Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

for, in, on, the, an, immigrant, princip, led, chat, looking, america, arizona, mission, documented, dreams, revisited, making, room, manga, living, dream, irish, phoenix, az, acceptable, harvard, crimson, summer, reading, taking, he, art, out, of, education, pure, ambition, blogroll,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (308), and (164), that (85), with (64), for (54), who (50), she (50), was (43), school (42), have (39), her (35), this (34), when (33), from (31), are (31), they (30), their (29), all (26), but (26), about (24), not (23), these (21), had (20), our (20), would (19), can (18), there (18), kids (18), students (18), what (17), college (17), will (17), dream (17), one (16), out (16), charter (15), where (15), #arizona (15), has (15), make (14), education (13), schools (13), books (13), daughter (13), his (13), phoenix (12), high (12), very (12), time (12), those (12), best (11), 2009 (11), how (11), you (11), just (11), back (11), like (10), irish (10), today (10), dreams (10), without (10), every (10), were (10), most (10), day (10), new (10), social (10), country (10), little (10), young (10), which (10), mission (10), com (9), been (9), parents (9), teacher (9), here (9), into (9), american (9), children (9), its (9), immigrant (9), comments (8), ireland (8), didn (8), leave (8), big (8), over (8), student (8), some (8), well (8), june (8), america (8), manga (8), get (7), comment (7), now (7), years (7), business (7), him (7), more (7), want (7), music (7), able (7), until (7), summer (7), living (7), them (7), reading (7), tells (7), while (7), being (7), mother (7), never (7), friends (7), harvard (7), act (7), woman (7), wordpress (6), card (6), northern (6), year (6), old (6), why (6), attend (6), before (6), recall (6), going (6), good (6), take (6), own (6), know (6), find (6), after (6), teachers (6), pages (6), many (6), could (6), principal (6), class (6), several (6), read (6), only (6), crimson (6), security (6), immigration (6), 300 (6), state (6), feed (5), told (5), pure (5), tell (5), did (5), then (5), later (5), arts (5), sure (5), orchestra (5), traditional (5), heart (5), life (5), always (5), don (5), even (5), also (5), having (5), art (5), than (5), book (5), two (5), quite (5), got (5), must (5), much (5), last (5), white (5), learning (5), child (5), other (5), comic (5), nurse (5), help (5), need (5), sharpton (5), early (5), japanese (5), subscribe (4), princip (4), led (4), chat (4), women (4), principals (4), asked (4), freshman (4), part (4), come (4), lessons (4), fletcher (4), played (4), violin (4), long (4), given (4), knew (4), because (4), morning (4), yet (4), ask (4), black (4), something (4), mind (4), public (4), trying (4), almost (4), entire (4), ever (4), any (4), still (4), home (4), library (4), color (4), comics (4), far (4), july (4), free (4), work (4), reality (4), really (4), should (4), teaching (4), place (4), months (4), land (4), first (4), citizen (4), comes (4), across (4), beef (4), corned (4), cabbage (4), kind (4), left (4), future (4), number (4), king (4), hope (4), undocumented (4), tomorrow (4), same (4), become (4), fact (4), literature (4), status (4), appropriate (4), required (3), log (3), sign (3), already (3), account (3), sense (3), ted (3), citizens (3), intentions (3), reminded (3), anything (3), wonder (3), goals (3), talking (3), may (3), uncategorized (3), rest (3), miss (3), full (3), head (3), band (3), born (3), made (3), town (3), week (3), trip (3), opportunity (3), president (3), down (3), remember (3), realized (3), wouldn (3), girl (3), playing (3), quietly (3), along (3), protestants (3), rich (3), each (3), access (3), won (3), way (3), hired (3), might (3), group (3), family (3), room (3), success (3), better (3), your (3), airborn (3), brother (3), again (3), resilient (3), important (3), august (3), myself (3), current (3), studies (3), event (3), history (3), see (3), further (3), around (3), campus (3), watch (3), bring (3), weeks (3), bookcase (3), house (3), variety (3), hand (3), too (3), emblazoned (3), happy (3), ago (3), whose (3), keep (3), doing (3), outdoor (3), loud (3), anyone (3), 140 (3), four (3), grow (3), beautiful (3), worked (3), unlike (3), requires (3), green (3), cannot (3), flag (3), married (3), bit (3), line (3), apple (3), driver (3), whom (3), face (3), disappointed (3), proposition (3), jobs (3), vote (3), documented (3), shadows (3), called (3), legalize (3), project (3), horizonte (3), prop (3), fape (3), people (3), community (3), ayp (3), measure (3), statements (3), site (2), name (2), write (2), bar (2), manage (2), report (2), content (2), subscribed (2), entries (2), stop (2), hate (2), show (2), red (2), page (2), girls (2), great (2), kid (2), owner (2), aspire (2), job (2), prep (2), ambition (2), families (2), instrument (2), thought (2), concert (2), choir (2), accompanied (2), piano (2), musical (2), clearly (2), wasn (2), gifted (2), anna (2), father (2), purchased (2), question (2), play (2), conductor (2), died (2), mrs (2), between (2), particular (2), east (2), berlin (2), tear (2), passport (2), tour (2), hear (2), belfast (2), brilliant (2), mistake (2), otherwise (2), outside (2), north (2), ulster (2), brought (2), bus (2), antrim (2), catholics (2), offer (2), someone (2), easy (2), breaks (2), chorus (2), themselves (2), hopefully (2), under (2), interested (2), club (2), disheartening (2), taught (2), national (2), grade (2), nor (2), annual (2), culture (2), staying (2), liaison (2), recruit (2), barrage (2), questions (2), nose (2), chapters (2), informs (2), chapter (2), complete (2), road (2), sam (2), dead (2), amazon (2), momma (2), open (2), educational (2), past (2), adventures (2), acquired (2), skills (2), biblical (2), values (2), admit (2), rather (2), barely (2), placed (2), order (2), parent (2), wear (2), events (2), course (2), watched (2), planet (2), earth (2), devoted (2), deep (2), sea (2), desert (2), opening (2), egypt (2), financial (2), huck (2), finn (2), odyssey (2), however (2), church (2), grasp (2), shakespeare (2), sadly (2), done (2), table (2), occurred (2), mine (2), alarmed (2), game (2), words (2), delivered (2), santa (2), sit (2), shop (2), enid (2), blyton (2), five (2), provided (2), hours (2), delight (2), working (2), nancy (2), kept (2), choose (2), television (2), include (2), inside (2), van (2), couple (2), guiness (2), door (2), salesman (2), superman (2), situation (2), faculty (2), list (2), recruitment (2), mall (2), went (2), youth (2), mattress (2), schedule (2), curriculum (2), making (2), hands (2), pointed (2), logo (2), shared (2), colors (2), think (2), share (2), seating (2), preparing (2), means (2), wrong (2), nervousness (2), true (2), infrastructure (2), curricular (2), classrooms (2), equipped (2), understand (2), superintendent (2), assessment (2), development (2), charters (2), since (2), held (2), spirit (2), undaunted (2), remain (2), hard (2), doesn (2), numbers (2), thinking (2), carried (2), border (2), allegiance (2), united (2), states (2), volunteers (2), likes (2), feel (2), following (2), york (2), butchers (2), patrick (2), holiday (2), pub (2), byrne (2), thing (2), expect (2), takes (2), man (2), issues (2), ring (2), lucky (2), county (2), bono (2), joyce (2), yeats (2), idea (2), seems (2), anti (2), march (2), sight (2), washing (2), eats (2), spent (2), former (2), pursue (2), scholarships (2), 000 (2), nine (2), digits (2), license (2), drive (2), mexico (2), hang (2), thank (2), city (2), award (2), step (2), breaking (2), silence (2), steps (2), soil (2), hearts (2), belongs (2), dreamers (2), civil (2), rights (2), deferred (2), disappointment (2), resident (2), insurance (2), war (2), choice (2), live (2), afraid (2), forced (2), speech (2), gave (2), mlk (2), breakfast (2), came (2), republic (2), yesterday (2), hillary (2), shirts (2), bearing (2), let (2), decision (2), pay (2), sat (2), needs (2), program (2), article (2), xenophobia (2), worse (2), bitz (2), plan (2), story (2), narratives (2), plot (2), thousands (2), reveals (2), case (2), isn (2), backs (2), http (2), continue (2), regardless (2), does (2), focus (2), funded (2), advantage (2), missions (2), according (2), progress (2), academic (2), achievement (2), math (2), graduation (2), learners (2), post (2), secondary (2), civic (2), career (2), beyond (2), lifelong (2), thinks (2), started, design, website, email, loading, collapse, subscriptions, view, reader, privacy, ben, eastaugh, chris, sternal, johnson, blog, previous, create, org, international, diaspora, connectivity, ideas, worth, spreading, racism, borders, south, wales, joanne, jacobs, grassroots, leadership, global, network, change, eduwonk, discover, barriozona, blogroll, conversation, ten, sees, himself, crumbling, economy, various, examples, folks, bernie, madoff, maybe, redirect, inspire, prevent, calamity, half, century, truly, fledgling, private, afford, aghast, shake, recording, karaoke, conducting, section, favorite, string, quartets, musician, next, clifford, lowry, brian, mcateer, padraig, brien, outstanding, musicians, soared, nonetheless, relation, instruments, grandfather, inheritance, used, purchase, drove, neighboring, mckittrick, system, visit, reagan, mikhail, gorbachev, wall, checkpoint, charlie, stamp, sad, felt, guide, west, mendelssohn, concerto, minor, soloist, sheila, brown, amazing, bawdy, embarrassing, tune, mistakes, yell, jump, second, symphony, saturday, grammar, poor, appreciate, likely, hopeful, unless, guidance, happen, recorder, individual, itinerant, trips, europe, stay, nice, learn, culminates, rehearsals, forest, region, harpsichord, owned, stradavarius, greg, trusty, side, kick, erstwhile, ourselves, responses, taking, spend, counted, 501, 211, latter, suffice, fortnight, delaying, agony, calculating, california, hah, poetic, mailman, arrived, packages, moving, blithely, unaware, cheated, socially, adept, tourist, eleven, tried, montessori, drink, serving, flight, attendant, parochial, proselytizing, allusions, lice, small, liberal, feeling, smug, informed, mandatory, assignment, contain, logged, wanting, hell, hat, broached, possibility, lesson, cover, adoption, january, significant, inauguration, african, conspiratorially, forgot, copier, busted, series, computer, highly, acclaimed, divided, parts, jungle, plains, arctic, conveniently, fill, period, replay, irony, middle, historic, presidential, election, immersed, textbook, covering, greece, obama, sworn, running, toga, crafted, sheet, piece, rope, grip, massive, meltdown, pharaohs, ate, dinner, applying, cherry, crush, polish, toenails, completed, 6th, grand, total, cay, abridged, version, classmates, movie, versions, regret, supposed, ran, delightful, fern, gully, mulan, prince, coraline, hatchet, confident, conversations, heroines, thomas, hardy, novels, illusions, plays, poetry, eliot, encounters, works, towards, helping, establish, kitchen, consider, chore, cajoling, bribing, promise, electronic, minutes, realize, unthinkable, expansive, vocabulary, gleaned, copy, dicken, nintendo, cube, wii, touch, painstakingly, collected, untouched, bookcases, curiosity, thanks, prolific, author, company, famous, attended, posh, boarding, clare, malory, towers, written, late, 1940, convinced, lambasted, politically, incorrect, sexist, reinforcing, gender, stereotypes, escapism, enlightened, self, criticize, sacrilege, drew, night, chickenpox, ilk, insane, boredom, remembers, habit, during, beg, eason, bookshop, fail, including, truth, admonished, neither, borrower, lender, borrow, loan, add, print, environment, three, channels, bbc1, bbc, recreational, options, expanding, channel, commercials, edgy, pushing, envelope, preferred, stuck, watching, field, dublin, borrowed, eastern, board, parked, corner, newspaper, boy, lanky, hugh, mcgarry, magazines, girly, christmas, claus, selection, annuals, hardback, compilations, features, crawled, attic, probably, records, leather, bound, set, encyclopedia, britannica, circa, 1970, spiderman, dandy, beano, bunty, judy, jackie, mandy, twinkle, 2004, cast, net, wide, showing, swap, meets, churches, 4th, celebrations, wearing, shirt, noticed, hanging, descend, upon, brochures, exciting, urban, buying, supine, firm, queen, aged, bought, enrolled, spite, panicking, whether, projected, enrollment, master, look, textbooks, ordered, 11th, real, met, son, spoke, informing, sound, headed, fat, teachable, moments, marquee, tables, understood, intersection, 38th, maryland, avenues, empowering, enabling, pride, decided, colleges, opted, perks, decisions, yourself, contemplating, schedules, electives, 200, sometimes, 10th, graders, begin, together, support, hiring, slowly, inspirational, eager, helped, extra, programming, custodian, secretary, smart, boards, laptops, waiting, friday, installed, behavior, hats, assistant, finance, chauffeur, substitute, director, test, coordinator, fundraiser, maker, forms, enjoy, operate, six, kicking, 1995, estimated, count, projections, guesses, actually, huge, leaps, faith, generation, prepare, mental, note, citizenship, criterion, lie, remind, aloft, proud, wallet, such, passes, hold, deference, embrace, fulfill, aspiring, intelligent, few, pledged, hospice, valley, others, struggling, abcs, babies, luck, fronts, guilty, laws, changed, simply, put, overstayed, visa, stint, upstate, camp, counselor, sirloin, stewart, sawdust, floor, striped, aprons, fried, bacon, golden, religious, uncommon, shamrocks, wilting, buttonholes, suits, neighbors, mass, bother, admittedly, deteriorated, crawl, older, training, ballymena, publican, shot, death, wife, pulled, stops, stew, reminiscent, maureen, hara, john, wayne, scarf, quiet, lamb, onions, carrots, potatoes, bland, tastebuds, combined, aromatic, turf, fire, hot, whiskey, mickey, tin, whistle, bold, flavor, americans, loved, bitter, tonight, lonesome, boatman, halloween, childhood, produce, tart, baked, marry, likewise, widely, belief, peeled, threw, peel, shoulder, shape, initial, love, digress, freckles, pre, requisite, hair, remnants, accent, liam, neeson, riverdance, cranberries, chieftains, sinead, connor, oscar, wilde, george, bernard, shaw, james, sean, casey, seamus, heaney, morrison, god, sake, nobel, prizewinners, tempers, wild, unraveling, atmosphere, everybody, 17th, bemused, plastic, paddys, mugs, beer, windy, afternoon, decent, pint, seriously, charms, cereal, spring, soap, nursing, degree, short, semester, lacks, possible, difference, enable, apply, dishes, depressants, realizing, except, baby, payments, inexcusable, obscene, acceptable, closing, martin, luther, celebration, committee, bottom, human, relations, commission, equal, department, courage, presenting, lawyers, engineers, doctors, listen, marvel, resilience, men, taken, pledge, known, dedication, gratitude, risen, challenges, faced, prestigious, tireless, courageous, champions, brave, manuel, carmen, marcos, amanda, maria, genie, hector, zavaleta, fifty, protecting, quindlen, says, talked, described, needy, dreamed, basically, exercise, gratification, finite, infinite, among, recently, adversity, limited, senate, willing, discard, import, professionals, countries, talented, qualified, missing, beat, said, off, start, legal, health, savings, soon, daughters, sons, through, fault, lack, documentation, pursuit, happiness, immigrants, collateral, damage, harden, diminish, possibilities, narrow, join, openly, celebrate, legacy, dug, 2008, signs, finally, glad, voices, oprah, linda, valdez, mexicans, clinton, kennedy, holding, imperative, chances, donning, mexians, slim, carry, renew, taxes, conscience, process, available, tended, lawns, neighborhood, sadness, flew, address, crisis, policy, brandy, baron, loser, mail, received, 2007, column, absolutely, loss, prevented, using, funds, component, picked, phone, contacted, sympathetic, montini, agreed, naive, level, exists, wholly, unprepared, poured, blogosphere, hatred, rev, gun, organize, freedom, rides, loves, fear, travesty, tragedy, infants, meaning, denied, arpaio, michael, founder, gobsmacked, close, stylized, artwork, honorifics, explained, importance, adding, san, sama, dono, suffixes, indicate, relationship, society, impressed, explanation, stratification, groups, individuals, information, virtual, cartoon, shelves, pretentious, devotion, craft, evident, dismissed, elaborate, doodling, recent, starting, learned, bookbinding, translated, reads, backwards, everyday, vicissitudes, transformed, authentic, writing, theme, elements, expected, turns, engaged, 2001, created, writers, improving, word, syntax, crafting, whimsical, stories, develop, difficult, teach, voice, typically, give, nicknames, phrases, quick, consultation, expert, indeed, sigh, roll, eyes, sasori, rikku, tomoko, thickens, eally, othello, snob, stack, beach, collection, aging, undeniably, spines, names, wordsworth, keats, trevor, intents, purposes, literary, canon, cynicism, letter, www, azcentral, 12news, news, articles, documenteddreams01082008, html, vodpod, 1867044, pod, ywatterson, missed, appeared, times, talk, dilemma, noemi, station, silhouette, keeps, knowledge, pediatrician, care, grandchild, voted, pass, makes, graduate, safe, lawyer, surely, flies, file, complaint, certainly, removal, proceedings, dismayed, disheartened, federal, law, guarantees, plethora, run, gamut, driven, things, differs, sponsored, nfl, say, fits, rub, referendum, overwhelmingly, approved, voters, november, 2006, provides, university, permanent, residents, lawful, ineligible, tuition, aid, subsidized, monies, modern, pip, desperately, seeking, magwitch, benefactor, successful, discriminate, against, minors, denying, right, attendance, blue, sponsor, bright, spending, mexican, exhausted, longer, innocent, toddler, took, considered, illegal, alien, peers, graduated, landed, trendy, mac, store, local, starbucks, depended, kindness, strangers, cash, transported, easily, licenses, stings, credits, accumulated, cost, virtue, birthplace, founded, 2003, encountered, earnest, wants, hardworking, cleans, hotel, rooms, boss, papers, granted, proof, forth, goes, sunday, misses, lives, deported, infant, arms, revisited, counterparts, measured, extent, revered, instead, evaluated, adequate, yearly, determined, rate, disaggregate, data, different, subgroups, native, asian, hispanic, english, language, economically, disadvantaged, disabilities, statewide, benchmarks, humanity, commitment, readiness, stuff, cards, engraved, welcome, perhaps, expand, definition, inherent, determine, asking, tested, literate, humane, minded, beginning, fall, 2013, ecap, prior, bare, minimum, track, extracurricular, activity, involves, goal, setting, reflecting, matters, burgeoning, movement, boasts, 213, alone, alongside, directors, eclectic, 500, facility, rising, elegantly, foothills, innocuously, squeezed, storefront, space, strip, single, attribute, apparently, clear, purpose, perusal, prominent, classroom, graduates, desire, prepared, workforce, productive, strengthened, moral, ethical, forward, instructional, looking,

Text of the page (random words):
d in an exciting new opportunity for urban youth in phoenix i recall buying a mattress and while supine on a firm queen i asked the salesman if he had any high school aged kids who might want to attend my school i bought the mattress the kid enrolled charter school principals understand this behavior traditional school principals not so much not having to wear the many hats of superintendent assistant superintendent for curriculum assessment finance development as well as nurse chauffeur substitute teacher development director test coordinator fundraiser and maker of forms traditional principals enjoy an infrastructure without which most charters operate but this time i have support and infrastructure in place i m hiring slowly so far i have four faculty each inspirational and eager to make history with this new charter along with a student success liaison who s helped with recruitment and extra curricular programming i have a custodian a secretary and a beautiful campus classrooms equipped with smart boards students with laptops waiting and last friday our outdoor seating was installed and reminded me of why we re here the outdoor seating is the color of crimson the color of harvard i d decided that if we were going to be a college prep school we really should be preparing kids for the best of college the best of colleges so i opted for harvard crimson as our school color one of the perks of being in a charter school before you ve hired anyone is that you get to make these big decisions all by yourself the logo the school colors the schedule i m contemplating a variety of schedules so far one for 140 kids with four teachers one for 140 kids with five teachers which means they ll get electives one for 200 kids with 8 teachers i wonder sometimes if i was wrong not to recruit 10th graders but i know that s the nervousness talking to be true to our mission it is best to begin with freshman kids and we ll grow a culture of teaching and learning together back to harvard several weeks ago i met with a family whose 14 year old son told me that it is his dream to attend harvard he spoke quietly informing me that he didn t want to sound big headed as if this dream was too good for him and in my hands was one of those big fat teachable moments that keep us all doing what we do i pointed out our crimson marquee our crimson logo our crimson outdoor tables and asked him if he knew that we shared the colors of his dream school no he didn t but he got it he understood that at the intersection of 38th and maryland avenues we are in the business of going after big dreams by empowering rather than enabling kids who might not otherwise think they can share their dreams of harvard out loud with pride and in spite of all the panicking about whether we ll make the projected enrollment or what the master schedule will look like and how we ll get the textbooks ordered before july 1 and the curriculum in order for august 11th i m back to the real work making college education a reality summer reading june 5 2009 in summer reading leave a comment i was one of those children who preferred staying inside with my nose stuck in a book to watching television or playing on the field outside our house on the dublin road i borrowed books from the north eastern education and library board van that parked around the corner every couple of weeks the newspaper boy a lanky hugh mcgarry delivered a variety of magazines the twinkle when i was little and then later the bunty the judy the jackie the mandy a ll very girly my little brother on the other hand got comics the beano and the dandy superman and spiderman every christmas santa claus would leave a selection of annuals for us hardback compilations of the comic s best features i m quite sure i could find these if i crawled into the attic of my parent s house in ireland too i d probably find several guiness books of records as well as the leather bound set of the encyclopedia britannica which had been purchased by my parents from a door to door salesman circa 1970 add to this print rich environment three black and white tv channels from which to choose ulster television bbc1 and bbc and you have my recreational options as a child later expanding to include channel 4 its color commercials and edgy content pushing the envelope i always had books in my bookcase including some that never made it back to the library if truth be told admonished by my mother s neither a borrower nor a lender be it never occurred to me to borrow from or loan books to my friends the adventures of nancy drew kept me up at night and when i had chickenpox nancy and her ilk kept me from going insane with boredom my mother still remembers being barely able to feed my reading habit during the weeks i was home from school i d beg her to go into town to eason s bookshop to bring me more books which she did without fail thanks to the prolific children s author enid blyton i was never without company my best friends were her famous five and her girls who attended the posh boarding schools st clare s and malory towers written in the late 1940 s i m quite convinced her books would be lambasted today as politically incorrect and sexist reinforcing class and gender stereotypes but they provided hours and hours of delight and pure escapism for a working class girl in northern ireland i just can t bring my enlightened self to criticize enid blyton that would be sacrilege given all of this it never occurred to me that any of child of mine would consider reading a chore i m alarmed to find myself cajoling and bribing my daughter with the promise of a new electronic game if only she would read for 20 minutes even more alarmed to realize just how little she has read in her young life unthinkable to me she has an expansive vocabulary words gleaned not from a copy of dicken s old curiosity shop delivered to me by santa when i was 10 but from the nintendo ds a game cube a wii an i touch the books painstakingly collected by me over the years sit untouched in their bookcases there will be i m quite confident no deep conversations with my daughter about the heroines of thomas hardy s novels we don t go to church so she won t grasp all the biblical illusions in the plays of shakespeare or the poetry of t s eliot that is of course if she ever encounters these brilliant works her teachers sadly have done little if anything towards helping me establish our very own mother daughter book club around the kitchen table i realized this morning while she was applying cherry crush polish to my toenails that my daughter has just completed the 6th grade having read a grand total of two books huck finn and the cay and an abridged version of the odyssey along with her gifted classmates she has watched the movie versions of huck finn hatchet and the odyssey she tells me with some regret that they were supposed to watch coraline but the teacher ran out of time they did however have time to watch mulan the prince of egypt and the delightful fern gully almost conspiratorially she tells me that when her teacher forgot to do something or when the copier was busted the class watched planet earth better yet they got to see the entire series while her teacher played on her computer further she tells me that the highly acclaimed planet earth is divided into several parts devoted to the jungle the deep sea the desert plains and the arctic conveniently each of these can fill almost an entire class period as i replay the last year in my head i recall with some irony that when the country was in the middle of a historic presidential election my daughter s class was immersed in the opening chapters of the new social studies textbook covering egypt and greece when president obama was being sworn in my daughter was running around her campus in a toga crafted by me from a white sheet and a piece of rope when the country was in the grip of a massive financial meltdown my daughter was learning about what the pharaohs ate for dinner not wanting to be the parent from hell and trying not to wear my principal s hat i had broached with her teacher the possibility of a current events lesson or two well there was just so much to cover in the new social studies adoption that we wouldn t be able to get to current events until january this of course would be after the most significant current event in the country s history the inauguration of an african american president and so we are moving on to a new school again blithely unaware of how she has been cheated my daughter is quite resilient and socially adept having been something of an educational tourist over the past eleven years we ve tried them all two montessori adventures where she acquired the drink serving skills of a flight attendant parochial where there was some proselytizing but i didn t mind because of those all important biblical allusions public where she got lice a small charter no music no art and public again come august she will attend a school that values a liberal arts education i must admit to feeling rather smug when i informed her of the mandatory summer reading assignment i could barely contain myself as i logged into amazon com and placed the order for my brother sam is dead and airborn hah poetic the mailman just arrived with two packages from amazon com momma momma my books are here can i just tear it open it s my books she has already counted the pages 501 in airborn a nd 211 in m y brother sam is dead there are 14 chapters in the latter she informs me so one chapter a day will suffice to complete it in a fortnight delaying the agony of airborn she is already calculating how many pages she can manage on our annual road trip to california no better way to spend a summer than with your nose in a book taking the he art out of education may 30 2009 in arts in education 14 comments when greg my trusty side kick erstwhile student success liaison go out to recruit students we always find ourselves having to come up with disheartening responses to the barrage of questions about music and the arts will there be band what about art will you offer chorus as someone who has always had easy access to the arts it breaks my heart to know that most likely these hopeful kids won t have band or chorus unless they find a way to do it themselves hopefully under the guidance of an as yet to be hired teacher who might just happen to be interested in an after school club more disheartening for me is that these kids don t even know to ask about orchestra choir a recorder group or individual music lessons taught by itinerant teachers who also played in a national orchestra all that i had when i was in grade school in northern ireland nor do they ask about annual summer trips to europe where they stay with a nice family learn about the culture the trip culminates with a concert after a week of rehearsals i remember staying with a family in the black forest region they had a harpsichord in their living room and the father owned a stradavarius violin i played second violin in the north east ulster schools symphony orchestra along with students who were brought by bus from all over northern ireland every saturday morning to antrim grammar school catholics and protestants rich and poor each with full access to the very best of a musical education i didn t appreciate it until now when i can t offer it to my own students i recall one trip in particular where we had the opportunity to visit east berlin long before president reagan told mikhail gorbachev to tear down that wall i remember the checkpoint charlie stamp in my passport and how sad i felt when i realized that our tour guide wouldn t be able to come to west berlin to hear us play mendelssohn s violin concerto in e minor the soloist was sheila brown a belfast girl and she was amazing i remember our conductor mr fletcher brilliant bawdy and given to embarrassing us when we were out of tune he knew when we were playing quietly because we didn t want him to hear our mistakes he d yell if you re going to make a mistake make it a good one otherwise take that instrument outside and jump on it before i was born my father had purchased a violin so there was no question that i would play nonetheless our music teacher miss fletcher no relation to the conductor would have made sure that we all had instruments when my grandfather died part of the inheritance was used to purchase a piano and my parents drove me to a neighboring town every week for lessons with mrs mckittrick between my parents and the school system there was no question that music would be a big part of my life i wasn t a gifted musician but when i played in that orchestra next to clifford lowry brian mcateer and padraig and anna o brien outstanding irish traditional musicians my heart soared mr and miss fletcher would i m sure be aghast at the very thought of a school without a full orchestra i shake my head every time i attend a school concert where the choir is accompanied by a recording it s like karaoke for kids in school where is miss fletcher conducting from her piano and why is band the musical section that is clearly the favorite where are the string quartets where is the music in phoenix it s at arizona school for the arts a charter school for the rest of us it s in private lessons for families who can t afford the instrument and the lessons there is no music pure ambition may 29 2009 in uncategorized leave a comment truly the best part of my job is talking to kids and their parents talking about their dreams their goals why they want to come to my school a fledgling college prep charter school in phoenix today i had a great conversation with a 14 year old kid who told me that ten years from now he sees himself as a business owner with pure intentions when i asked him to tell me more he reminded me of our crumbling economy and various examples of business folks who have been anything but pure in their intentions and so i wonder about bernie madoff what goals did he have as a freshman in high school did he aspire to be a business owner with pure intentions maybe if he didn t then who was there to redirect to inspire to prevent a calamity half a century later blogroll barriozona charter schools charter schools discover northern ireland education for all northern ireland eduwonk girls for a change phoenix global citizens network grassroots leadership joanne jacobs no borders south wales principals page show racism the red card ted ideas worth spreading the irish diaspora and a sense of connectivity we can stop the hate women for women international wordpress com wordpress org create account log in entries feed comments feed wordpress com previous entries blog at wordpress com ben eastaugh and chris sternal johnson subscribe to feed subscribe subscribed princip led chat sign me up already have a wordpress com account log in now privacy princip led chat subscribe subscribed sign up log in report this content view site in reader m...