Conferencing in Times Square

Spent the weekend at the AATE/ATHE Risking Innovation conference at the Marriot. Met some great folks, like Michael Wiggins of the ATA Blog, and attended some fun and provocative workshops from The New Victory and Creative Arts Team, to name a few. Plan to jot down some of my notes down here soon.

Also, gearing up to begin teaching "for real" this fall... teaching artist turns elementary special education teacher. Making the leap, but still blogging arts in ed, just with a new perspective.

Check this out:
Rethinking Schools Resources on Rethinking Early Childhood Education

By the way, if the Obama's choose this education for their girls, shouldn't everyone have the opportunity to have a holistic education?

Call for Submissions: Rethinking Social Justice in Education

The A.R.E. (Association of Raza Educators) 3rd Annual Conference is accepting proposals. The theme is "Rethinking Social Justice in Education: Ser Pueblo, Hacer Pueblo, y Estar Con El Pueblo"

February 28, 2009
Santee Education Complex
1921 Maple Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90011

The theme of the 3rd Annual A.R.E. conference, "Rethinking Social Justice: *Ser Pueblo, Hacer Pueblo, y Estar con el Pueblo*," engages with the problematic of how social justice movements can build sustainable communities of resistance. What is the role of educators and students in building community and organization with the people, *el pueblo*? How can educators build relations of solidarity with *el pueblo* within/against the colonial State?

Speakers will include:

• Omali Yeshitela, Chairman, African People's Socialist Party
  
• Donaldo Macedo, Professor, University of Massachusetts
  
• Sakeenah Shabazz, President, African Revolution Student Organization

Educational Leadership Conference at Yale

Levers for Change

Hosted by The Yale School of Management
Friday, February 13th, 2009 at The Omni Hotel in New Haven, CT

Features:

• Dennis Walcott, Deputy Mayor of Education and Community Development, New York City
  
• Roland Fryer, Economist and Professor, Harvard University (this guy)
  

Panelists Include:

• Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent Education
  
• Norman Atkins, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Teacher U
  
• Amy McIntosh, Chief Talent Officer, NYCDOE
  
• Michael Bennet, Superintendent, Denver Public Schools
  
• Gillian Smith, Chief Marketing Officer, Teach for America
  

It's sponsored by The Broad Foundation, The Charter Oak Challenge Foundation, and ConnCAN.

Definitely the corporate-leaning side of ed reform folks...

Beyond Tolerance Workshop: May 31

The New York Collective of Radical Educators is sponsoring a one-day workshop on building communities that support core students and teachers:

NYQueer Presents:

Beyond Tolerance:

Building Communities that Support Queer Students and Teachers

Join students, teachers and community organizers for a dialogue and workshop on challenging heteronormative assumptions and combating homophobia and transphobia in NYC schools.

Saturday, May 31st
9:30 AM to 3 PM

NYU Barney Building
34 Stuyvesant St.

*Lunch and a lite breakfast will be provided.*

NYQueer is a NYCoRE working group focused on gender and sexuality as they relate to school communities. The daily pressures of teaching students at any level (K-12) are such that teachers often feel as if they do not have the time, the support, or access to the resources they need for addressing gender and sexuality in the classroom. More specifically, they are unsure how to challenge heteronormative assumptions and combat homophobia and transphobia.

Recognizing the wealth of resources that both individuals and organizations throughout the city have to offer in this area, NYQueer is planning a one day event that aims to unite students, teachers and community organizers for the purpose of building a stronger solidarity network and increasing awareness about existing resources and possibilities.

For more information and/or to RSVP please contact us at NYQueer@nycore.org.

Charting the Course Conference

New Jersey Theater Alliance and New Jersey Arts Education Collective
Charting The Course Conference
Monday, April 21, 2008

This conference, with a keynote address by Sir Kenneth Robinson, is for the advancement of arts education, artists, and arts organizations.

The conference has sessions on:

• Shaping the Field of Arts Education
• The Future of the Teaching Artist Profession
• The Relationship between the Teaching Artists and the Arts Organization
• Financial Planning, The Health Maze and Legal Needs for Teaching Artists

Performing the World Conference

The All Stars Project's Performing the World Conference is set to take place on October, 2-5 2008. They are accepting proposals for this year's theme:"Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow," focusing on history and process--both of participants' personal histories and that of performance in the world.

The All Stars Project is an organization that focuses on youth development and community performance. I've done some work with them in the past and think they have some good things going on. The conference will be co-sponsored by The East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy.