Music Education in California

Music Education can be defined as a study that is directly affiliated with the teaching and learning of music. It is a major factor in the process of development of certain important traits like music appreciation and sensitivity.  The amalgamation of music training can be inculcated right form preschool to postsecondary education and is considered as a prime most factor of the culture and behavior. Music thus can be called as language that marks us different from other animals.

Music is considered to have been working as stress buster and enhances students so that they perform better both academically and individually.

Music provides the students with a special facility to rejuvenate you. Those students, who are exposed to music at a really early age, enhance themselves with qualities like better reading and grasping power, math proficiency, etc… According to a recent study, students learning with music education are termed to be drastically enhancing student’s ability to resolve complex problems of both math and science.

As per a survey, students participating in the music programs are proven to score higher both on verbal and written tests as compared to the students who are not exposed to the musical education. Students receiving music education are seen to be aloof of ill habits like drugs, gangs, alcohol, etc… Music is regarded to encourage creativity, imagination, and confidence which results in guaranteed success.

It is seen that the ratio of music education in California has been seen decreasing in the recent years. The music education acquired by the students in California is declined by the rate of 85.5%, with about 264,821 students staying away from music education. Thus it is seen that the students in California lacks in art education even at elementary level. About 29% of California schools do not offer courses in music, visual arts, dance and theater. And thus this enables to fall short of goals to achieve art education. 61% schools are seen to have no Art specialist for full time. The music and entertainment field has seen dramatic decline due to lack of music education. Many students have low access to the music education resulting in their loss. Students accessing the music education seem to lose required interest in the respected fields.

Music education is termed to be very important aspect of student’s life. Music is a stress buster, an activity that enables the students to rejuvenate all the energy in them and get back to their studies. Music can be opted as career too. Art form is very important in almost everyone’s life. It is one aspect which should not be neglected by anybody and thus we expect the California state to understand the importance of Music education and include it student’s curriculum as soon as possible.

 

The Importance of Art Education

Someone has truly quoted that “Creativity is the father of all inventions”. It is the span of imagination that helped the great scientist of the past Isaac Newton to discover the Law of Gravity. According to some philosophical theories, a child takes birth with some innate ideas which are scattered in the mind board at the time of birth. Gradually with time, kids learn to place these ideas in their mind board and create a proper shape out of these. There are different activities that help the kids to strengthen their brain power; one of such activity is art.

The modern day schools are promoting art and craft activities because of their immense impact on the students. These are as important as science, math, computer education or other working subjects. Arts education is educating child about drawing, sketching, coloring, painting, crafts and other works related to these.

Education related to performing arts, drama, music, dance and theatre also comes under the heading of arts education. Though many people don’t consider this area of education as important, but it exercises great impact on the mental and character development of a child. Some of the reasons for giving importance to art education are briefly discussed below:-

•  Art education boosts up our imaginative skills. For example, when kids are asked to draw a flower or a landscape, they actually have to imagine the things before putting their pencil to work. In this way their span of imagination get expanded,
•  Creativity is the core of any artwork. When a kid gets engaged in drawing something on the art copy or try to give shape to the modeling clay, they start thinking in a different way. It is often noticed that kids try to draw different shapes on their art copies that do not really contain any meaning. Kids actually try to vent out their feelings by means of these figures,
•  Many research studies have proved that art education keeps the brain active. When kids get engage in activities like drawing, music, dance or drama, they start utilizing all their senses and learn to contrast, combine and compose new things,
•  Art education teaches the kids to think clearly about the things that are taught. Though people give priority to mathematics and sciences, but the fact is that arts education helps more make a kid logical and provides clarity in thoughts by giving visual image for every concept,
•  This branch of education also helps in developing motor skills of the children. Activity like drawing helps in developing fine motor skills while the physical activities like dancing impacts the gross motor skill development,
•  Art education teaches the kids to be self confidence. This kids of education helps the kids in expressing themselves in a better way which in turn boosts up their self confidence,
•  These activities also teach the kids to be self disciplined. In order to acquire mastery over art, dance or drama, kids need to follow a particular routine.

On a deep level, art is a form of communication, it is another way of expressing ourselves and our emotions and it can help with processing feelings and experiences.

Kids Art Activities Should Be Fun And Educational

I had the opportunity some time ago to sit in on a class about art. It was a class for third graders at a local elementary school that a teacher friend of mine was instructing, and he asked if I would mind sitting in on the class to give some input.

I’ve dabbled in art, personally, and he wanted to see what I thought about the projects he had his kids doing. We have spent a few minutes with the students, I started to see that kids art activities need to be fun and educational at the same time.

The kids art activities that my friend was having his students do involved painting with water colors and tempera paint, and then they got to hang their pictures up on the front wall of the classroom. He went around admiring everybody’s handywork but did not really ask any questions. He then asked me if I had anything I wanted to add, and I asked if the kids could go around the room and sort of talk about why they decided to paint their pictures and what they meant to them.

As expected, many of the kids were kind of shy and said they simply wanted to paint a picture of their home or dog or friends, but a few of the kids went up and explained why they painted the picture of a field of flowers, or a single red boat amongst a bunch of blue ones.

When the students finished talking about their pictures, I said to my friend that the kids who did something that was more than just a representation of their everyday lives were the budding artists in the group. I also told him that kids art activities should be fun but educational as well, because it would help nurture his students’ love of art.

I introduced a few art books to the next class and invited all of the students to look through them if they so chose. Invariably, it was the students that had painted something unique for their project that got out the books and started asking questions about such painters as Vincent Van Gogh and Henri Matisse.

I answered all of their questions and encouraged them to pursue their love of art. I asked them questions about other activities they had done and what they loved the most about art, and they really seemed to be into the discussion.

Kids art activities can be a lot of fun for students and can help foster a love of art that can endure throughout an entire lifetime. My friend thanked me for sitting in on the class and told me that he would definitely incorporate some of my suggestions into the next project. I hope for art’s sake that he does.

College Vs Self Education

Thanks Jim Rohn. I love the quote from the book, Twelve Pillars, “College will make you a living. Self education will make you a fortune.” This idea has set us free.

I have been fortunate enough to have a college education. In fact, I spent almost ten years dedicated to the system that would give me the “brass ring”. College is an expensive venture. You are required pay up front for education that you apply later. In some cases, people rack up 0,000+ bill that they have to scramble to pay off with their new “job”. I know people who are skimming by trying to get the 10+ year debt paid off. I was also lucky enough to study a topic I absolutely love, art, more specifically graphic design. In school I was a sell out to all the other fine artists for “making a living” off of my art. I have had a good, some would even say, great career with my college degree.

Interestingly enough, it didn’t have the power to set me free.

Self education has always been a passion of mine. I love to read to expand my knowledge. I have been moved off of my couch to take action by the things I have read. Self education allows me to learn and apply the skill immediately. Of course, I like to apply my new found knowledge the minute I have learned it. Some might call me crazy stretching my limits. As I write this most people are in bed. I find this time is peaceful and inspiring, and a time to apply myself to my passion and causes. So this path of self education brings with it some challenges, and brings with it hope. It brings with it an incredible amount of wisdom to help me reach my goals. I have had two simple goals since I was a child. I want to spend my time with my kids at home.

I want to travel and work from anywhere in the world.

I am extremely fortunate to share my passion with my husband. We found that through this self education, we are set for life. Our dreams are goals with time lines. They have become reality, and completely attainable. If we had settled for less, we would have regrets. Our self education has taken us on the new frontier, the internet. We have become skilled internet marketers who help others learn the same thing. We can do it from anywhere in the world. Our system works while we play with our kids.

To say “self education rocks” is an understatement! It is just as challenging as college. I would say it even tests you more. But what an awesome journey. The view is incredible, and the person it makes you become is even better than you could have imagined. At this point with all of our early goals so easily reached, we are focused on helping others reach their goals. It is our turn to help others “self educate” and give back.

Art at the Leisure Education Trust Auction – ?Tomorrow?s Lunch? by Sheena Rose

 

Young, Contemporary-Caribbean artist from Barbados, Sheena Rose, has made waves in the contemporary art world.

Sheena is well known for her hand drawn animations and mixed media drawings, but what inspired this form of art? “Well, I remember the first animations I created were about dreams. They were very surreal and very different. I would add images, transfers and mixed media into the animations and my target audience found it very interesting,” says Sheena.

While growing up, the young artist treated her bedroom like an art gallery filled with paintings and drawings. Sheena would sell her artwork to her parents for 5 or 10 cents and became very enthusiastic when she made a sale. This increased her passion for art, and in 2008, Sheena graduated from Barbados Community College with her BA in Fine Arts with Honours.

Sheena has been involved in many local and international art exhibitions in the Caribbean, USA, South Africa and South America.

She also plans on exhibiting her unique work in Europe soon. “I am really proud so see my work has become so popular,” says the Caribbean artist.

In May 2010, Sheena participated in a three month artists’ residency at an art studio called Greatmore Art Studio, located in Woodstock, Cape Town. This well known studio gathers local and international artistic talent from diverse cultural backgrounds, in order to encourage new ideas and stimulate creativity and productivity.

Sheena had many wonderful experiences in Cape Town, and some amusing ones too. “Every day I would cook dinner for myself and every night someone would come and visit me and I would offer them some of my dinner. The next morning, I wouldn’t have any food left to pack for lunch. I couldn’t say no, so I kept on doing this, but I became very annoyed.”

She decided to express her frustration on a canvas by creating an artwork titled “Tomorrow’s Lunch.” The piece illustrates a backdrop of Woodstock with a comic strip expressing Sheena’s daily experience of offering her food to visitors.

While visiting the Mother City, Cape Town born artist, Gary Frier approached Sheena and asked her to participate in an art auction that was hosted by the Leisure Group and held at the Strand Tower Hotel in Cape Town. Local and international artists were welcome to donate some of their artworks which were sold individually to the highest bidders.

All the proceeds of the auction were donated to the Leisure Education Trust, which helps underprivileged children. Sheena is extremely passionate about helping disadvantaged children, so she donated the art piece she created in Cape Town – “Tomorrow’s lunch” to the auction. This piece was purchased by Japie Swanepoel, owner and founder of online media company Interactive Concepts. The piece is currently displayed in his office. He is extremely fond of the artwork as it reminds him of  the talented young artists who have visited Cape Town.

 

The “Spotlight” Program Sheds Light On The Impact Of Art Exhibitions With Its Educational Program

There are multiple elements that mark the historical landmarks of the human race, including industry, religion, war, and science. The one that has permeated the entirety of our culture as people, though, is art. From the dawn of man and the sketchings on shelter walls to impressionistic modern textural stylings, art has played a significant role in the history of mankind, and more importantly is often used as a barometer for the culture that permeated the time it was created.

Today we are able to experience these wonderful and varied works because of the dedicated work of museums and other exhibitions of art. These organizations utilize the knowledge and influence of educated curators, historians, and scholars to compile exhibits which can stretch the imagination and provide us a portal into the time and place where the works were created. On top of that, most museums act as a springboard for potential arts education, providing programs, seminars, and internships that can help steer burgeoning artists young and old to information and ideas that can help further their own knowledge and abilities.

These organizations are not just limited to visual art, either. Performance art, dance, theater, and music all play a significant historical role in the history of our species, and there are some specifically set up to help immortalize these aspects of artistic achievement in their respective mediums. “Spotlight” will be working with various exhibiting entities and organizations that help further the knowledge of each facet of art and culture specifically, creating educational programming that can help enlighten viewers to the wonders of our history in art, as well as our future in it.

“Spotlight” is an independent program and has no affiliation with PBS.

Our programs are independently produced and are distributed to Public Television affiliates around the country.

About Spotlightedu.com:

“Spotlight” is an educational program distributed to Public Television. Each program addresses the latest issues impacting society today. For more information, call (754) 242-1107 or visit www.spotlightedu.com.

Source:
http://www.1888pressrelease.com/the-spotlight-program-sheds-light-on-the-impact-of-art-exh-pr-252747.html

Vital tips on finding the right vintage wedding dress

As far as getting married goes, getting a suitable wedding dress is one task that takes a lot of time, this takes even more time if you are looking for a vintage wedding dress. There is hardly any bride that would not pay any amount to get the perfect dress for her D-day. Recently, the demand for vintage wedding dresses has considerably increased as more brides-to-be are beginning to realize how important it is to look their best on their wedding day. There is no better way to achieve this than wearing a dress that is simply trendy and timeless – a vintage wedding gown.

Determining your budget

Not only are these wedding dresses unique in their designs and styles, they also have a lot of glamour attached to them. In order not to get too overwhelmed with your search for a vintage wedding dress, certain factors are supposed to be sorted out prior to your search. The first among them is determining what your budget for the dress is. When this is done, it helps you to narrow down your search for a suitable vintage wedding gown that is within your budget range. It all depends on the quality you want, there are affordable pieces as well as expensive ones. In case you decide to go for a rather pricey one, you could possibly save some money on wedding jewellery as there are some small companies offering bridal vintage jewellery at great prices like Lovett and Co.

What vintage style do you want?

The second factor to be considered is the style of the dress you desire for your wedding. Every era has its own vintage style which varies from the 20’s flapper style dresses to the 50’s full skirts. When you decide on the style you want, you narrow down your search to such style in order to save time on purchasing your vintage wedding dress. The next step is ensuring that the dress you choose is in good condition. If the dress is from an older era, it means it would be more fragile. Also look out for flaws and stains, especially within the armpit since such stains are very difficult to remove. With all these taken care of, you are good to go.

The best memory – wedding photograph

Even as you search for your wedding dress, don’t forget to make proper arrangement for the coverage of your wedding photographs which would always be there to remind you of your happiest day, several years after the guests are dispersed and you went on honeymoon with your spouse. You should ensure that you get a good photographer that replicates your joy and glamour on your wedding day in your photos, especially as you dazzle in your vintage wedding dress.

 

Online Education – Course Selection

Now you have completed a self-assessment, you have developed short and long term goals, and you know what basic skills you need to develop. Now you are in a good position to select the online courses you want to take. Remember online course selection is only a beginning as setting up a curriculum or order of courses is important as well. Your goal with course selection is developing the universe of online subjects and courses you need to take. You should develop a list of every online program or course you need to take to meet your goals from your self-assessment. In addition, you should be developing a list of all the required skills you need to obtain to meet your objectives as well.

Required skills are those skills that are specifically apply to achieving your goals. For example, to start your own business you may need accounting skills, web development skills, marketing and so on.

Required skills are the skills that give you the knowledge required to start attacking your long term goals. Basic and intermediate courses in marketing do not give you the expert knowledge in an advertising or marketing business. For example, an art business may also require specific skills in Art History, Evaluating Art, and/or Art Valuation. A Consulting business requires expertise in the area you are going to consult in. For example, a web design consultant needs skills in HTML, PHP, Graphic Design, Database Management etc. Be sure to be as thorough as possible in your course selection as it will better help you in the long run.

Your course listing must include all the basic skills you need to develop as identified in your self-assessment and all required skills needed to achieve your ultimate goal.

With your course selection list, you now need to organize your selections in to a logical progression or a curriculum  which I will discuss in my next series of articles generically and specifically by subject.

Education Jobs – Top 5 Jobs In Education

Even though there are talk of high rates of unemployment, education jobs are still available. Many people coast to coast have found gainful employment for education work as the sector was comparatively insulated from the economic downslide. Even during the middle of the recession early January, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found growth in education employment. Nearly 33,000 jobs were added when other industries were either retrenching workers or subjecting them to pay cuts.

As more and more students are enrolling into K-12 grades, the education sector is thriving like never before. In actual terms, the unemployment rate in education jobs dropped from 5.3 percent to 4 percent from December 2008 to February 2009 when unemployment figures went up to 8.1 percent during the same period. Among the widely available education jobs, there are top 5 positions that are taking in more and more candidates these days.

Coaches

They are the ones involved in instructing groups of students on the basics of sports, which has been a focus area in the last few years. Many coaches working in schools also double up as teachers and the projected figure for the position by the year 2016 in education employment is 249,000. Coaches can expect to earn an average yearly salary of ,720.

Literacy teachers

Literacy teachers are also known as GED teachers or those who prepare students for the General Education Development Test. As the Obama administration has begun putting more emphasis on adult literacy programs, education careers are much sought after by job hunters coast to coast. They are teachers and instructors who teach children and adults as well. While the average wage is estimated at ,830, the employment figure is expected to go up to 87,000 by 2016.

Cooks

You must be wondering what cooks could do in education work. Cooks are required in all educational institutions for preparing breakfast, lunch and food for after school programs as well. Cooking in the school cafeteria involves hiring of large numbers of people and they are expected to earn a salary of ,340 annually. The requirement in this sector could go up to 445,000 by the year 2016.

Administrators

For all pre-school and child care centers across the US, there is great demand for administrations in education. The candidates can take advantage of education careers where they tutor as well as organize all kinds of academic and non academic programs for kids. They could even find openings and get jobs in education in day care centers as well. The requirement for this position could go up to 69,000 by 2016 and they could earn ,430 each year.

Bus drivers

With more schools coming up, there is a great demand for school bus drivers for picking up and dropping student s to and from school. Drivers can earn ,190 annually and their requirement is estimated at 497,000 by 2016.

Low and Cheap PCs

Personal Computer have changed the people life. And every person have a PC in their home in a normal family. And my opinion every one need a PC. But due the the huge amount of use of the energy due to the Computer in huge sector, the energy consumed is growing day by day. And there must be some solution to this problem. If the huge computer can be made to work in low power available then we can managed the energy saving and bring a revolution in the world.

After some research we found that Low Power PC has been introduced by some people around the world and has been a great success. It has a saying that its energy costs reduced 60% of the current energy consumption. So a Low Power PC can be a great revolution for the people and countries.

Its not just about the power consumption, but they are also the cheapest found on market. If people are really concious about the energy and the money then, I suggest people surely should get a one. I have order a piece for myself, as every good things should be started from ownself.

Save energy, Save world – Go green.