Friends & Colleagues [view: normal]

This was a response to an article about the need for merit pay and Charter Schools. Really !Who will teach the unteachable? The criminals? I had them in my class. How do you measure success? Good grades? Good citizens? I would love to see what the religious (Charter Schools) would do with an atheist. Should they deny funding rather than accepting an atheist? How about the unmotivated?

This is an article recently published in the FACCC Journal. Imagine the instability at the point of the big bang -- transition at the speed of light. I have been at smaller big bang moments in which an idea gives birth to a new endeavor that requires a new process. Over time as the process grows and thrives I've watched the progenitors gradually pushed aside because of their creative

We are a part of a great ensemble. Our instrument chimes at just the right time to add our voice in the texture of the symphony. One thread in the tapestry of life that clings artfully to those around it through a series of interweaving loops, wraps, and knots. A fiber of gold next to a fiber of green; blue and yellow blending with red and brown. The richness of the tapestry, the depth and

Dave and I just got back from Minneapolis at a MERLOT conference and Dave raised the idea that this national group of educators covering most disciplines in higher education should be a policy making group. Why not produce a Merlot report on the state of education in America. The discussion moved to possible topics. Dave hit it out of the park. He wants to investigate the child that is left

Listening to Obama's speech in Berlin today I remember the same kind of inviting global perspective years ago when I was in college. I was in the marching band at Berkeley and we were having a bonfire rally (yes for the football team). I was back stage in the outdoor theater waiting to go in. Just a few feet away was Bobbie Kennedy. I could feel the heat of this man. He came out and spoke

The World Music online course is developing well. The main authors are such pros. Their expertises do not parallel as much as overlap. One has taught the course for several years and one editor/author has a honest love for the musics and cultures and has lived in many of these countries. The third is a world authority in several cultures and is a complete academic. Dave and I are

Who would have thunk it. We (Dave and I and wives and friends) are in Steamboat Springs, CO just to experience the hot springs and the high country. At 5 am it started to snow. It is June and was 80 degrees yesterday. Love it -- snowed in in June. So what do you do in June when it snows? You make little snowmen and put them on the railing of the balcony. That is what you do. Don

I have been thinking about starting a think tank (now that I am retired and dangerous as Lisa says). It should be an educational think tank that is free from the pressures of tenure, bureaucracy, educational fads, program building, or career building. Look what has come out of political groups that have failed from the beginning -- no child left behind. What a disaster. I have lived through

This year Don, Jeff and I organized with some insider students a secret concert. To attend you had to figure out when and where it was to be. We tried to deconstruct the normal composer/performer roles as well as redefine venue to include electronic media. Basically, the multimedia students became the composers for the music students who worked with them to draft definitions for musical

Before I retired and now, after it has begun, I faced one question over and over again. "What are you going to do when you retire?" Not having a great response to this I kept saying that "I will continue to produce online course and authoring some of them as well." "For fun?" "Yes and for money." I would respond. Well I am now sitting around thinking of what I will really do now that I

Yes, Both Don and I are retiring at the same time. Weird! The most memorable moment was when we were being reprocessed as part time teachers (now that we have retired from full time teaching). We had to show our Social Security Card and a Passport to prove that we were citizens for Home Land Security. I guess you are a lot more dangerous as a part time teacher than a full time teacher.

Well, I have been retired for one week now. Interesting perspective. I had a dream the other night and it was all about organizing a student recruiting activity in Studio A. This is crazy -- I don't even have a key to the new building any more. Looking for a new vision I sat down at the piano and played a Duke Ellington song "In a Sentimental Mood." It was really enjoyable. I am going to

Well, I have been retired for one week now. Interesting perspective. I had a dream the other night and it was all about organizing a student recruiting activity in Studio A. This is crazy -- I don't even have a key to the new building any more. Looking for a new vision I sat down at the piano and played a Duke Ellington song "In a Sentimental Mood." It was really enjoyable. I am going to

I first heard it when I entered the post office. Someone was humming a song I looked, and the young woman had no earphones. She was actually making music on her own with no external prompts. Music was springing forth from her, and I recognized the tune. Surely a kindred spirit! How long has it been since I have heard just a regular person make music? We hum or tap along with some other

Weird, I just went into the lab at school and the students there were all working on something different. They all had different needs. I floated around from problem to problem. We all know that teaching that is effective -- its all about sharing. After a little time the students were sharing with each other and did not need me as much. Those who gave received more than those who received.

Heather, Why should the elephants have all the fun? Creating art has been made to be such a mystery. I wish I could draw (maybe I can), I can sing, play instruments, I wish I could dance (maybe I can). It is so amazing that the elephants do not see the "art" of the experts because they would probably stop from embarrassment. Why do we spend so much money on the art of elephants? (Speak for

There is a remarkable YouTube video that shows elephants in Thailand painting self portraits. It is a must see. Zoo trainers in Thailand have actually taught elephants to paint pictures of flowers and portraits of other elephants.  Zoo trainers in America and elsewhere are following suit, however many trainers here prefer to let their elephants paint "abstract" art.  These portraits are selling

It is interesting that we have candidates that are new to our electoral system. I don't care if one is half black/half white or the other a woman. I want to know if they can sing, dance, be expressive. Obama is a great speaker but can he sing? Are his words his own? Don't they all have speech writers? It would be wonderful to see a candidate be openly expressive to the masses. To much to

A sound recording was found that predates Edison.New York Times Article This device did not play back the music only record a visual symbol of the sound. A quote in that article: “There is a yawning epistemic gap between us and Léon Scott, because he thought that the way one gets to the truth of sound is by looking at it,” said Jonathan Sterne, a professor at McGill University in Montreal and

This last week has been more than interesting. If you take the delivery techniques of all concerned, they are across the map. Hillary has a harshness to it -- maybe just her voice on a mic. McCain is so soporific he could be talking about anything to anyone -- even when it is about winning a war. Obama has the eloquence we have not heard in many years. I would love to see how listeners would

I'm watching the Sarah Brightman special and she has a great voice but so often sings in this microphone enhanced intimacy that I find absolutely boring. She is singing in St. Stevenskirche. The setting is great but the music doesn't live up to the setting. The human voice is amazing and when it is compromised by artificial amplification we lose its magical human connection. Its like the

I'm currently listening to the soundtrack from the movie Across the Universe. If you haven't seen the movie yet, I would recommend it. I was intrigued. It takes Beatles songs and through different orchestrations, harmonies, and performances, fits them into its storyline. Like Moulin Rouge, I was impressed with the orchestrations and how the music coincided with the storyline and aesthetic

Alright, this blog is authored by five musicians and one dancer. I, as the outspoken dancer, am willing to begin the discussion, but I leave it up to the experts to duke it out. Three words. . . "Yes We Can" Check it out if you haven't seen it yet. Regardless of political affiliation, it is well worth experiencing the invisible yet tangible power of music. http://my.barackobama.com/page/

This spring Dave and I decided to migrate from ETUDES (a Learning Management System) that a friend of mine had written to Moodle which is an open source LMS. Well the temptation to revise and update the content at the same time have overtaken us. Well we are close. Every time we tackle such a huge migration we say "for the last time". Well, after doing this kind of thing so many times I think

I remember when living in England that I was teased for my white socks. I think more than the wardrobe is the sense of entitlement that most Americans have while traveling. There have been many times while traveling in Europe that I have been absolutely embarrassed to be American. I remember one woman in a train in Italy almost twenty years ago complaining to my mother that no one knows how to