Around Town: February 24-26

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Julia Cain

Good morning, Greater Washington! What might strike your fancy this weekend?

NATURE …

Meet at the intersection of Anacostia Avenue NE and Douglas Street NE for a Nash Run Trash Trap Cleanup with the Anacostia Watershed Society on Saturday at noon; these traps prevent the spread of trash without injuring or harming wildlife like fish from moving freely about the river (be sure to RSVP!). And on Sunday at 10:00 AM, join Potomac Conservancy for the monthly cleanup day at Fletcher’s Cove; this cleanup is open to all ages and the Conservancy will provide all the necessary supplies.

DANCE …

Lucy Bowen McCauley, artistic director of BMDC, will perform in Perspectivoyage, a new work created with her “artistic blind dates” Matthew Mann and David Robb at INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival at the Atlas this Friday at 6:00 & 8:30 PM. INTERSECTIONS continues through March 11, so be sure to head over to H Street! On Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday at 2:00 & 5:00 PM, join CityDance Ensemble for a special open house performance in the new Studio Theater and catch a glimpse into the School & Conservatory; call (202) 347-3909 to learn more. And on Saturday at 8:00 PM, Joy of Motion Dance presents Nomad Dancers’ CARAVANSARY, where dancers meet on the path of rhythm; nab your tickets here.

MUSIC …

On Saturday at 8:00 PM, the National Philharmonic presents the six celebrated Brandenburg Concertos by J. S. Bach, which display a light side of Bach’s genius and each highlight a different instrumental combination; tickets are available right here. The American Youth Philharmonic present works by Verdi, Tchaikovsky, von Suppe, Schubert, and Brahams in the AYSO and AYCO Concert, “Fate’s Fortune,” side by side with musicians from the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra; more information right here!

In The News …

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Julia Cain

DC schools with more low-income, academically troubled students should get more money, panel recommends (DC Schools Insider): “The 15-member [Public Education Finance Reform Commission] panel concluded its work last week with a series of recommendations to the Gray administration : add an additional “weight” to the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula so that schools receive more money for serving larger numbers of students who are both from low-income households.” The panel also recommended a year-long study on the real costs of “adequate” public education in DC to inform further funding revisions. The commission did not study the “appropriate role for the District in funding and/or finding buildings for charter schools,” although that was a key topic of conversation.

Continue reading →

A Creative Test

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Julia Cain

From “Schools We Can Envy” in the New York Review of Books:

Faced with the relentless campaign against teachers and public education, educators have sought a different narrative, one free of the stigmatization by test scores and punishment favored by the corporate reformers. They have found it in Finland. [...]

Finland has spent the past forty years developing a different education system, one that is focused on improving the teaching force, limiting student testing to a necessary minimum, placing responsibility and trust before accountability, and handing over school- and district-level leadership to education professionals.

To an American observer, the most remarkable fact about Finnish education is that students do not take any standardized tests until the end of high school. They do take tests, but the tests are drawn up by their own teachers, not by a multinational testing corporation. The Finnish nine-year comprehensive school is a “standardized testing-free zone,” where children are encouraged to know, to create, and to sustain natural curiosity.”

The entire article is certainly worth a read, but I was particularly struck by the emphasis on “the development of each child as a thinking, active, creative person” — all qualities that are not only outside the realm of standardized test-taking, but that are arguably more essential to long-term development than the material on a standardized test. So what do you think? Do the words that we use to discuss public education reform themselves need reforming?

Following Presidents Day

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Julia Cain

I see a great nation, upon a great continent, blessed with a great wealth of natural resources. Its hundred and thirty million people are at peace among themselves; they are making their country a good neighbor among the nations. I see a United States which can demonstrate that, under democratic methods of government, national wealth can be translated into a spreading volume of human comforts hitherto unknown, and the lowest standard of living can be raised far above the level of mere subsistence.

But here is the challenge to our democracy: In this nation I see tens of millions of its citizens — a substantial part of its whole population — who at this very moment are denied the greater part of what the very lowest standards of today call the necessities of life. [...]

It is not in despair that I paint you that picture. I paint it for you in hope — because the Nation, seeing and understanding the injustice in it, proposes to paint it out. We are determined to make every American citizen the subject of his country’s interest and concern; and we will never regard any faithful law-abiding group within our borders as superfluous.
propecia online pharmacy

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.

If I know aught of the spirit and purpose of our Nation, we will not listen to Comfort, Opportunism, and Timidity. We will carry on.

– President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Second Inaugural Address (1937)

Around Town: February 17-20

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Julia Cain

Enjoy the long weekend, Greater Washington! Some great events are right around the corner …

CIVILIZATION (all you can eat) at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (641 D Street NW)

Six hungry city-dwellers scramble for sustenance in this provocative vaudeville of American enterprise and ingenuity, featuring an award-winning DC cast. Performance on Saturday at 8 PM and Sunday at 7 PM; nab your tickets here.

“Pre-Mardi Gras” Celebration at Downtown Cluster’s Geriatric Day Care Center (at Xi Omega Center, 4411 14th Street NW)

Line dancing, hand dancing, music by DJ- Mr. “C,” plus a light meal on Friday at 7PM. Proceeds to help provide therapeutic care and supportive services to at-risk older persons so that they remain in the community. Call (202) 347-7527 to purchase your tickets.

Continue reading →

More For Schools

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Julia Cain

Regarding “Report: Fixing Education Disparities Is a Public Safety Strategy” from the Justice Policy Institute, DCentric writes:

Researchers found the same stark disparities we’ve examined when it comes to education levels in DC’s wards; for instance, one-fifth of Ward 8 adults haven’t completed high school. But the report also breaks down formal education levels of DC’s adults by race. Nearly all white adults in DC — 99 percent of them — have a high school diploma or higher. For African Americans, 80 percent of adults have completed high school, while 57 percent of Hispanic adults have high school diplomas. [...]

Continue reading →

In The News …

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Julia Cain

Objections to Reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (WAMU: Diane Rehm Show): “The widely praised Violence Against Women Act faces a tough reauthorization battle. Though introduced in a bipartisan way, it passed the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote with all the Democrats voting to move it to the full Senate and all the Republicans voting against.” Terry O’Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, explains that the bill “as passed out of the Senate committee, recognizes the LGBT community immigrant women who are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse;” but the bill does not include a “mandate for holding batterers accountable” or a reparations provision. 17 Catalogue nonprofits, including the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, focus particularly on girls and women and women; learn more right here.

President Obama’s Budget Request for the NEA: The Fine Print (Americans for the Arts blog): “We learned early that morning that President Obama is proposing an increase of $8 million (from $146M to $154M) for the NEA, which was a very positive start. In the past two years, NEA funding has dropped almost $22M and has yet to recover from the enormous cuts from its high of $176M in 1992. In particular, the budget of the Our Town program, which rewarded over half of its grants to communities of less than 200,000 in 2011, would increase from $5 million to $10 million. Two months ago, the NEA also announced Operation Homecoming, a partnership with the Department of Defense that will host “a new series of writing workshops for returning troops at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.”

Continue reading →

My Bounty is as Boundless

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Julia Cain

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Still making your evening plans? Look through out Cultural nonprofits for some great, local offerings of music, theater, dance, and art.

First, rehearse your song by rote
To each word a warbling note:
Hand in hand, with fairy grace,
Will we sing, and bless this place.

– Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

And yet I wish but for the thing I have:
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.

– Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

A New Design?

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Julia Cain

From “Designing a Fix for Housing” in the NY Times Opinion Pages:

Recent efforts to fix the housing market — including Thursday’s $26 billion settlement with five of the nation’s biggest banks — have focused purely on the financial aspects of the slump. A permanent solution, however, must go further than money to address issues that have been at the core of the crisis but have been wholly ignored: design and urban planning.

Continue reading →

Around Town: February 10-12

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Julia Cain

Have a good weekend, friends! Here are some great destinations just around the corner …

Jazz Conversations with Jazz Vocalist Rene Marie with DC Jazz Fest (at THEARC Theater, 1901 Mississippi Avenue SE)

For music students and music lovers, this 60-minute session on Friday at 10:30 AM will explore the amazing contribution of jazz vocalists to American history and culture. Recommended for middle and high school students; register right here.

The Snowy Day at Adventure Theatre (Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Boulevard, Glen Echo)

The simple tale of a boy waking up to discover that snow has fallen during the night is brought to life in this magical world premiere. Most performances this weekend are sold out, but tickets are still available online for Friday at 7:00 PM and Saturday at 11:00 AM.

Continue reading →

Catalogue Blog