Network News
by Paddy Bowman, Coordinator, National Network for Folk Arts in Education
 
No, the dog didn’t eat my homework, but a time hog did. An article solicited for a 2006 special issue of the Journal of American Folklore has consumed way too many hours over the past few months and I now face a revision deadline of April 1. I apologize for not summarizing a year’s worth of accomplishments and urge Ed Section readers who do not already subscribe to the CARTS E-Bulletin to sign up now by sending me an email to pbowman@ix.netcom.com. These quarterly updates will help fill in the gaps of Network associates’ activities and materials.
 

 

Very briefly, since the AFS meeting in Salt Lake City, the Network has given financial assistance to Sue Eleuterio to attend the 2004 NCTE and National Writing Project conference in Indianapolis and to Jan Rosenberg to present a paper on John Dewey and folklife in education at the Florida Folklore Society meeting, which featured an all-education program.

Junior Ed Section convener Alysia McLain, Sue Eleuterio, and Laurie Sommers are helping me plan the 12th annual Saturday morning Ed Section/Network workshop for AFS in Atlanta. The line-up so far: Laurie will lead us through activities from her Folkwriting online guide. Sue discovered a cadre of teachers at the NWP meeting who are engaging their students in Kennesaw Mountain, GA, in community-based explorations and writing. We hope that Native American artist and educator Bobby Johns will be able to join us. We welcome all resources for the resource table but also need volunteers to help supervise that table to keep materials from disappearing and to welcome guests. Recruiting local educators to attend is another place we could use help.

The Network is incorporating as it own 501 ©3 nonprofit organization after years of using City Lore as a fiscal agent because of NEA regulations.

I need your help revising the carts.org regional resources. There are new organizations and materials and there are plenty of errors that need correcting. Please check your own states and organizations and send corrections and additions to me ASAP. The 2005 roster of summer training opportunities for teachers can be found in this newsletter, but check the CARTS website for updates.

I would love to hear from people about what you’re doing, so email, phone, send me new materials.

 

"Coming Up Taller" Awards

The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) is inviting nominations for its 2005 Coming Up Taller Awards. In partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Coming Up Taller Awards recognize the accomplishments of after-school and out-of-school programs and activities across the country. With its $10,000 award, Coming Up Taller also assists organizations, furthers knowledge, and encourages development of future programs.

Nomination forms are available at the Coming Up Taller Web site at http://www.cominguptaller.org under "What's New," or contact the President's Committee at 202/682-5409 for more information. A list of the 2004 winners can also be found at the Coming Up Taller Web site as well.

Deadline: Nominations must be postmarked by March 24, 2005.
 

AFS Seeks Contributions for Website

Tim Lloyd, American Folklore Society Executive Director, seeks contributions to a new AFS Teaching Resources Archives, an online compendium of folklore teaching materials. He is interested in educational materials of all kinds: higher education course syllabi and descriptions, K-12 curriculum materials, case studies or ethnographic examples for the teaching of specific topics or units, interpretive materials for public education presentations (exhibitions, performances, residencies, festivals), and links to web sites that already provide such materials. Submit files, including audio and video, to lloyd.100@osu.edu.
 

Additional Resources
The Arts Education Partnership (http://aep-arts.org) has posted a useful teacher training tool to provide doable research strategies. Find Critical Links: A Professional Inquiry Process at http://www.criticallinks.org.

Karen Ellis of Educational CyberPlayGround invites people to use the Children's Folksong Repository Project, at http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/NCFR/ and The Historic Electronic Online Archive of Children's Folksongs built by children of the U.S. These sites integrate literacy, music, and technology into the classroom.

Lynn Martin Graton (lmartin@nharts.state.nh.us), Traditional Arts Coordinator at the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, announces the New Hampshire Folklife web site at http://www.nh.gov/folklife. The site grew out of New Hampshire's presentation at the 1999 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. The next phase will concentrate on building up "The Learning Center" with more activities. The "Resources" section, at http://www.nh.gov/folklife/resources/index.htm, has a wide variety of links to connect people to cultural resources in New Hampshire, the region, and nationally.

National Endowment for the Arts updated their guide for parents, Imagine! Introducing Your Child to the Arts in 2004, including activities and suggestions in literature, dance, music, theater, visual arts, folk arts, and media arts for children ages 3 to 8 and features a pull-out guide of arts. activities, 68 pp., order free or download the guide or the activity pull-out at http://www.arts.gov:591/pub/artslearning.html.

Randy Williams points folks to the new Utah State Folklife Education web site, http://library.usu.edu/Folklo/edresources.

Gene Cohen, director of Societal Education about Aging for Change (SEA Change), asked the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to develop a list of children's books that portray older people positively. Find the list at http://www.ala.org/ala/pr2004/december2004/Newchildrensbooklist.htm.
 

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