Arts appear to play role in brain development

From the Baltimore Sun

Classes can change brain and the way people think

By Liz Bowie | liz.bowie@baltsun.com

May 18, 2009

For years, school systems across the nation dropped the arts to concentrate on getting struggling students to pass tests in reading and math. Yet now, a growing body of brain research suggests that teaching the arts may be good for students across all disciplines.

 

Read the rest of the article.

1 in 50 Children Homeless, Study Says

ASCD Inservice: 1 in 50 Children Homeless, Study Says.
Even if, as the post suggests, this includes children staying with relatives, it points to a serious underlying problem.

Aligning Belief & Action

From an Amy Goodman interview with Tim DeChristopher, the student in Utah who recently bid on lands that the BLM was trying to illegally auction  off for oil and gas drilling, and now faces 10 years in prison.  (My emphasis.)

“TIM DeCHRISTOPHER: I think that the most powerful relevance of Edward Abbey to what I did was his statement and really his expression of the idea that sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul, because I think that’s what I had seen throughout my work as an environmentalist previous to this, where I had seen this massive crisis and massive challenge that we were facing in climate change, and I saw that my efforts of writing the letter here and there and riding my bike and things like that weren’t really aligning. My actions weren’t aligning with my sentiment of how serious this threat was, and I knew that. And so, I felt that kind of conflict within myself.

And when I stepped it up at this auction and was putting myself out there and winning all these parcels was really the first time I felt like my sentiment—or I felt like my actions were aligning with my sentiment. And I felt this tremendous sense of calm when I started doing that, because for the first time that conflict within me was gone, and I knew that when I was, you know, standing up and risking going to prison, my actions really were aligning with how big of a crisis this is. “

 

Read the entire interview here: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/4/3/utah_student_who_prevented_bush_admin

This Thornton Community

This past Thursday evening, the school held a meeting of parents, Board members, staff and students which resulted in a display of energy and love of this school that was inspiring. Like many other events, it’s impossible to describe, through words alone, the strong presence of love and support that was felt throughout the room and the evening.

At issue was our current cash flow situation which threatened our ability to guarantee a program for next year. The result of the meeting however is that Thornton Friends School will be here next year, as well as the year after that and beyond. The issues we need to address did not magically disappear, but it is clear to me that with a group of people as dedicated as this, these obstacles will be overcome.

I believe it is true that in hard economic times, such as the one we are in now, people tend to re-assess their values. We let go of the things that perhaps in flush times we reached out for: the material goods, the diversionary times, even the relationships that may take us away from our centers. We return to home, to family and the things we truly value. We reinvest in them because we are sure of their value to us and to those we love.
Last night made clear to me that the people of Thornton Friends School are among those essential to all of us. It is with real gratitude that I find myself among a group of people committed to educating young people with a very simple idea: that those young people grow best when they are treated with respect, kindness and an underlying belief in their inherent worth and goodness.

I’m very happy to be here. I intend to remain.