I spent Monday and Tuesday this week at the National School Board Association’s Federal Relations Network Conference.   School board members from around the country came for briefings and “how to” sessions before spending Tuesday on Capitol Hill meeting with their senators and representatives.  We heard from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan who talked about the need to invest in education if we are to not fall behind economically.  He also talked about the proper role of the federal government in education policy: to set the standards for success, not the prescription for success.  One of the interesting ideas they have is to bypass states in some of their funding and directly give support to school divisions.  That could be a good thing in states that do not support their public schools well.  Here in Virginia, I have very real concerns about the push for charter schools.  Yes, I’m well aware the President and Secty Duncan support charter schools.  Charter schools can be helpful when you have totally dysfunctional school systems.  But when things are working well, and there is choice for parents, and there are relatively high standards, as is the case in most Virginia districts….....charter schools could wreak havoc with what is working well and do nothing to move education forward.   My fear is that in an effort to cut spending and to not raise taxes no matter what AND to appear to be an “education governor”,  the “solution” may be legislation to take charter school approval away from school boards and put it in the hands of those who think any charter school has to be good.  Money has to come from somewhere, and it almost certainly would come from our schools.

At the conference, it was a pleasure to spend time with other school board members and our legislators and their staff:  all intelligent, well-meaning people trying to help make government work better for everyone.  Hearing about the difficulty of getting almost anything done in the current political environment was not so pleasant.

I found myself walking to Union Station from the Library of Congress Tuesday evening in the snow.  I was alone and the area behind the Capitol was almost deserted.  The Capitol and the Supreme Court were lit with a warm light and the snow swirled gently as it fell. I stopped to look and thought of all the history in those buildings and the centuries now of Americans trying to make our government work well for everyone.  It was a magical moment.  I said a silent prayer for our nation feeling lucky to be, for a short time, a very small part of a very great effort.

What’s music got to do with it?

I’ve been asked if we’ll cut art and music from our schools in these tight budget times. I’d like to answer that question by telling you a little about my weekend.   I listened to A Prairie Home Companion on Saturday wondering how Garrison Keillor would handle the whole Haiti situation.  Sometimes there are events that just can’t be ignored by anyone in the broadcast business.    I should have guessed.  He talked a little about how horrible the situation is and how we all need to send help to Haiti (yes, we do) and then he started with a heartfelt song, a blues song that went “God, please don’t turn Your back on me….”  Soon the whole audience was singing (and me at home).  Sunday, I attended our annual program to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr which featured student essays about Dr. King and…..music: great jazz by the Washington-Lee Jazz Band and wonderful hymns and spirituals by a combined choir from all the historically black churches in Arlington.  Soon the whole audience was clapping and singing in honor of this great man.  My weekend began Friday with the first Washington-Lee pyramid choral concert which featured all the elementary and middle schools that feed into Washington-Lee (hence the pyramid reference).  In the end all the choirs joined together and the audience was singing along and clapping.

I can’t imagine life without music.  People everywhere turn to music.   Music is there for us when we are happy or sad, in a crowd or feeling lonely.  Performing music teaches reading and math, teamwork, the value of preparation and practice.  That makes music a great educational tool, but music is more than that. Music speaks for us when we can’t find the words.   As musician Art Blakely put it, music washes “away the dust of everyday life.”   

Tuesday the 19th is the second anniversary of Kennan’s death.   I’ve often turned to singing songs when I’m alone to help get through these two years, folk songs and hymns mostly.  They speak to the human condition and have comforted people for centuries as they’ve comforted me.     Cut music and the arts from our schools?   No way.

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan held a national town meeting with students from around the country at WETA in Shirlington and with him were students from Wakefield High School.  The purpose of the town meeting was to follow up on the President’s speech to the nation’s students from Wakefield this September.   Secretary Duncan wanted to hear from students what worked and what didn’t for them and how adults could help support students in their learning and to stay in school.  Our students talk about a number of programs at Wakefield that connect them to each other and to the larger community.  They credit the community that Wakefield creates as a major support helping them succeed in school.  You can watch the town meeting here and see how proud we can all be of Wakefield and our students http://www.apsva.us/15401082104136983/blank/browse.asp?a=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&c=64053

In case you aren’t able to watch to the end, I want readers to know that Secretary Duncan says that he is a fan of Wakefield and that it can serve as a model for the country. The picture of me with the Secretary was taken after the President’s Speech at Wakefield.  Yes, the Secretary is very tall—I’m standing on my tip toes.