Ever wish you were an artist? Me, too. Ever want to take part in something big? Who wouldn’t? Here’s the chance to take part in a global street art project that is both enormous and tiny—or perhaps to plan one of your own. The project is called Mysterabbit. Take a look–and watch carefully for the … Continue reading
It is easy to complain about how celebrity culture can be an unhealthy influence on young people. The world is full of “superstars” whose behavior is not what we want our students or our children to emulate—to say nothing of their grammar. But I recently read about a teacher in Brazil who turned bad-celebrity-grammar into … Continue reading
One of the most tender responses to the horror in Newton, CT came from newcaster Ann Curry, who first proposed that in honor of the 20 children killed, individuals commit to doing 20 acts of kindness in their honor. This idea has, as they say, “gone viral,” with the number of acts raised to 26 … Continue reading
What images of our human earth would you hope might last longer than humanity itself? That is the question artist Trevor Paglen asked himself in compiling a collection of 100 “Last Pictures” of earth, recorded on an ultra-archival disc and encased in a gold-plated shell. Paglen spent five years interviewing scientists, artists, anthropologists, and philosophers … Continue reading
Don’t you hate it when you find out about something wonderful and it just ended? That’s what happened to me with Caine’s Arcade Part 2. You saw the original Caine’s Arcade video, right? Caine was a 9-year-old boy who built a cardboard arcade that became an Internet sensation. If you haven’t seen it, stop now … Continue reading
It would not come as any surprise to any teacher I know, that the United States’ current obsession with high stakes testing may not be the best thing for student learning—to say nothing of student creativity. Test scores appear to have become our ultimate goal, as if we believe that raising scores, particularly on international … Continue reading
A few weeks ago I had the interesting opportunity to be interviewed for BAM Radio, an internet radio station that addresses all manner of important issues in education. I was part of a conversation with writer/researcher Dr. Yong Zhao and Justin Snider, who teaches creative writing. We talked about the dilemmas posed by “One Right … Continue reading
It is easy for all of us to forget the power we have to change the world. That certainly is true of many children. When children go through days and weeks of scheduled hours and mandated activities—in and out of school- it is easy to imagine how they may come to feel small and lacking … Continue reading
I love TED. I love it because when I have a few free minutes I can learn about no end of fascinating things. But I love it even more because sometimes TED brings me moments of mind-boggling delight. Here is one of them. It is a human kaleidoscope celebrating the “Power of X” to multiply … Continue reading
In a recent blog on the Scientific American site, Maria Konnikova asked Why Are We So Afraid of Creativity? I’ve been thinking about that question ever since. Are we really afraid? And if we are, why? Konnikova cites some interesting research that suggests that under conditions of uncertainty, individuals are likely to have an implicit … Continue reading
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