 Celebrate Taco Day with one or more of the projects listed on our Taco Day page in Curriculum Resources from 21st Century Schools! There is literally no discipline that cannot be integrated.
This page has ideas for relevant, real world curriculum from preschool to the university level! It also includes resources such as books, cookbooks, research articles, videos and children's literature. Most, if not all, of the Common Core State Standards can be taught through these projects - and you do not have limit your project to one day! Get the parents and community involved. Invite some mariachi players, too, or just get some mariachi music. Learn some dances, paint, make a video - but definitely cook and eat!
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 National Arts in Education Week is a national celebration recognizing the tranformative power of the arts in education. Designated by Congress in 2010 through House Resolution 275, the celebration is designated to bring attention to this cause for elected officials and educational decision makers across the country and to support equitable access to the arts for all students. National Arts in Education Week takes place annually during the week beginning with the second Sunday of September. This year it falls on September 11 – 17, 2016. Save the date for future celebrations:
 These questions, and many more, can be explored using these resources. From the arts to history . . . these are wonderful ways to engage students in many courses. These are great resources for Constitution Day as well as the upcoming Presidential Election 2016! What are the connections between the American Revolution and what is happening in America today? Integrate technology through videography and filmmaking – students can create . . .
 Schools are struggling to find ways to transform themselves into centers of 21st century learning. They ask themselves how they can make school - education - more relevant for their students. Last summer my husband and I intentionally chose to drive, rather than fly, from central Texas to northern Arizona to work with a middle school. I wanted to take in the incredible scenery of the farms, plains, desert and the pine-forested, snow-capped mountains. It was an incredible experience, and the result was a plethora of possibilities and ideas for projects - just based upon our experiences on that drive. From environmental studies to science fiction and history, the ideas were fantastic. You may read about those in From Science Fiction to Science Fact and in STEM/STEAM Curriculum Ideas are All Around Us. While I consider myself an explorer and lifelong learner, fully committed to education that is relevant, rigorous and real word, and I always look for creative and exciting possibilities for project-based learning, I too, had an incredible experience recently in a visit to Mexico City. What the media show us about Mexico certainly had not conveyed to me the astounding wealth of resources in Mexico City and the United Mexican States. For one thing, it seemed to me that the people were very much more polite than the people here in the USA. Sorry about that, Americans! The media paint a picture of Mexico as being backward, dangerous, barren and poverty-stricken. While they certainly do have plenty of poverty, there is more to Mexico than squalor and uneducated heathens. In my first two days in Mexico several experiences jolted me into a new understanding of the immense possibilities there for educators - not only in Mexico, but worldwide. First was a trip to the Teotihuacan Pyramids, followed by lunch in a spectacular underground restaurant in a cave. This TED Talk by Shawn Achor and his book, The Happiness Advantage, has excellent tips for how be happier, which is turn increases productivity, energy, creativity, innovation and learning. The book is packed with research-based data. I recommend this video for students, educators, parents, and business and community leaders! An excerpt from this TED Talk, including some specific actions I would incorporate into my class. You don't NOT have the time! If you can raise somebody's level of positivity in the present, then their brain experiences what we now call a happiness advantage, which is your brain at positive performs significantly better than at negative, neutral or stressed. Your intelligence rises, your creativity rises, your energy levels rise. In fact, we've found that every single business outcome improves. Your brain at positive is 31% m ore productive than your brain at negative, neutral or stressed. You're 37% better at sales. Doctors are 19 percent faster, more accurate at coming up with the correct diagnosis when positive instead of negative, neutral or stressed. . . . . . * Write down three new things that they're grateful for for 21 days in a row, three new things each day. And at the end of that, their brain starts to retain a pattern of scanning the world not for the negative, but for the positive first. * Journaling about one positive experience you've had over the past 24 hours allows your brain to relive it. Exercise teaches your brain that your behavior matters. * We find that meditation allows your brain to get over the cultural ADHD that we've been creating by trying to do multiple tasks at once and allows our brains to focus on the task at hand. * And finally, random acts of kindness are conscious acts of kindness. We get people, when they open up their inbox, to write one positive email praising or thanking somebody in their support network. And by doing these activities and by training your brain just like we train our bodies, what we've found is we can reverse the formula for happiness and success, and in doing so, not only create ripples of positivity, but a real revolution. Please see a related post in this blog on Meditation in School - completely amazing! 1. Investigating the world beyond their immediate environment. 2. Using the arts to recognize their own and other's perspectives. 3. Communicating their ideas effectively with diverse audiences using the arts. 4. Using the arts to translate their ideas into appropriate actions to improve conditions. Click on Read More to access Resources and Curriculum Ideas. Students develop global competence through the arts by: The image above is one taken at the Navratri Festival at The Galaxy Education System (TGES) in Rajkot, Gujarat, India in 2011. Enjoy the audio file which is also from that festival. Click the image to enjoy a brief glimpse of this fabulous celebration, 9 nights of dancing, to honor their favorite goddess, Durga. a Hindu deity. She is the goddess of the Victory of Good over Evil. The dances are performed by the students at TGES, from the very little ones (PK) through high school, and the festival is broadcast live, online to the world. The arts and creativity are abundant, from the music, singing and dancing to the costumes, which are spectacular.
In recent decades the push for higher standardized tests scores has resulted in the virtual elimination of art, music, drama, dance and even recess in the majority of schools. Social studies were also relegated to the sidelines as teachers focused on higher test scores in reading and math.
In a recent survey, 85% of people agreed that creative thinking is critical for problem solving in their career. And with the challenges the world is facing today in our global economy, in our environment, and in social issues, the need for creative ideas has never been greater.[i] As Sir Ken Robinson stated, “Creativity is not an option, it’s an absolute necessity.” Therefore, we must find ways to bring creativity into learning. But first, we have to understand what conditions foster true creativity, which Robinson defines as “the process of having original ideas that have value.” Creativity is now the number one skill in demand by employers. It is interesting to note that current employers keep asking us to graduate students with the skills of creativity, collaboration, entrepreneurship, innovation, problem solving and critical thinking, but that the schools themselves continue to deliver a narrow curriculum devoid of the arts and creativity. Why is that? Guest post contributed by Adam Johnson - Social Justice Educator I am a middle school ELL/math teacher in the South Bronx. I am currently in my 5th year of teaching. I wanted all of you to know about a project that has empowered my students. I hope that you consider implementing a similar project in your school community. 25 students (all ELLs) and I started an after-school art club two years ago called South Bronx Youth Art. We meet every Thursday and Friday from 2:30-5:00 pm to paint and create works of art inspired by the students' experiences and their community. While I can recount many instances of how this program has helped my students' confidence I am most proud of their collective gains on the 2013-2014 Common Core state math and ELA exam. I believe this achievement was possible because of the strong relationships formed through this club and their ability to trust their teacher. This year the students have even started earning money due to interest in their art. The students have set up and administer an Etsy site where people all over the world can buy their art. All profits go to buying more art supplies and directly to the artists. This program is not only building confidence in our students, but preparing them for the 21st century because they are using their creativity to capture the attention of people around the world and using social media to market and actually make money. I highly encourage you to implement a similar type of program.
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