Honoring Geraldine Ferraro
Posted by: christineforcoltrane on: October 1, 2009
On September 26th the National Organization of Italian American Women honored Geraldine Ferraro. It was the 25th Anniversary of her nomination for Vice President of the United States of America. We had a spectacular luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria. Gerry made a speech that had me holding back tears, but the tears won out! It was a powerful and important speech. She spoke with love and deep appreciation for her mother, a young widow, who made many sacrifices to educate her and her brother. Ms. Ferraro went on to be a stellar role model and a trail blazer. I have always held her in high esteem. This picture captures a special moment frozen in time for me. The photo was taken by my daughter Victoria. Here I am listening to Geraldine speak about the importance of education.~ I couldn’t agree more Gerry! Victoria and I stand on your shoulders. Women throughout the world are grateful to you for your achievements, dedication and courage.
Happy Birthday John Coltrane…Thank you for the Exquisite Music which Stirs the Soul!
Posted by: christineforcoltrane on: September 23, 2009
“I hear in John’s music a direct message to me as a teacher, and that is to go on teaching children in a way that respects their individuality. His music tells children to be who they want to be, that it is OK to be different, it is OK to feel, and that we all need to be able to express who we are in our own way to find what writer and philosopher Joseph Campbell called ‘following your bliss.’” Christine Termini Passarella, Educator
Kindly click on the In The News page to read more.
The Arts and Cognition
Posted by: christineforcoltrane on: September 20, 2009
Dr. Daniel Levitin author of This is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs posted this article on Facebook. It was written by Michael I. Posner PhD., and Brenda Patoine. Please check out Dr. Levitin’s books and enjoy this illuminating article.
Happy Birthday to Jazz Master Sonny Rollins
Posted by: christineforcoltrane on: September 5, 2009
This is great video created by Bret Primack explaining the special friendship of two jazz legends John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. On September 7th Sonny is celebrating his birthday. I would like to celebrate Sonny and his contribution to music and his love of humanity which he is expresses exquisitely. Explore the music and lives of the Jazz masters…you will hear brilliance…you will also learn moving and powerful American stories.
One of my favorite poems
The Soul’s Expression by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
With stammering lips and insufficient sound
I strive and struggle to deliver right
That music of my nature, day and night
With dream and thought and feeling interwound
And only answering all the senses round
With octaves of a mystic depth and height
Which step out grandly to the infinite
From the dark edges of the sensual ground.
This song of soul I struggle to outbear
Through portals of the sense, sublime and whole,
And utter all myself into the air:
But if I did it, – as the thunder – roll
Breaks its own cloud, my flesh would perish there,
Before that dread apocalypse of soul.
Frank McCourt: Teacher Man
Posted by: christineforcoltrane on: August 19, 2009
This is a touching video posted on You Tube by NYU in honor of teacher and Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt. His books include Angela’s Ashes and Teacher Man where he documents his courageous journey.
Frank McCourt was a 30 year veteran New York City public high school teacher. The UFT honored him with the John Dewey Award for Excellence in Education in 2006. Although Frank died this July he will continue to hold the hands of teachers who enter the classroom each year. ” I wanted my students to think for themselves,” he stated. In this tribute film he talks about accepting an honorary doctorate from NYU. “….I am accepting this honorary doctorate not because I wrote 2 books , but because I was a teacher, that’s the main thing.” Frank McCourt did his undergraduate work at NYU and graduate work at Brooklyn College. He is an inspiration to educators and children all over the world. I am grateful to Frank McCourt for being an exemplary educator, and a man who followed his bliss.
THE FUTURE OF LEARNING
Posted by: christineforcoltrane on: August 9, 2009
I just returned from a most enriching summer professional development experience at Harvard University. This institute was designed to help educators prepare students for the future. We explored how globalization, the digital revolution, and advances in neuroscience are transforming education. I was privileged to be in this exploration with educators from all over our beautiful planet. It was exquisite to learn from world-renowned Harvard Graduate School of Education faculty and leading researchers and practitioners from around the world.
~ I am incredibly grateful to Veronica Boix Mansilla, Howard Gardner and David Perkins for leading this institute brilliantly. This was a breathtaking moment in time that I will truly treasure. The intellectual stimulation allowed for the participants to ponder these transformative statements as we learned…”I used to think….and now I think….” We filled in the blanks as we progressed together. What a wonderful way to learn…exploring thought provoking through lines. I returned home with clear answers, and with generative questions to explore as I move into the future of learning.
Bravo! Our First Lady Applauds Arts in Education
Posted by: christineforcoltrane on: July 31, 2009
I am grateful to Mrs. Obama for her deep understanding of the importance of arts in education. My students have flourished using Artful Thinking. To learn about Artful Thinking, kindly read the research going on at Harvard University. Shari Tishman, Steve Seidel, Ellen Winner, Lois Hetland and other esteemed members of Project Zero are proving the importance of Artful Thinking with their brilliant research.
http://www.pz.harvard.edu/Research/ArtThink.htm
PEN AND INK
Posted by: christineforcoltrane on: July 19, 2009
Wynton Marsalis’s Commencement Speech
Posted by: christineforcoltrane on: June 28, 2009
Click here to download a PDF of the speech
“Remember, your song is the embodiment of your dream. The poetry of your life will be
in the way you live it…not with what you have, but what you do with what you have.
You see, part of being present is confronting the proverbial fork in the road consciously
aware that you have a choice, and that every choice determines what you will experience.
Every choice is a test of your insight, your intelligence, your feeling and, ultimately, your
courage.
Sometimes our dream, our song, requires us to make impractical decisions.
And as you make these decisions, it’s important to realize that you will shape your life to
your dream and the nature of life is internal.”~ Wynton Marsalis
Cool Characters Follow Their Bliss!
Posted by: christineforcoltrane on: June 11, 2009
The Kids for Coltrane class learning about celebrating the uniqueness in human beings with a picture of jazz legend John Coltrane in the background…On June 19th they will perform an original play that is based on the qualities of good character …and sing an original song in honor of President Obama entitled The Dream.
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The Kids for Coltrane Club learning the West Coast Swing from dance teacher Michael Pagan. On June 19th they will dance and sing…One of the songs they sing are original lyrics to Coltrane’s Equinox. We call it Hamlet’s Child in honor of the legend. Every Friday our club met after school to dance and sing….and just have a great time!!
