools, which it said England should look to learn from.
And speaking during a visit to Stenhouse Primary School in Edinburgh, Mr Russell said: "Given that we have deliberately raised the bar with Curriculum for Excellence - with high standards expected at each level, the strong performance of primary pupils in maths and numeracy is hugely encouraging.
"A common and historic trend is for performance to dip between mid and upper primary and then dip again in early secondary. So it is particularly welcoming to see the high performance in P4 maintained through to P7 under Curriculum for Excellence.
"However, this high performance must also be sustained and improved through to secondary.
"The performance results taken from S2, who were the last cohort of pupils not to benefit from Curriculum for Excellence, shows that more is needed and the link between deprivation and attainment remains too strong."


Contact: Science Press Package
American Association for the Advancement of Science
Evidence for unseen silver
Scientists studied a sediment core from Laguna Lobato in Bolivia to better understand the history of silver mining in the surrounding mountains.
Image courtesy of Mark Abbott.
Click here for a high resolution photograph.
After studying layers of sediment from the bottom of a lake in Bolivia, the authors of a new study think that people living in the Andes Mountains mined silver as early as 1,000 years ago. The report may help fill gaps in the archaeological record caused, in part, by the recycling and stealing of silver artifacts by later cultures. The researchers think that large-scale silver mining in this region began approximately 400 years before the documented Incan silver industry.
Mark Abbott from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, PA and Alexander Wolfe from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada analyzed a sediment core from Laguna Lobato, a lake near the largest silver deposit in the Bolivian tin belt. From this core, they think they can identify the time that soot and dust produced during the silver separating process started falling into the lake. This research appears in the 26 September issue of the journal, Science published by AAAS, the science society.
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Science is published by AAAS, the science society.


Explicit instruction of graphic organizers as an informational text reading comprehension strategy: Third-grade students' strategies and perceptions
The purpose of this case study research was to explore the effects of explicit instruction of graphic organizers to support students' understandings of informational text. An additional purpose was to investigate students' perceptions of using graphic organizers as a comprehension strategy. ^ Using case study methodology, this study occurred during 6 weeks of instruction in a third-grade classroom in a suburban school outside a large metropolitan area. The teacher-as-researcher applied purposeful sampling to obtain 6 students. Over the course of the study, the teacher-as-researcher provided daily 45-minute literacy lessons including social studies content, reading comprehension strategies, think-aloud strategies, and teacher modeling of compare/contrast graphic organizers. After whole-class lessons, students worked independently or in small groups to learn content and to practice using reading strategies and think-alouds. ^ For each of the 6 case studies, researchers collected and analyzed the following: (a) student work samples, including graphic organizers, (b) students' responses to open-ended interviews probing about graphic organizers as a comprehension strategy, (c) student reflective journals, and (d) think-aloud protocols. ^ Data were interpreted in a manner to illustrate both a "big picture" (macrostructure) and a critical analysis of individual students (microstructure). The major findings of the present study were that students seem to find graphic organizers useful, that they are able to independently use them, that they face some obstacles using them, and that they learn new concepts about informational text as a result of using graphic organizers. The case study students reported that the graphic organizers helped them to determine important information in the text. Furthermore, students pointed to graphic organizers as providing instructional strategies that assisted them in becoming diligent and purposeful readers. ^ Thus, this research adds to the body of growing evidence showing the instructional benefits of graphic organizers as a means to scaffold and support students' understandings of informational text. As such, this study extends the promising findings about the use of graphic organizers from middle schools and high schools to the elementary level. ^
Education, Elementary|Education, Social Sciences|Education, Reading
Erin Marie Fealy,
"Explicit instruction of graphic organizers as an informational text reading comprehension strategy: Third-grade students' strategies and perceptions"
(January 1, 2010).
ETD Collection for Fordham University.


There are no easy fixes for youth unemployment.
A recent report from the Brotherhood of St Lawrence points to a trebling of long-term youth unemployment since the global financial crisis. Executive director Tony Nicholson said he feared ''large numbers of long-term unemployed people [are] at risk of never getting a foothold in work, of never being able to pursue their aspirations or build a life for themselves''.
The youth unemployment rate, now 13.6 per cent, is twice the economy-wide rate, and the youth employment-to-population ratio has fallen by 10 per cent since 2008.
Getting our young back into work is not going to be easy. A combination of reforms to three areas – education policy, welfare arrangements and labour market settings – are needed to halt the rise of youth joblessness.
Nicholson's concerns on the impact of long-term joblessness are not hyperbole. Research from Gary Marks of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research on the school-to-work transition suggests that an initial period of unemployment after leaving school can scar young workers' long-term job prospects, making it harder for youth to get into work. Conversely, experience signals to employers that the job seeker can cope with the expectations of work.
Work needs to be normalised as soon as young people leave school. Constant failure in the job market decreases self-esteem and reduces the motivation to look for work. Young people can also be susceptible to depression if repeated efforts at employment are unsuccessful.
This is why it is so important to get the policy settings right. Education policy is important, but more education and training is not the panacea for youth joblessness.
Evidence suggests that greater time spent in education and training leads to higher life-time incomes. For average and high-ability students, completing year 12 substantially improves their chances in the job market. But the same results do not apply for all students.
Non-academically inclined students are unlikely to benefit from an additional two years of schooling. They would be better served by entering the labour market and using those two years to gain work experience and practical skills.
Research shows nine of 10 school leavers find full-time jobs without doing training courses, while those who opt for further training or vocational education acquire little benefit.
Employers still find that a subset young people lack adequate literacy and numeracy and so-called soft skills – discipline, maturity and an appropriate attitude. Here the government can help with targeted programs to improve literacy and numeracy skills of these job seekers. In fact, these programs already exist. In the long term, however, the overall standard of education throughout secondary school needs to be lifted.
Educational initiatives should not become a substitute for work, and this is where the design of our welfare system is important.
Following the global financial crisis, the government altered the eligibility requirements for unemployment benefits. Recipients could stay on benefits without being required to look for work so long as they enrolled in some sort of education and training. Newstart recipients can enter into work experience after 12 months and hold on to their benefits, while early school leavers who later complete year 12 (or equivalent) can continue receiving income support.
These changes made it easier for unemployed youth to continue drawing welfare benefits without actively seeking a job. Knowing the long-term effects of an early stint of joblessness, these incentives need to change if our welfare and education system is to encourage work over welfare.
Work is the primary reason students leave school early. Therefore, those who do leave should be subject to the same job search requirements as adults on Newstart. Choosing to engage in further education or training should not be a substitute for a job.
Getting the youth back into work also means the labour market must provide enough jobs. Young workers look to low-skilled work to get a foothold in the job market. Reducing the cost of unskilled labour will increase demand for young workers, and make it easier to find work. Freezing the minimum wage would help to lower
Entry-level jobs are most often in retail and hospitality, and both sectors do a large amount of business during ''non-standard'' hours – week nights, weekends and public holidays. Removing the barrier of penalty rates will offer a significant number of jobs to young workers.
Australia’s minimum wage is 54 per cent of the median wage and ranks fourth highest among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. But that is not it. The award system then builds higher and higher minimum wages above this already high level. At this level many young workers are priced out of the labour market, particularly during late nights and weekends when penalty rates apply.
There are no easy fixes for youth unemployment. We are dealing with a complex problem that will need several strategies to tackle it. But there are several reforms government can pursue to arrest rising joblessness among our youth.
Alexander Philipatos is a policy analyst at The Centre for Independent Studies


A globally acknowledged best practice in education, and awarded as a model of joint programming by the UN, Janshala covered 25 districts and reached almost three million children in nine states.
Flexible, open and decentralised, Janshala had a community-centred approach, without any rigid framework. The aim was to address state-specific needs and preserve the local flavour. Yet, the programme had one vision; that of achieving universal elementary education.
Janshala focused on establishment and training of Village Education Committees in microplanning, developing Government schools as ‘empowering community schools’ and establishment of institutions like Cluster and Block Resource.
In Janshala for the first time, five UN agencies UNICEF, UNDP, UNESCO, ILO and UNFPA joined together with the governments to improve the quality of education.


Play is the way in which children practice skills and make sense of ideas, concepts, and language. By interacting with others, children increase their understanding of ideas and concepts, become willing to try new experiences, as well as refine problem solving and language skills. Our program values this active exploration and learning.
Inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach
Kaleidoscope also incorporates inspirations from the Reggio Emilia approach. This approach is based on the following tenets:
- The child comes to us with ideas, abilities, strengths and capabilities.
- The environment should reflect the children who spend time in it. It should be filled with possibilities for children to wonder, explore, think, experiment, collaborate, create, and discover.
- Dialogue, collaboration, and relationships between parents and staff, staff and staff, as well as staff and children are important.
- Children's thinking can be expressed in many ways. This is often referred to as "100 Languages."
- Curriculum topics evolve as the year progresses. Themes and projects are chosen based on teacher provocations, as well as from the interests and developmental needs of the children. This allows for children's engagement in meaningful experiences which we know is crucial in learning.
- Experiences and processes are slowed down. Topics may last a day, a week, a month or reoccur throughout the school year. Children are encouraged to reflect, edit, amend ideas, decide what more they want to know, or revisit an idea.
We realize that there are foundational skills, abilities, concepts and ideas that children need as they move through the educational system. Introduction and practice in these are infused into all activities. They are used and refined as children play, interact, listen, sing, explore, and create.
How your child progresses
As a part-time program we have chosen to follow children's progress using portions of the Work Sampling System in these areas:
- Personal and Social Development
- Language and Literacy
- Mathematical Thinking
- Physical Development
Opportunities to explore in the areas of Art, Social Studies and Science are part of the children's experiences but are not followed and reported in the yearly narratives shared at the February or March conference.


Put students on the path towards independent reading by providing opportunities to integrate phonics instruction and reading through curriculum-related fiction and nonfiction. Students combine phonics skills with vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking to develop reading fluency. This full-color book features illustrations and photographs; students will learn about using y as a vowel and as a consonant, contractions, suffixes, vowel pairs, r-controlled words and more. Matching word-bank exercises, syllable counting, circling words with the same sounds, and writing exercises provides hands-on practice and reinforcement. 208 pages with tear-out flashcard section, softcover. Level C.
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Sent to the New York Times, April 24
Reading is about understanding, not pronouncing
A Florida State study of twins in grades 1 and 2 claimed that "Better Teachers Help Children Read Faster" (April 22).
"Better teachers" were those whose students gained more on a test of pronouncing texts rapidly and accurately, without necessarily understanding them. Instruction that prepares students for these kinds of tests consists largely of intensive, heavy phonics. Prof. Elaine Garan of California State University Fresno has shown that heavy phonics will result in better performance on tests of "decoding" (pronouncing words) but has little influence on tests requiring children to understand what they read. Performance on tests of reading comprehension is related the amount children read, not heavy phonics instruction.
Teaching children to pronounce words quickly does not mean teaching them to understand what they read. And understanding what reading is all about.
University of Southern California
Florida State study:
Taylor, J., Roehrig, A., Soden Hensler, C, Conner, M. and Schatscheider, C. 2010. Science 23: 512-514.
Little influence on tests that require understanding:
Garan, E. 2001. Beyond the smoke and mirrors: A critique of the National Reading Panel report on phonics. Phi Delta Kappan 82(7), 500-506.
Krashen, S. 2009. Does intensive reading instruction contribute to reading comprehension? Knowledge Quest 37(4), 72-74.
Related to the amount children read:
Krashen, S. 2004. The Power of Reading. Portsmouth: Heinemann and Westport: Libraries Unlimited.


Middle school is a crucial time to engage your child in learning. It is often during these years that children are either ignited by or turned off to school. If your child struggles to learn, problem solve together and get a plan in place to allow success (and confidence!) to build. Support your child outside of school and find ways to extend or enhance what he’s doing at school.
- SparkTop is a place where no two brains think alike. A place where kids who learn differently can create awesome stuff, play great games, connect with other kids and discover new ways to succeed in school and in life.”
- National Geographic Extreme is a magazine to engage and motivate even reluctant readers.
- Great site to work on nonfiction learning.
- David Adler’s picture book biography series is excellent.
Choose-your-own-adventure (CYOA) stories: To help make reading exciting, introduce your child to CYOA books. There are books with many levels (e.g., The Haunted House vs The Abominable Snowman, both by RA Montgomery). Or try out a graphic novel CYOA like Meanwhile by Jason Shina for more visual learners (and those wanting less text). Some fun online variations:
- Westward Trail: A game as much as as story!
- Narratavius Story Engine: Interactive fiction and text adventures CYOA app.
- Caves of Mull: Death, destruction, and treasure!
- Frontier Alaska: Can you survive in the Alaskan wilderness?
- Life or death: Three settings (jungle, snow or sea), three stories in this series.
- Center of the Cell: CYOA about a flu epidemic in London.
- A. Pintura, Art Detective: The case of grandpa’s painting.
- Closed Captions: Have a child who would rather watch TV than read? Let them! But turn off the sound and turn on the captions!
- Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader series: short, interesting, funny, engaging. Everything your reluctant reader could wish for. Try out this series and see if you don’t catch her reading!
- Monitoring reading comprehension strategies:
- Guys Read: Web-based literacy program to get and keep boys reading.
- BBC Bitesize KS2
- 60Second Recap: Lets you grasp the essence of great works of literature in an accessible way, to supplement your reading.
- Opposite Ocean: Work on opposites with various levels of difficulty.
- Homophone games and other grammar activities.
- Charlotte’s Web
- Build a city of the future by classifying words in a series, using context cues.
- Build corrals for cows by answering questions using context cues.
- Tikatok: Online publishing program that will walk your child through story creation to story completion. Lots of support for reluctant writers, but infinite creative possibilities as well. Free to publish online, but adding sound or purchasing a hard copy is fee-based.
- Online comics/jokes/riddles to get your child reading and thinking!:
- Metacognition practice: Learning to use thinking tools and inference is a vital skill at this age. Struggling learners often have difficulty evaluating their strategies or thinking about their thinking (metacognition). One way to practice this is with cloze activities (deleted words from a passage that the reader fills in by drawing on their knowledge of context and grammar). They have to use context cues, schema, inference (all thinking tools) to fill in the blanks that the passage makes sense. Having your child explain her choice is another metacognitive task. With Learn Click, you can create cloze activities easily for your child. There are examples on the site, so begin there. Once your child gets more skilled, have her create them for you!
- Stairway to Mathematics are resources to support children who are struggling in math. Be sure to look at the additional math resources and STEM activities.
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