In my last entry, I explored the importance of the arts in education – both as a way to develop cognitive skills, and as a real ‘value add’ to our lives and the lives of students in general.

In this post, I wanted to address another ‘non-traditional’ arena in education – Physical Fitness. And since WeAreTeachers is ALL about promoting teachers as entrepreneurs, I’ve taken the liberty of ‘borrowing’ a book title from one of our partners, Mariah Burton Nelson.

Mariah is an amazing author, public speaker, and the Executive Director of the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (AAPAR) . Her newest book, * “Making Money on the Sidelines” provides a step-by-step guide for those fitness professionals (including TEACHERS!) who want to continue to promote physical fitness, and at the same time earn extra revenue.

Mariah and I met through a mutual friend – Diana Everett, who is the Executive Director of the Texas Association of Health, PE, Recreation and Dance (TAHPERD) — another great leader in this arena.

And in the spirit of the ever viral world of connections — Mariah has asked us to sponsor the keynote speaker at the upcoming AAPHERD and AAPARD national conference in Fort Worth. The speaker is the amazing Ryan Lee – a wonderful leader in the world of physical fitness and entrepreurism. Ryan is an avid blogger, and author (“The Million Dollar Workout.” ) His keynote address is designed to help Mariah and the AAPAR folks launch this new ‘Sidelines’ program – to help physical fitness professional learn more about how to leverage their important skills to financial, as well as professional, rewards.

What intrigues me about this energy with these outstanding educators is this: In the arenas of both physical fitness and the arts, I’m finding a growing sense of entrepreneur-ship. That is, these teachers have long done private lessons, run fund-raising programs, and offered summer camps. Many teach in our public schools because they love kids and love the work. But more and more of these leading edge professionals are also learning that they do NOT have to sign a vow of poverty to practice their craft. More and more of them are finding innovative ways to create content and sell it, utilize technology to manage their private teaching or training business, and many are also finding ways to utilize the Web 2.0 tools available to super-charge their reach, and their impact.

So hats off to these teaching entrepreneurs. We welcome and embrace you at WeAreTeachers. But most important, we hope these great leaders will inform and instruct us as we go on this journey together.

This week, two very interesting things crossed my ‘desk’ (er, my email account), and I am struck at the alignment of these two items.

The Dana Foundation released a new report, titled “Learning, Arts, and the Brain” (Download report here ) This extensive 3 year study, led by Dr. Michael S. Gazzaniga from the University of California in Santa Barbara, addresses this question: Do smart kids tend to gravitate toward band, orchestra, music, dance classes? Or do kids who get involved in the arts somehow become ‘smarter.’ In other words, is there something about training in the arts that supports the development of human cognition, applicable in other subject areas?

This study seems to point to the latter. That is, participation in the arts – especially for children – does, indeed seem to have a positive impact on cognition.

SO – does this mean test scores could actually go up if we let kids play trombone in school?

Hmmm —- Wait a moment. Does it REALLY take a study showing cognition growth to convince us that experience with the arts is a good thing for kids? And do we HAVE to make EVERYTHING raise test scores these days to be supported?

Second thing that flew by my cyberworld this week was this very cool site: It’s not on the test.

Tom Chapin – a Grammy award-winning song writer just launched national distribution of this song and video to raise awareness about the importance of music education in all classrooms. He also cleverly reminds us that our often single-minded focus on tests and accountability may be a big distractor to real improvement in America’s schools.

So here is my take — It’s a HUGE bonus that involvement in the Arts helps promote greater academic performance. And ‘good on’ the Dana Arts and Cognition Consortium for its detailed and comprehensive three year study to establish this connection. But also a big standing ovation for Tom Chapin for his humorous and poignant reminder that the human experience is VERY big, and exposure to the arts is an important part of that experience. Fully funded, fully supported Arts education programs in our schools are important because the ARTS are IMPORTANT – to ensure our students have rich, full lives, including all the glory the arts experiences provide.

STORY for this post:

Several months ago, my friends at the Texas Music Education Association asked me to participate in speaking to the State Board of Education in a public forum as to the importance of the arts in education. My response? Of course, I was delighted to do so. I also wrote an op-ed that was published in Dallas and Waco. And why did I speak out? As an ex-mathematics and computer science teacher, and a big believer in the importance of these academic areas, it occurred to me that the vocal and performance training I received throughout my youth is actually the skill I draw on most often. It’s that dedication to practice, self confidence in performance, and amazing inner peace I achieve when I sing that I most value today and which I think has most influenced whatever business success I have achieved.

Thank you, Mrs. Powers (my first voice teacher) and all the countless music teachers I’ve had over the years.

Addendum:
Ten Simple Ways Parents Can Get More Art in Their Kids’ Lives

If everyone is talking, how do you hear the best voice? If everyone is ‘teaching,’ how do the best teachers gain audience?

These are important questions as education moves from leader-led, teacher-centered lectures, to interactivity, democratic engagement, and virtual learning environments. In fact, one of the most frequently asked questions when I talk to people about WeAreTeachers is this: Aren’t you worried that ‘anyone’ can pose as a ‘teacher?’ Aren’t you afraid the best teachers will get drowned out by all the noise from less-able or credible teachers in this network? These questions come most often from adults who are having a tough time grasping the notion of non-traditional, or self-directed learning. And they struggle with the leap from rigor to relevance.

The simple answer to each question is NO. First, connected, virtual communities themselves will decide whose voice will be respected and heard. Poorly written or irrelevant blog posts, or curriculum content, or learning modules just don’t get used or responded to. And great or engaging content spreads like wildfire to hungry learners.

So if YOU are that great teacher, who wants to have voice in the read/write web, and who wants to be known as a great domain expert, here are a few suggestions:

1. Become a LEARNER. Don’t sit still and rest on your current knowledge base. Learn everything you can – about your academic or expertise area, and about how to communicate using new tools. If you don’t currently blog, do so. (You can use our blogging tools in WAT as a starting point). If you’ve never joined a community, do it now.
2. Get ENGAGED. Don’t just join a community. Actively engage with it. Start by inviting colleagues, sending messages, posting blogs and forums, Have an opinion, and share it.
3. Find a CAUSE. This communication medium is as emotional as it is intellectual, and most engagement and energy online is associated with a passion, a cause – something you become known for as an advocate. (Check out the current energy in this presidential election if you have any doubts!) If you teach math, and believe in problem solving or higher order thinking skills — become loud and passionate about that. If you teach Yoga, and are passionate about mind/body connections, let the world know!
4. Show your STUFF. If you want a megaphone you must not be shy. If you want to be known for your expertise, you mustn’t hesitate to showcase your best self. Use the WAT-Video profile tool to create, not just a picture-avatar, but make a video resume, so anyone who visits your page hears your voice, understands your background. Don’t just create content and give it away or sell it, but also include details about your philosophy of teaching, and your life experiences that inform your teaching methodology.
5. Have FUN. One of the BEST things about the Web is that we are finally moving away from the drudgery of lesson plans, lectures, and worksheets. And this positive outcome is for TEACHERS as well as STUDENTS. Teaching can take on new life, as we experiment with meaningful discussion and engagement with the world and with our students. Your enthusiasm will become a magnet for others who want to learn from you and from your content.

Story for this post:

As you either get to know me in person, or through reading these posts, you’ll soon learn that the light of my life are my kids and grandkids. So here is a recent story from one of them, reminding me that great teachers come in all sizes and shapes.

Sally and Susie (ages 9 and 6, respectively), just moved, and changed elementary schools. Sally ended up in a bilingual class, which we thought was super (even though her Spanish is limited to counting to 10!). The other day, she was enthusiastically telling me about her new best friend, Amy. In Sally’s own words, “Nana, Amy and I are best friends. It’s very interesting, because she does not speak English very well, and I don’t speak Spanish very much. But don’t worry. We’ve both decided to be each others teacher, so we’ll be fine.”

Ah, from the mouths of babes. . . This TEACHER of 9 years of age has a voice, is still learning, clearly has a cause, is happy to show off her stuff, and is obviously having fun.

The impact of Web 2.0 on education is being felt from classrooms, to board rooms, to living rooms – but perhaps one of the most interesting (and promising) change has to do with learning content. The power of on-line community in education is driving changes in how learning content is . . .

•Developed and published commercially
•Created by expert teachers
•Distributed and sold
•Found and promoted

Perhaps one of the most interesting questions is –

Can teacher-developed content co-exist successfully with commercially available learning materials? In a connected world, I think the answer is a resounding YES, and here’s why:

1. ‘Chunks’ are better than ‘Hunks’ for many kids. That is, many students benefit from smaller units of learning (‘chunks’), versus traditionally available large systems or textbooks, which today’s IM-focused kids ignore. So teacher-made content –which is generally made in smaller pieces, can be a valuable part of what students consume.
2. Standards Based Curriculum is boring. Sorry to speak so bluntly, but the current focus on just standards and assessment is turning off kids by the droves. Great teachers are stepping up to fill in the gaps. Many are offering their own engaging experiences for kids — lesson plans that rely on blogging, cell phones, engaged discussion. This can be a great supplement to commercial material – which may still be required, but is just not sufficient anymore.
3. It’s not all about the classroom. Duh. Learning actually DOES occur everywhere, something the best teachers understand well. And learning even occurs outside traditional academic areas. So teacher-developed content to support learning in yoga, music, fitness, etc is becoming just as critical to our well-being as content for reading and math. It’s a big world, and the human experience is equally large.
4. The ‘Long Tail’ also wags for education. The current rage of ‘selling less to more’ can mean financial success and broad exposure for those teachers who create learning content. And it can even mean broader success for innovative commercial providers, as they begin to see teacher recommendations drive sales of their products to geographies not covered by traditional distribution channels.

My story for this blog —-
I attended the NCCE (Northwest Council for Computers in Education) meeting in Seattle last week. Kudos to Heidi Rogers, et al, for an outstanding and fun event. One of the keynote speakers was Marc Prensky, who was, as always, engaging and enjoyable.* After his speech, he dropped by the WeAreTeachers table to chat. He asked for my elevator pitch, and when I gave it, he responded with “But Sandy, everything teachers do online should be free!” When he walked away, I thought, geez — Didn’t I just see him signing selling his book, “Don’t Bother me Mom, I’m Learning,” over there to these teachers? And I’m pretty sure he got paid for that keynote. So wonder if he is saying that his IP (Intellectual Property) is worth more than theirs? While I know Marc did not mean to be arrogant (he is, after all, a former teacher himself) — it is curious to me that there is a prevailing attitude that ‘everything on the internet should be free, unless it comes from me.’

Counter that experience with one I had with Alan King , a new teacher friend I met in Seattle, and a new WAT (WeAreTeachers) member. He is considering retirement soon, and had this to say. “Sandy, WeAreTeachers could literally change my life plans. Even after retirement, I still have lots to share, but will need an income. This could be my answer!”

Rock on, Alan. Live that dream.

*Marc did a really interesting (and risky!) activity with this audience of over 2000 folks. He posted on the screen a question, then had an ‘open phone test.’ Everyone had 5 minutes to answer the question using only their cell phone (no computers). His point was that we can all learn something when we work together, and whatever technology is generally available should be considered for use in teaching — even cell phones. Left an impression.