Grammer hasn’t been consistently taught in schools for years. “Studies from as far back as 1963 have told teachers that it is useless and even “harmful” to teach diagramming, or for that matter any formal lessons on grammar. Students, according to the studies, retained little from old-fashioned grammar lessons, which stole time better spent on reading and writing. What’s more, they suggested that focusing on grammatical errors would inhibit the students’ creativity. As a result, grammar textbooks were long ago trashed and teachers were instructed to deal with usage problems one on one, when there was time. College education programs gave short shrift to grammar – and so, some veteran teachers say, many teachers don’t know it well themselves. But grammar, once the meat and potatoes of any child’s education, is back on the table.”
Tag: 05.02.03
Florida Phil Didn’t Make Fundraising Goal
The Florida Philharmonic is $17 million short of its fundraising goal, and its deadline for the money is today. “Philharmonic executive director Trey Devey said the group raised about $3 million of its goal of amassing $20 million in 10 days, which ends today. The money would have put the perennially cash-strapped orchestra on the road to financial stability, orchestra officials said. Without the $20 million, the 52-member board must choose from three options…”
Auctioning Isaac Stern
An internet auction of 180 items from violinist Isaac Stern’s estate has begun. “The items from the Stern estate range from violins, violin bows and photographs to his humidor and Steinway & Sons piano. Potentially the most valuable piece is a violin made by Frenchman Jean Baptiste Vuillaume around 1850. Bidding for the violin started at $47,500.”
Why People Loot
“Looting seems about as psychologically complicated as, ‘Hey, outta my way – I saw it first!’ Yet the sociologists who study crowd behavior say that looting is commonly misunderstood. ‘Looting is not just lawlessness. It’s not that looting is a good thing. But there’s a logic to it. You get a sense, from what people loot and destroy, of which things they think are illegitimate. The things left standing are the parts of society that people feel some solidarity with’.”
UK Lottery Losses – Arts Projects Over Budget And Poorly Planned
In the UK, 13 of 15 lottery-funded arts building projects are over budget, leading to warnings from the national audit office. “The Arts Council stands to lose £10.5 million alone on the disastrous National Centre for Popular Music in Sheffield, which closed after just over a year.”
Jazz – A Dying Breed
“As jazz settles into its second century, the number of musicians who qualify as living legends diminishes each year. Even in the 1970s — when the music was arguably at its lowest commercial ebb — many of the greatest names in its history were still rumbling around the five-star circuit. Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Benny Goodman, Charles Mingus: all commanded the biggest stages. Today, it is harder and harder to find those living links with the past. The recent death of the showman Lionel Hampton was another reminder of how few titans are still with us.” Is the era of the jazz concert coming to a close?
Museum Attendance Surges Back To Normal In NY
After a slump after 9/11, museum attendance in New York has returned to normal or increased, according to the Association of Art Museum Directors in New York. The report says that “museums have mostly been able to maintain, or even increase, their pre-9/11 staffing and programs.”