http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/education/25central.html

This is what is needed in MPS and maybe in some Tosa schools, this is very Reaganesque!

I was glad to read the linked article which shed a lot more light on the situation than anything I’d seen previously. Although I initially thought it was a stupid, non-productive, knee-jerk reaction on the part of the board, the pretty good article seems to place a lot of the onus on the teachers’ union not using a little common sense in their negotiations. I would have thought they’d at least be more protective of their jobs.

But, I still think this is show boating on the part of everyone from Duncan on down. Are we supposed to believe the crummiest teachers always end up with the crummiest scores from their students on standardized tests? I suspect none of the sanctioned schools are located in a suburb with demographics similar to, say, Wauwatosa – what a coincidence that we always find the bad teachers in heavily minority schools in high poverty areas. We must make high scores here because of the really good teachers we have, right?

It’s also no surprise to me to discover that Rhode Island is one of the states that has a school choice voucher system. It’s pretty clear that a school like the one in question has been sucked dry of any student who has parents who want to get them out of a pool of troublemakers who nobody gives a darn about except maybe a classroom teacher.

So the solution is to fire the staff? Good luck on the big turnaround when they fill the vacancies with superteachers to fill the vacuum.

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Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. -Oscar Wilde (anticipating, well over 100 years ago, anonymous Internet discussions)

The Troll is not surprised our well- traveled Nancy has first hand experience with Rhode Island. She is our resident Rhode(s) scholar Just amazing how she has been everywhere, experienced everything, yet still contributes to our daily lives in such plentitude. The Troll says Warwick, R.I. is not a run down mill town. In fact, Rhode Island is quite lovely.

Maybe they were all relatives of Sarah Palin. It seems oddly reminiscent of the campaign . . .

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Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth. -Oscar Wilde (anticipating, well over 100 years ago, anonymous Internet discussions)

As I said, I lived there forty years ago. That's where I went to art school. I'm aware that it's nicer now than it was then. The only places I saw that could be considered "lovely" back then were the beach communities on the Narragansett Bay. Warwick, which is close to the water, is not Central Falls. Both were mill towns, however, and most old mill towns were run down 40 years ago because the textile business was moving South and the mills were being abandoned. Some towns have found other ways to survive and some haven't.

I have moved around quite a bit, but there's nothing astonishing or even unusual about the way I've lived my life. The best way to experience a place is to live there. Moving from place to place is easy if you live simply and travel light. I had no interest in settling down, so I didn't. It's a family tradition.

Meanwhile, I think it's odd and sad that so many people here have a problem with someone who has moved around a lot. It suggests the kind of insularity that rubber is talking about. You've never been able to travel past your own back yards, so you attack anyone who's the least bit curious or adventuresome. I've enjoyed every place I've lived or visited, so I guess that's my revenge.

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The difference between humans and other mammals is that we know how to accessorize.

Madeleine Albright speaking on the uses of jewelry in diplomacy.

I went to RISD 40 years ago and I'm sure it has changed quite a bit. I get the alumni bulletin. One obvious change is that the school is much more involved with the surrounding community now than it was then. There seems to be a lot of outreach and collaboration with public schools and social service agencies. I remember RISD being a little island unto itself in the '60s.

The alumni bulletin and the electronic updates that we get periodically focus a lot on the achievements of alumni and my impression is that it's still turning out top notch industrial and graphic designers and illustrators (that was my major). The list of graduates in every field is like a who's who in the arts. Nicole Miller (fashion), Dale Chihuly, and Gus Van Sant were there when I was. So were comedian Martin Mull (an accomplished airbrush artist) and the Talking Heads.

I imagine the curriculum is similar for both schools. My son has a friend who is a freshman at MIAD and we talk about what he's doing there. It sounds familiar. What may make a difference is the caliber of faculty. RISD attracts talented instructors. The proximity to New York makes it easy for people based there to travel in order to teach or even just do master classes. The adjuncts were great. I learned the most from them. A lot of graduates come back to teach. The level of instruction and the competition among students were ferocious, at times.

RISD has some great facilities. There was a foundry on site and access to metal fabricating resources in the community. Chihuly was a graduate student in the late '60s, but he was also developing the glass program. The textile design program has unparalleled resources. We had somewhat limited studio space, but I think they've added a lot so you can pretty much have your own studio now. The museum is also a great resource. You can have museum staff pull items from the collection for research. I was once doing a paper on Paul Poiret, a Belle Epoque era fashion designer who did ladies' evening wear with intricate decorative beading, and they pulled an exquisite Poiret evening coat for me.

I don't know whether that answers your question. I think both places probably offer the most important resource for a developing artist...the opportunity to be in a community of artists and just concentrate on making art for a period of time. Most of my friends have had successful careers as artists. One was a cutting edge fashion photographer before his death. Another has been a successful clothing designer. A couple became painters. Another publishes a highly regarded compilation of design trends for use in fashion, publishing, etc. I think that having the opportunity to experiment and grow and make connections with other artists was critical.

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The difference between humans and other mammals is that we know how to accessorize.

Madeleine Albright speaking on the uses of jewelry in diplomacy.

I read that, too. It's interesting. It seems like overkill, to me, but we'll see what happens as the RI case unfolds.

The fired teachers will finish out the school year, but I can't imagine that even the most dedicated among them will be able to concentrate on teaching as they face uncertain futures. Some, particularly the ancillary staff like the psychologists and speech therapists, will probably jump ship at the first opportunity.

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The difference between humans and other mammals is that we know how to accessorize.

Madeleine Albright speaking on the uses of jewelry in diplomacy.

These crappy school systems keep draining funds from the good ones. The simple act of eliminating tenure might be the first step. Nobody in the private sector gets guarenteed jobs and insurance/retirement packages like public employees. Stop the madness, break a few unions, hold them responsible and have the power to disolve if they are deemed ineffective.

Poison? Drug, maybe. I made a career working more with other people's art than with my own, but that has meant that what I do on my own is for me and nobody else unless I want to share it. I've always wondered what my life would have been like if I'd decided to work as an illustrator. I would have had to start out in New York, I think. That's probably less critical now than it used to be.

Did you go to MIAD?

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The difference between humans and other mammals is that we know how to accessorize.

Madeleine Albright speaking on the uses of jewelry in diplomacy.

According to the Milwaukee Journal article this morning, if MPS and the board accept federal funds from the same program, they will have to choose from the same four options for making changes in schools.