 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:
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 In this post I am offering my perspectives on how education today remains firmly entrenched in what is often called the Factory Model, which was designed for the Industrial Revolution. The majority of students at that time were educated to prepare for work on farms on in factories. This is an obsolete model of a by-gone era. But it is still with us today, well into the 21st century:   We need filmmaking in our classrooms, not to graduate filmmakers, but to graduate problem -solvers, critical thinkers and passionate people who can work with others to make that which does not yet exist, real. Nikos Theodosadis, The Director in the Classroom There are almost - seemingly - an infinite number of ways to design and implement amazing learning experiences for your students via project-based learning. Our model of project-based learning at 21st Century Schools is PBL21 - "the next step in the evolution of project-based learning!" While the climate in education for the past 15 years or so has been steeped in standardized testing, there have been, thankfully, some schools who forge ahead with meaningful, real world, exciting learning experiences for their students. They know that if students have these opportunities they will actually learn more and perform better on their standardized tests. One of the most powerful forms of PBL21 is videography, or filmmaking. This experience provides students with an opportunity to engage with the curriculum at very high levels, enables students to develop critical 21st century skills and multiple literacies for the 21st century.  When it comes to education, we somehow threw out the baby with the bath water when:
I. Test Prep & Standardized Tests Replace Learning  This transformation was not initiated by educators, it was not approved by educators and it has been strongly resisted by many educators. However, between the forces of the federal government and the corporations who stood to make massive profits, education lost. Educators lost. Worst of all - children lost. Many of our finest teachers left the profession. They knew that what this was doing to children was wrong, and they had no intention of participating in this process.  You have probably seen the videos of random surveys out in public and particularly on college campuses which reflect a near total lack of knowledge about history or our country. For this reason, a senator created a bill which made it law to teach about the Constitution at least one day per year! Federal law passed in 2004 requires that all schools that receive federal funding provide a course to all students on the Constitution on Constitution Day, September 17. The law is known as H.R. 4818, and the text is found at section 111(b): “Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17 of such year for the students served by the educational institution.” As a fourth grade teacher I covered the chalk board in my classroom with life-size copies of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution which I had purchased at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. (I laminated them first.) It was amazing to me how often students would walk up there and start reading it - they were fascinated. They made a very impressive and beautiful display. The links in this paragraph are to the National Archives in Washington, D.C. where you may order beautiful, life-sized copies very inexpensively! (Yes, the students can also view the documents on their computer screens. But sometimes a tangible, life-size visual is much better.) Find many resources for Constitution Day at our Curriculum Resources site. Make Constitution Day a powerful experience for you and your students!
 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 . . .
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