"It's Elementary my dear" (IEMD)– has many meanings.
Released on New Year's Eve, on the Internet by New Education Options, Inc. in Sherman Oaks, California, this public service announcement describes a title of a student-produced community service video crafted by four talented Cleveland High School Media Academy teens.
Its goal: to "make a difference". Its purpose: to collaboratively launch a discussion starting in 2013 about literacy development and options in Education. Its only rules to use their medium unencumbered to voice their opinions.
The project commenced with a donation and a theme of students mentoring students morphed from a short that would positively impact others starting with 20 people with a goal of 200 to an elegant, simple and powerful presentation covering contemporary issues in PK-5 grades, in school culture, in community access, and in academic improvement.
After exploring rough field research footage, contemplating what they wanted to say, the production team focused on organizing the content into a 2:05 short.
As a digital documentary, Lexis, Daisy, Salam, and Jeanne, chose to feature young San Fernando Valley, college educated, childcare workers who voice their enthusiasm for a professional training that embraced Science through the Common Core and the Arts.
What began as a mystery, answered by the (Leonard) Bernstein Foundation 'Artful Learning Framework' and NEA or internet researched sources, continued to inform their expanding research question "how does one combine different disciplines to improve student achievement"? "Does Art inform Science study?" "Can music positively impact informal science and at-risk learner performance?"
They continued to hone down to a message and chose a continuing education unit led by California Artist in the Schools awardee, and Director, Bo Lebo, and a NEO program WaterBuddy that has embraced utilizing arts integration with California's AB 1548 (CalRecycle PK Education and the Environment curriculum) to remediate reading skills in Title 1 settings.
See the QVR Code (2:05 music video final release to view at
http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=qr&chs=350x350&chl=http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=320527)
Exploring content in the NEO WaterBuddy enrichment program held in mixed PK-3rd grade settings, this "Rainbow Song" continuing education program footage is explored through cameo'd interviews with participating staff from NOBLE, Inc.'s Fall childcare program (NOBLEKids) in Woodland Hills. (Website: www.mynoble.org)
Using state-approved content as an instructional foundation, the video captures the NOBLEKids faculty's reaction to the impact of EEI/musical linguistics pedagogy. They have been joyfully applying and discussing, demonstrating, and inventing from NEO's training workshop using elements of Songworks and MusicEdventures concepts in English Language and Reading.
The arts integration scaffolding applied with state and federal guidelines was modeled to deepen student experience. The staff embraced NEO's cross-disciplinary approach to core standards.
The video sketches out NEO's arts in education approach. Their program, WaterBuddy, used music to drive student interest and raise professional skill sets. By featuring these lively educators, the Media Academy's young creative team discovered that arts integration although not unique to New Education Options, the nonprofit, they were volunteering for, is gaining in popularity and at the center of many national studies and directed philanthropy.
Lexis, Daisy, Jeanne and Salam reviewed field video shot in Napa, Oahu, Woodland Hills, Van Nuys and elsewhere and chose to feature NOBLEKids at Hamlin Charter Academy. NOBLE, Inc. hosted a NEO training that featured music as a bridge to informal science and building student academic achievement through vocabulary.
In the process of using the arts in their daily practice led these professional to affirmative and brain targeted interventions that led to increased language, reading skill development, student motivation and behavior, creativity, self-discovery, and even class room management.
"Its Elementary my dear" was developed with a gift from David Elliott, permissions from Salvadore Elementary School in Napa, NOBLE, Inc. in Burbank, and many others. For more information about showing the video for educational uses or to invite Ms. Lebo to speak or present at paper, call 818-742-5099.
To give a tax exempt year end donation today or until Valentine's Day 2014 for scholarships for arts in education programming for NOBLEKids or at other schools, go to www.letsfund.it and click on the "Aloha from the HeART" LA River campaign to underwrite services for children who otherwise might go without these kinds of programs due to budget cuts.
Each $30K will provide books and instruction for WaterBuddy or give a gift to NOBLE, Inc. to open its 3rd-10th school sites to help provide services for children at school campuses year round (www.mynoble.org).
P.S. Although it is now elementary to the Ms. Rodriguez, Ms. Ochoa, Ms. Fernandez and Mr. Quammouh that the Arts and Sciences inform each other and really belong together in class work or daily life…..because of their sleuthing….and generosity…more teachers, parents, administrators, and funders can reexamine the role of the arts in driving performance and raising achievement using elements insisted upon in the federal Common Core Standards.
They earned community service hours for their service work, but they drove an old and new paradigm into discussion widening a current and ongoing conversation concerning Educational Budget Appropriations and GAO/Presidential recommendations.
Dana Wellborn has donated "Aloha from my Heart" calendars to underwrite enrichment, science/art programs. NOBLE is readying to expand its programming so that children learn and more parents go to work content that their children are safe and supported.
The video that was a Self-Expression and Leadership project for Ms. Lebo in the Landmark Curriculum has reached more than 200 people.
It has captured NEO's valuable work in a year when they have been accepted as a community partner with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and received California Arts Council dollars that were provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Stretching the dollars and the point, without the SELP coaching and the Media Academy, everyone might have missed the grassroots work by these two nonprofits working to provide services to 2000 children across 10 school sites.
Education is at a "tipping point". This kind of enthusiasm is vital and these acquired skills transformational for students who might otherwise be beyond reach.
The President has been outspoken as a supporter of student graduation and of childcare providers with higher educational degrees. Intuitively the teen producers focused on the material at hand and derived a documentary featuring what a great program would look like and how it works.
NEO and NOBLE congratulate the students. We will share the film with Educators and those interested in this childcare and enrichment work. At last, NEO has a tool that can make all the difference in creating new and significant flex time or full time jobs in the San Fernando Valley.
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It's Elementary my dear links ...from the periodic table to tv:
For Fun……..BBC Series-
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/showbiz-tv/hot-tv/357886/Elementary-my-dear-Watson-Sherlock-s-New-Year-s-secret-was-two-years-in-the-making Phrase Finder-
phrases.org.uk/meanings/elementary-my-dear-watson.html
Sherlock Holmes-
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes
Did he ever say it?-
www.snopes.com › Home › Questionable Quotes › Signature Phrases
Sharon Rutter/School House Rock-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AilDza95hYc
Arts Integration Research-
http://www.sjsu.edu/people/susan.verducci/courses/ca177/s1/Arts%20Integration%20Framework,%20Research%20&%20Practice.pdf
http://www.education.nh.gov/instruction/curriculum/arts/documents/ilp_report.pdf http://www.cehd.umn.edu/carei/publications/documents/DoforStudents.pdf EEI- CalRecycle AB 1548 resources-
http://www.calepa.ca.gov/education/EEI/Curriculum/GradeK/K3a/K3aVA.pdf