What might change in your thinking or arts/ education activities as a result of this workshop?

Instability is the rule
Letting go opens up change
Complex situations require a brain-like response
Build networks

“We need triage,” said Margaret Spellings, the secretary of education.

Jennifer Medina of The New York Times reported two days ago (Jan. 21, 2008) that 2,500 teachers are being evaluated by their student's test scores and some of the teachers don't even know it. Apparently the experimental program is being conducted by the city through the permission of principals and without the full scrutiny of the teachers involved and the unsuspecting public. The Times story brings out an important topic that holds much disagreement among educators—the role and power of teaching—to affect student learning how much of that effect shows up on standardized tests:

New York invited principals from hundreds of elementary and middle schools with sufficient annual testing data to participate in the program, which will produce an elaborate stream of data on 2,500 teachers. In 140 schools — a tenth of the roughly 1,400 in the system — teachers are being measured on how many students in their classes meet basic progress goals, how much student performance grows each year, and how that improvement compares with the performance of similar students with other teachers. In another 140 schools, principals are being asked to make subjective evaluations of roughly the same number of teachers so officials can see if the two systems produce widely disparate results. New York City schools employ roughly 77,000 teachers. In all 280 schools, the principals agreed to participate in the program. (NYTimes, Jan. 21, 2008).

School shortages in Tanzania, hurricane-stricken Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, tsunami-afflicted South East Asia, and earthquake-damaged Pakistan all need fast and reliable restoration of essential services such as food, housing, and education. Additionally, remote rural communities here in the United States and in under-developed countries abroad need cost-effective methods for delivering basic education services.
 

EduCrates are ready-to-use portable classrooms in shipping containers delivered anywhere in the world within three months of calling! Interruptions of children's education is unacceptable and we provide a timely solution that restores education hope.

EduCrate classrooms are made from recycled shipping containers, and they come complete with doors and windows, heating and air conditioning, chairs and tables, black or whiteboards, classroom supplies, and up to 25 backpacks that are filled with notebooks and other essential student school supplies (see Contents).
 

EduCrates can be found at http://www.educrate.org/

The EduCrate can be customized for use as a science lab or an art room, and an array of upgrade options are available, including installed restrooms, electric generators, and wireless computer networks.  We can even send support personnel (teachers and Professional Development staff) and replacement curriculum materials, if needed (see Options).

NCLB labels schools as failures by means of standardized testing. The underlying causes for a school's failure are not addressed. Any solution that ignores the wealth of unexamined data will perish in its own time. The crisis is not at the school level, rather, it is  at the national level.  We need to redisgn the system to be responsive to the Versatile Intelligence and Assessment, VIA  (Southworth, 2006) of every child.