Category: issues

“The common core state standards, a set of math and English goals agreed upon by 45 states and now being implemented, sends cursive the way of the quill pen, while requiring instead that students be proficient in keyboarding by fourth grade. Cursive is optional – and, so far, few schools have opted for it.”

“Anonymity is often prized because it protects personal privacy and allows institutions quietly to sell items from their collections that they no longer need. In some cases it can also cloak the embarrassment of debt or help sellers avoid setting off family conflicts.”

The government of the United Kingdom may have (partly) abandoned public life, but Britons use DIY funding to cover some cutbacks. “Successful projects have ranged from the creation of a tiny art space in a red telephone box in Edinburgh to a community center in a deprived ex-mining village in southern Wales.”

“Historically, there is no nice precedent for this work: Once, the circus freak show was the only home for the handicapped performer. When the talkies started, dwarfs, in particular, were occasionally called on to play clowns or villains but today the film industry actually has an increasingly realistic approach to presenting the handicapped.”

“Because of budget cuts and financial reorganization of the country’s cultural sector, about 40 of the 120 cultural arts organizations in the country became ineligible for federal grants this year. Some of them have been able to secure financing from other sources, but at least two dozen had to fold at the beginning of the year.”

“After significant backlash, Gov. Sam Brownback and the Kansas legislature restored some funding to the arts in the 2012 legislative session. Whether or not that will result in a restoration of matching funds remains to be seen.”

“The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. approved $1 million to hire staff or consultants to conduct research to determine the cost of building the center, said Maggie Boepple, director of the center. The approval means that construction could begin in 2017, with a projected opening in 2019.”

“A case study in the right sabotaging its own cultural criticism, starring National Review contributors.”

“Because of budget cuts and financial reorganization of the country’s cultural sector, about 40 of the 120 cultural arts organizations in the country became ineligible for federal grants this year. Some of them have been able to secure financing from other sources, but at least two dozen had to fold at the beginning of the year.”

As some politicians and voters insist that there’s no other way to handle the cuts in revenue-sharing from the national government, others argue not only that cutting all arts funding is disproportionate but also that the city council is manipulating its budget numbers.