Blogs on Student Engagement

If I was still in the classroom, I'd divert from the plans I'd etched out for this week and I'd teach a few lessons on justice -- what it means, how it's attained -- by examining something that happened in Guatemala at the end of last week. Something happened in that Central American country that offers tremendous hope and inspiration. I want to tell you about it; I want you to tell your students about it.

Here in California, we're mid-way through the spring testing frenzy. This is a challenging time for many of us working in and with public schools, as well as for kids themselves. I don't like it; all kinds of feelings and thoughts come up for me that don't make me an effective educator.

I love all types of music, from John Coltrane playing "My Favorite Things" to Bruce Springsteen shaking the rafters with "Promised Land" to Hilary Hahn's rapturous performance of a Bach Partita. And lately I've been thinking more about the place of music in schools -- all music, but especially classical music.

To be subtle. To be true. To be original. To be on. • To sing without moving your lips. • To explore the conventions of a thousand genres and befriend a thousand tribes. • To set your love free. • To tweet and be RTed. • To convince someone to give you money. • To get better at doing hard things.