Advising Places

Kevin Ohlandt reports that a second charter school in Delaware voted to join the Delaware State Education Association.

This is sure to make the Waltons, Betsy DeVos, the Koch brothers, and Democrats for Edicarion Reform very angry, because part of their motivation for supporting charters is to break trachers’ Unions. More than 90% of charters are non-union, and their billionaire backers want to keep them that way.

Kevin writes:

Odyssey Charter School teachers and staff voted and an overwhelming majority decided to join the Delaware State Education Association. This is the second charter school in Delaware to do so in 2018. Last Spring, the Charter School of Wilmington also voted to join DSEA. In 1997, Positive Outcomes joined DSEA but opted out in 2000. Delaware College Prep joined in 2012 but closed a few years later due to low enrollment.

With 131 for and 16 against, over 89% of the educators in the school decided a teachers union was the best option for them. Prior to 2018, it was virtually unheard of for Delaware charters to unionize. What turned the tide?

For Odyssey, the decision was clear- they did not like decisions the board was making and felt their voices were not being heard. When former leader Nick Manolakos did not have his contract renewed, the school hired two to take his place. But the tipping point was when their former Board President, who had just resigned, became a leading contender for a third highly paid administrator.

Over the summer this led to those teachers and parents questioning the board about decisions that would affect the school. Parents saw fundraiser after fundraiser to get more money for the school but didn’t feel the money was going towards what the school promised. But they had money for all these administrators.

Remember, Delaware is the state that DeVos gave more than $10 million to expand charter schools, even though there is a problem with low enrollments (I.e., not much demand).

Want to get a PhD degree and need some funding to do? The Queensland University of Technology is offering applications for the QUT School of Accountancy PhD Scholarship.

New Zealand and International students can apply for the scholarship. The program is open to pursuing a PhD degree program in the field of Business and Technology and Governance.

The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. It built on ideas explored in the band's earlier recordings and live shows, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterised their work following the departure in 1968 of founder member, principal composer and lyricist, Syd Barrett. The Dark Side of the Moon's themes include conflict, greed, the passage of time, and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by Barrett's deteriorating mental state.

Developed during live performances, an early version of the suite was premiered several months before studio recording began; new material was recorded in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at Abbey Road Studios in London. The group used some of the most advanced recording techniques of the time, including multitrack recording and tape loops. Analogue synthesizers were given prominence in several tracks, and a series of recorded interviews with the band's road crew and others provided the philosophical quotations used throughout. Engineer Alan Parsons was directly responsible for some of the most notable sonic aspects of the album as well as the recruitment of non-lexical performer Clare Torry. The album's iconic sleeve, designed by Storm Thorgerson, features a prism that represents the band's stage lighting, the record's lyrical themes, and keyboardist Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design.

The Dark Side of the Moon was an immediate success, topping the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart for one week. It subsequently remained in the charts for 741 weeks from 1973 to 1988. With an estimated 50 million copies sold, it is Pink Floyd's most commercially successful album and one of the best-selling albums worldwide. It has twice been remastered and re-released, and has been covered in its entirety by several other acts. It spawned two singles, "Money" and "Time". In addition to its commercial success, The Dark Side of the Moon is one of Pink Floyd's most popular albums among fans and critics, and is frequently ranked as one of the greatest albums of all time.

Background

Following the release of Meddle in 1971, the band assembled for an upcoming tour of Britain, Japan, and the United States in December of that year. Rehearsing in Broadhurst Gardens in London, there was the looming prospect of a new album, although their priority at that time was the creation of new material.[1] In a band meeting at drummer Nick Mason's home in Camden, bassist Roger Waters proposed that a new album could form part of the tour. Waters' idea was for an album that dealt with things that "make people mad", focusing on the pressures faced by the band during their arduous lifestyle, and dealing with the apparent mental problems suffered by former band member Syd Barrett.[2][3] The band had explored a similar idea with 1969's The Man and The Journey.[4] In an interview for Rolling Stone, guitarist David Gilmour said:

...I think we all thought—and Roger definitely thought—that a lot of the lyrics that we had been using were a little too indirect. There was definitely a feeling that the words were going to be very clear and specific.[5]

Generally, all four members agreed that Waters' concept of an album unified by a single theme was a good idea.[5] Waters, Gilmour, Mason and Wright participated in the writing and production of the new material, and Waters created the early demo tracks at his Islington home in a small recording studio he had built in his garden shed.[6] Parts of the new album were taken from previously unused material; the opening line of "Breathe" came from an earlier work by Waters and Ron Geesin, written for the soundtrack of The Body,[7] and the basic structure of "Us and Them" was taken from a piece originally composed by Wright for the film Zabriskie Point.[8] The band rehearsed at a warehouse in London owned by The Rolling Stones, and then at the Rainbow Theatre. They also purchased extra equipment, which included new speakers, a PA system, a 28-track mixing desk with four quadraphonic outputs, and a custom-built lighting rig. Nine tonnes of kit was transported in three lorries; this would be the first time the band had taken an entire album on tour, but it would allow them to refine and improve the new material,[9][10] which by then had been given the provisional title of Dark Side of the Moon (an allusion to lunacy, rather than astronomy).[11] However, after discovering that that title had already been used by another band, Medicine Head, it was temporarily changed to Eclipse. The new material premièred at The Dome in Brighton, on 20 January 1972,[12] and after the commercial failure of Medicine Head's album the title was changed back to the band's original preference.[13][14][nb 1]

The Rainbow Theatre in London, where The Dark Side of the Moon was played for the press in 1972.

Dark Side of the Moon: A Piece for Assorted Lunatics, as it was then known,[4] was performed in the presence of an assembled press on 17 February 1972—more than a year before its release—at the Rainbow Theatre, and was critically acclaimed.[15] Michael Wale of The Times described the piece as "... bringing tears to the eyes. It was so completely understanding and musically questioning."[16] Derek Jewell of The Sunday Times wrote "The ambition of the Floyd's artistic intention is now vast."[13]Melody Maker was, however, less enthusiastic: "Musically, there were some great ideas, but the sound effects often left me wondering if I was in a bird-cage at London zoo."[17] The following tour was praised by the public. The new material was performed live, in the same order in which it would eventually be recorded, but obvious differences between the live version, and the recorded version released a year later, included the lack of synthesizers in tracks such as "On the Run", and Bible readings that were later replaced by Clare Torry's non-lexical vocables on "The Great Gig in the Sky".[15]

The band's lengthy tour through Europe and North America gave them the opportunity to make continual improvements to the scale and quality of their performances.[18] Studio sessions were scheduled between tour dates; rehearsals began in England on 20 January 1972, but in late February the band travelled to France and recorded music for French director Barbet Schroeder's film, La Vallée.[19][nb 2] They then performed in Japan and returned to France in March to complete work on the film. After a series of dates in North America, the band flew to London to begin recording the album, from 24 May to 25 June. More concerts in Europe and North America followed before the band returned on 9 January 1973 to complete work on the album.[20][21][22]

Concept

The Dark Side of the Moon built upon experiments Pink Floyd had attempted in their previous live shows and recordings, but lacks the extended instrumental excursions which, according to critic David Fricke, had become characteristic of the band after founder member Syd Barrett left in 1968. Guitarist David Gilmour, Barrett's replacement, later referred to those instrumentals as "that psychedelic noodling stuff", and with Waters cited 1971's Meddle as a turning-point towards what would be realised on the album. The Dark Side of the Moon's lyrical themes include conflict, greed, the passage of time, death, and insanity, the latter inspired in part by Barrett's deteriorating mental state; he had been the band's principal composer and lyricist.[8] The album is notable for its use of musique concrète[4] and conceptual, philosophical lyrics, as found in much of the band's other work.

Each side of the album is a continuous piece of music. The five tracks on each side reflect various stages of human life, beginning and ending with a heartbeat, exploring the nature of the human experience, and (according to Waters) "empathy".[8] "Speak to Me" and "Breathe" together stress the mundane and futile elements of life that accompany the ever-present threat of madness, and the importance of living one's own life—"Don't be afraid to care".[23] By shifting the scene to an airport, the synthesizer-driven instrumental "On the Run" evokes the stress and anxiety of modern travel, in particular Wright's fear of flying.[24] "Time" examines the manner in which its passage can control one's life and offers a stark warning to those who remain focused on mundane aspects; it is followed by a retreat into solitude and withdrawal in "Breathe (Reprise)". The first side of the album ends with Wright and vocalist Clare Torry's soulful metaphor for death, "The Great Gig in the Sky".[4] Opening with the sound of cash registers and loose change, the first track on side two, "Money", mocks greed and consumerism using tongue-in-cheek lyrics and cash-related sound effects (ironically, "Money" has been the most commercially successful track from the album, with several cover versions produced by other bands).[25] "Us and Them" addresses the isolation of the depressed with the symbolism of conflict and the use of simple dichotomies to describe personal relationships. "Any Colour You Like" concerns the lack of choice one has in a human society. "Brain Damage" looks at a mental illness resulting from the elevation of fame and success above the needs of the self; in particular, the line "and if the band you're in starts playing different tunes" reflects the mental breakdown of former band-mate Syd Barrett. The album ends with "Eclipse", which espouses the concepts of alterity and unity, while forcing the listener to recognise the common traits shared by humanity.[26][27]

Recording

The album was recorded at Abbey Road Studios, in two sessions, between May 1972 and January 1973. The band were assigned staff engineer Alan Parsons, who had worked as assistant tape operator on Atom Heart Mother, and who had also gained experience as a recording engineer on The Beatles' Abbey Road and Let It Be.[28][29] The recording sessions made use of some of the most advanced studio techniques of the time; the studio was capable of 16-track mixes, which offered a greater degree of flexibility than the eight- or four-track mixes they had previously used, although the band often used so many tracks that to make more space available second-generation copies were made.[30]

Beginning on 1 June, the first track to be recorded was "Us and Them", followed six days later by "Money". Waters had created effects loops from recordings of various money-related objects, including coins thrown into a food-mixing bowl taken from his wife's pottery studio, and these were later re-recorded to take advantage of the band's decision to record a quadraphonic mix of the album (Parsons has since expressed dissatisfaction with the result of this mix, attributed to a lack of time and the paucity of available multi-track tape recorders).[29] "Time" and "The Great Gig in the Sky" were the next pieces to be recorded, followed by a two-month break, during which the band spent time with their families and prepared for an upcoming tour of the US.[31] The recording sessions suffered regular interruptions; Waters, a supporter of Arsenal F.C., would often break to see his team compete, and the band would occasionally stop work to watch Monty Python's Flying Circus on the television, leaving Parsons to work on material recorded up to that point.[30] Gilmour has, however, disputed this claim; in an interview in 2003 he said: "We would sometimes watch them but when we were on a roll, we would get on."[32][33]

Returning from the US in January 1973, they recorded "Brain Damage", "Eclipse", "Any Colour You Like" and "On the Run", while fine-tuning the work they had already laid down in the previous sessions. A foursome of female vocalists was assembled to sing on "Brain Damage", "Eclipse" and "Time", and saxophonist Dick Parry was booked to play on "Us and Them" and "Money". With director Adrian Maben, the band also filmed studio footage for Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii.[34] Once the recording sessions were complete, the band began a tour of Europe.[35]

Instrumentation

The album is particularly notable for the metronomic sound effects during "Speak to Me", and the tape loops that open "Money". Mason created a rough version of "Speak to Me" at his home, before completing it in the studio. The track serves as an overture and contains cross-fades of elements from other pieces on the album. A piano chord, replayed backwards, serves to augment the build-up of effects, which are immediately followed by the opening of "Breathe". Mason received a rare solo composing credit for "Speak to Me".[nb 3][36][37] The sound effects on "Money" were created by splicing together Waters' recordings of clinking coins, tearing paper, a ringing cash register, and a clicking adding machine, which were used to create a 7-beat effects loop (later adapted to four tracks in order to create a "walk around the room" effect in quadraphonic presentations of the album).[38] At times the degree of sonic experimentation on the album required the engineers and band to operate the mixing console's faders simultaneously, in order to mix down the intricately assembled multitrack recordings of several of the songs (particularly "On the Run").[8]

Along with the conventional rock band instrumentation, Pink Floyd added prominent synthesizers to their sound. For example, the band experimented with an EMS VCS 3 on "Brain Damage" and "Any Colour You Like", and a Synthi A on "Time" and "On the Run". They also devised and recorded unconventional sounds, such as an assistant engineer running around the studio's echo chamber (during "On the Run"),[39] and a specially treated bass drum made to simulate a human heartbeat (during "Speak to Me", "On the Run", "Time", and "Eclipse"). This heartbeat is most prominent as the intro and the outro to the album, but it can also be heard sporadically on "Time", and "On the Run".[8] The assorted clocks ticking then chiming simultaneously at the start of "Time", accompanied by a series of Rototoms, were initially created as a quadraphonic test by Parsons.[36] The engineer recorded each timepiece at an antique clock shop, and although his recordings had not been created specifically for the album, elements of the material were eventually used in the track.[40]

Voices

Several tracks, including "Us and Them" and "Time", demonstrate Richard Wright and David Gilmour's ability to harmonise their voices. In the 2003 documentary The Making of The Dark Side of the Moon, Waters attributed this to the fact that their voices sound extremely similar. To take advantage of this, Parsons perfected the use of studio techniques such as the double tracking of vocals and guitars, which allowed Gilmour to harmonise with himself. Parsons also made prominent use of flanging and phase shifting effects on vocals and instruments, odd trickery with reverb,[8] and the panning of sounds between channels (most notable in the quadraphonic mix of "On the Run", when the sound of the Hammond B3 organ played through a Leslie speaker rapidly swirls around the listener).[41]

The album's credits include Clare Torry, a session singer and songwriter, and a regular at Abbey Road. She had worked on pop material and numerous cover albums, and after hearing one of those albums Parsons invited her to the studio to sing on "The Great Gig in the Sky". She declined this invitation as she wanted to watch Chuck Berry perform at the Hammersmith Odeon, but arranged to come in on the following Sunday. The band explained the concept behind the album, but were unable to tell her exactly what she should do. Gilmour was in charge of the session, and in a few short takes on a Sunday night Torry improvised a wordless melody to accompany Richard Wright's emotive piano solo. She was initially embarrassed by her exuberance in the recording booth, and wanted to apologise to the band—only to find them delighted with her performance.[42][43] Her takes were then selectively edited to produce the version used on the track.[5] For her contribution she was paid £30, equivalent to about £340 as of 2013,[42][44] but in 2004 she sued EMI and Pink Floyd for song writing royalties, arguing that she co-wrote "The Great Gig in the Sky" with keyboardist Richard Wright. The High Court agreed with her, but the terms of the settlement were not disclosed.[45][46] All post-2005 pressings therefore credit both Wright and Torry for the song.[47]

Snippets of voices between and over the music are another notable feature of the album. During recording sessions, Waters recruited both the staff and the temporary occupants of the studio to answer a series of questions printed on flashcards. The interviewees were placed in front of a microphone in a darkened studio three,[48] and shown such questions as "What's your favourite colour?" and "What's your favourite food?", before moving on to themes more central to the album (such as madness, violence, and death). Questions such as "When was the last time you were violent?", followed immediately by "Were you in the right?", were answered in the order they were presented.[8] Roger "The Hat" Manifold proved difficult to find, and was the only contributor recorded in a conventional sit-down interview, as by then the flashcards had been mislaid. Waters asked him about a violent encounter he had had with another motorist, and Manifold replied "... give 'em a quick, short, sharp shock ..." When asked about death he responded "live for today, gone tomorrow, that's me ..."[49] Another roadie, Chris Adamson, who was on tour with Pink Floyd, recorded the snippet which opens the album: "I've been mad for fucking years—absolutely years".[50] The band's road manager Peter Watts (father of actress Naomi Watts)[51] contributed the repeated laughter during "Brain Damage" and "Speak to Me". His second wife, Patricia 'Puddie' Watts (now Patricia Gleason), was responsible for the line about the "geezer" who was "cruisin' for a bruisin'" used in the segue between "Money" and "Us and Them", and the words "I never said I was frightened of dying" heard near the end of "The Great Gig in the Sky".[52]

Perhaps the most notable responses "I am not frightened of dying. Any time will do: I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it — you've got to go sometime" and closing words "there is no dark side in the moon, really. As a matter of fact it's all dark" came from the studios' Irish doorman, Gerry O'Driscoll.[53]Paul and Linda McCartney were also interviewed, but their answers were judged to be "trying too hard to be funny", and were not included on the album.[54] McCartney's Wings bandmate Henry McCullough contributed the line "I don't know, I was really drunk at the time".[55]

Completion

Following the completion of the dialogue sessions, producer Chris Thomas was hired to provide "a fresh pair of ears". Thomas' background was in music, rather than engineering. He had worked with Beatles producer George Martin, and was acquainted with Pink Floyd's manager Steve O'Rourke.[56] All four members of the band were engaged in a disagreement over the style of the mix, with Waters and Mason preferring a "dry" and "clean" mix which made more use of the non-musical elements, and Gilmour and Wright preferring a subtler and more "echoey" mix.[57] Thomas later claimed there were no such disagreements, stating "There was no difference in opinion between them, I don't remember Roger once saying that he wanted less echo. In fact, there were never any hints that they were later going to fall out. It was a very creative atmosphere. A lot of fun."[58] Although the truth remains unclear, Thomas' intervention resulted in a welcome compromise between Waters and Gilmour, leaving both entirely satisfied with the end product. Thomas was responsible for significant changes to the album, including the perfect timing of the echo used on "Us and Them". He was also present for the recording of "The Great Gig in the Sky" (although Parsons was responsible for hiring Torry).[59] Interviewed in 2006, when asked if he felt his goals had been accomplished in the studio, Waters said:

When the record was finished I took a reel-to-reel copy home with me and I remember playing it for my wife then, and I remember her bursting into tears when it was finished. And I thought, "This has obviously struck a chord somewhere", and I was kinda pleased by that. You know when you've done something, certainly if you create a piece of music, you then hear it with fresh ears when you play it for somebody else. And at that point I thought to myself, "Wow, this is a pretty complete piece of work", and I had every confidence that people would respond to it.[60]

Packaging

The album was originally released in a gatefold LP sleeve designed by Hipgnosis and George Hardie. Hipgnosis had designed several of the band's previous albums, with controversial results; EMI had reacted with confusion when faced with the cover designs for Atom Heart Mother and Obscured by Clouds, as they had expected to see traditional designs which included lettering and words. Designers Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell were able to ignore such criticism as they were employed by the band. For The Dark Side of the Moon, Richard Wright instructed them to come up with something "smarter, neater—more classy".[62] The prism design was inspired by a photograph that Thorgerson had seen during a brainstorming session with Powell.

The artwork was created by their associate, George Hardie. Hipgnosis offered the band a choice of seven designs, but all four members agreed that the prism was by far the best. The design represents three elements; the band's stage lighting, the album lyrics, and Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design.[8] The spectrum of light continues through to the gatefold—an idea that Waters came up with.[63] Added shortly afterwards, the gatefold design also includes a visual representation of the heartbeat sound used throughout the album, and the back of the album cover contains Thorgerson's suggestion of another prism recombining the spectrum of light, facilitating interesting layouts of the sleeve in record shops.[64] The light band emanating from the prism on the album cover has six colours, missing indigo compared to the traditional division of the spectrum into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. (An actual prism would exhibit a continuous spectrum with no defined boundaries between colours, and colour separation would be present inside the prism.) Inside the sleeve were two posters and several pyramid-themed stickers. One poster bore pictures of the band in concert, overlaid with scattered letters to form PINK FLOYD, and the other an infrared photograph of the Great Pyramids of Giza, created by Powell and Thorgerson.[64]

Since the departure of founder member Barrett in 1968, the burden of lyrical composition had fallen mostly on Waters' shoulders.[9] He is therefore credited as the author of the album's lyrics, making The Dark Side of the Moon the first of five consecutive Pink Floyd albums with lyrics credited only to him.[65][nb 4] The band were so confident of the quality of the writing that, for the first time, they felt able to print them on the album's sleeve.[9] When in 2003 he was asked if his input on the album was "organising [the] ideas and frameworks" and David Gilmour's was "the music", Waters replied:

That's crap. There's no question that Dave needs a vehicle to bring out the best of his guitar playing. And he is a great guitar player. But the idea which he's tried to propagate over the years that he's somehow more musical than I am is absolute fucking nonsense. It's an absurd notion but people seem quite happy to believe it.[3][nb 5] 

Release

As the quadraphonic mix of the album was not then complete, the band (with the exception of Wright) boycotted the press reception held at the London Planetarium on 27 February.[73] The guests were, instead, presented with a quartet of life-sized cardboard cut-outs of the band, and the stereo mix of the album was presented through a poor-quality public address system.[74][75] Generally, however, the press were enthusiastic; Melody Maker's Roy Hollingworth described side one as "... so utterly confused with itself it was difficult to follow", but praised side two, writing: "The songs, the sounds, the rhythms were solid and sound, Saxophone hit the air, the band rocked and rolled, and then gushed and tripped away into the night."[76] Steve Peacock of Sounds wrote: "I don't care if you've never heard a note of the Pink Floyd's music in your life, I'd unreservedly recommend everyone to The Dark Side of the Moon".[74] In his 1973 review for Rolling Stone magazine, Loyd Grossman declared Dark Side "a fine album with a textural and conceptual richness that not only invites, but demands involvement".[77]

The Dark Side of the Moon was released first in the US on 1 March 1973, and then in the UK on 24 March. It became an instant chart success in Britain and throughout Western Europe;[74] by the following month, it had gained a gold certification in the UK and US.[78] Throughout March 1973 the band played the album as part of their US tour, including a midnight performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York on 17 March, watched by an audience of 6,000. Highlights included an aircraft launched from the back of the hall at the end of "On the Run", which 'crashed' into the stage in a cloud of orange smoke. The album reached the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart's number one spot on 28 April 1973,[nb 6][79] and was so successful that the band returned two months later for another tour.[80]

Label

Much of the album's early American success is attributed to the efforts of Pink Floyd's US record company, Capitol Records. Newly appointed chairman Bhaskar Menon set about trying to reverse the relatively poor sales of the band's 1971 studio album Meddle. Meanwhile, disenchanted with Capitol, the band and manager O'Rourke had been quietly negotiating a new contract with CBS president Clive Davis, on Columbia Records. The Dark Side of the Moon was the last album that Pink Floyd were obliged to release before formally signing a new contract. Menon's enthusiasm for the new album was such that he began a huge promotional advertising campaign, which included radio-friendly truncated versions of "Us and Them" and "Time".[81] In some countries—notably the UK—Pink Floyd had not released a single since 1968's "Point Me at the Sky", and unusually "Money" was released as a single on 7 May,[73] with "Any Colour You Like" on the B-side. It reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in July 1973.[nb 7][82] A two-sided white label promotional version of the single, with mono and stereo mixes, was sent to radio stations. The mono side had the word "bullshit" removed from the song—leaving "bull" in its place—however, the stereo side retained the uncensored version. This was subsequently withdrawn; the replacement was sent to radio stations with a note advising disc jockeys to dispose of the first uncensored copy.[83] On 4 February 1974, a double A-side single was released with "Time" on one side, and "Us and Them" on the opposite side.[nb 8][84] Menon's efforts to secure a contract renewal with Pink Floyd were in vain however; at the beginning of 1974, the band signed for Columbia with a reported advance fee of $1M (in Britain and Europe they continued to be represented by Harvest Records).[85]

Sales

The Dark Side of the Moon became one of the best-selling albums of all time,[86] (not counting compilations and various artists soundtracks), and is in the top 25 of a list of best-selling albums in the United States.[47][87] Although it held the number one spot in the US for only a week, it remained in the Billboard album chart for 741 weeks.[88] The album re-appeared on the Billboard charts with the introduction of the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart in May 1991, and has been a perennial feature since then.[89] In the UK it is the eighth-best-selling album of all time.[90]

In the US the LP was released before the introduction of platinum awards on 1 January 1976. It therefore held only a gold disc until 16 February 1990, when it was certified 11× platinum. On 4 June 1998 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album 15× platinum,[47] denoting sales of fifteen million in the United States—making it their biggest-selling work there (The Wall is 23× platinum, but as a double album this signifies sales of 11.5 million).[91] "Money" has sold well as a single, and as with "Time", remains a radio favourite; in the US, for the year ending 20 April 2005, "Time" was played on 13,723 occasions, and "Money" on 13,731 occasions.[nb 9] Industry sources suggest that worldwide sales of the album total about 50 million.[92] "On a slow week" between 8,000 and 9,000 copies are sold,[86] and a total of 400,000 were sold in 2002, making it the 200th-best-selling album of that year—nearly three decades after its initial release. The album has sold 9,502,000 copies in the US since 1991 when Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales for Billboard.[93] To this day, it occupies a prominent spot on Billboard's Pop Catalog Chart. It reached number one when the 2003 hybrid CD/SACD edition was released and sold 800,000 copies in the US.[47] On the week of 5 May 2006 The Dark Side of the Moon achieved a combined total of 1,500 weeks on the Billboard 200 and Pop Catalog charts.[60] One in every fourteen people in the US under the age of 50 is estimated to own, or to have owned, a copy.[47] Upon a chart rule change in 2009 allowing catalog titles to re-enter the

I’ve got several suggestions every time someone asks me what I would suggest as being the best choice for music educators who want to record a concert and then edit that recording. Maybe they want to add some EQ, Reverb, trim excess noise and push out each individual song. Here are what I consider the top four players in this world of apps for recording audio.

Cubasis – Full blown DAW (Currently on sale the week of Black Friday for half price!) $24.99

Cubasis does all the audio editing you’ve ever dreamed of on an iPad! It also allows you to insert effects. There are some that are available inside of Cubasis as part of the original purchase and then you can expand on the capabilities with IAP’s or other apps from other developers.  Cubasis also allows you to record and edit MIDI tracks which is amazing for when you need to create accompaniment tracks for your choir or solo kids or anything.

Auria Pro (or Auria LE) – Full blown DAW (Currently on sale the week of Black Friday for half price!) $24.99

Auria, I believe, was one of the first apps that was advertised as being able to record multitrack audio on an iPad before that was even thought of as being possible! It really was an eye opener to watch that video back then and read about the upcoming possibilities. We simply held our breath hoping that all they promised would come true. It did. In fact this app has simply gotten better over the years.

MultiTrack DAW – simple and straight forward. Also works on iPhone

When you just want to open an app on whichever device you might have with you at the time, add a track and hit the record button this is the app for you. Simple and straightforward. I like that MultiTrack DAW offers the ability to transfer it’s recordings via wi-fi from inside the app. I mean…. at some point in time you are going to want to do more with your recordings and this allows for easy and quick transfer to a laptop.

Ferrite – free – has IAP’s to unlock more than 3 tracks and an hour of music. This app was really created for making Podcasting easier but has such amazing potential for recording audio for anything.

Teaching is not always easy.

And learning can be a struggle for many of our students.

As educators, we are called to this back and forth process of teaching and learning. We push and challenge, and then support and guide. It’s easy to get lost in the grind. It’s why so many teachers get burnt out, and why so many students complain about school.

However, if we think about each school year as a journey — one that will not only come to an end, but also lead to new journeys — then our mindset changes from dealing with the grind to crafting the best story possible. When talking to students at the beginning of the year (or throughout the course) make sure they understand the journey you are about to take, because people understand complicated concepts when presented in story format:

If you want people to understand and identify with a complicated concept, tell a story about it.

Telling a story often creates a “clicking experience” in a person’s brain allowing them to suddenly understand what someone else is trying to say. As such, those who can tell good stories will create faster, stronger connections with others. – Donald Miller

The Guide In Our Students’ Story

I recently read Donald Miller’s eBook, “How to Tell a Story”. It was a quick read, but one that caught me a bit off guard. Sometimes we take stories for granted or think that they are “just for kids”; but as adults, we shape our lives through stories. Each day has a beginning, middle, and end. Each life situation, each job, and each year is shaped in much the same way.

The same goes for your class and the school year. Miller gives a simple story structure that is used in thousands of books, movies, and in our own lives. Let’s look at how this applies to your class:

The character in your class story could be an individual student or the entire class. Once you’ve defined the character, the next step is understanding what the problem is/was.

My Class Story

I’ve written a lot about the “20% Project” in my class a few years ago. That class story would looks like this:

The character (my students) had a problem (they were solely focused on what grade they received and not the learning experience). They met a guide (me) who gave them a plan (the 20% Project) and called them to action (learn what you want and what you are passionate about…not because I’m giving you a grade). That ended in a success (happy ending when the presentations came through with amazing work that was not tied to grades).

Inside of this class story would be many individual stories. One such story could look like this:

The character (a girl in my class) had a problem (she was afraid to share her own music with the world). She met a guide (a mentor we found through the project) who gave her a plan (you don’t need to perform in front of people at first) and called her to action (record yourself and put it up online anonymously at first…and write about it), that ended in a success(she received positive feedback online and eventually added her name and more songs).

As a teacher, we are often the guide who calls the character (class or student) to action. However, we can also sometimes point the character to a different guide (it doesn’t always have to be us) who may be able to help better for various circumstances.

The point is to view your class and each individual student as a story waiting to happen…

Misconceptions About Being the Guide

In the seven years since diving head first into Project-Based Learning (PBL),  I’ve connected with amazing educators doing the same type of project-based learning and/or inquiry-based learning (whether it be Genius Hour, 20% Time, or any other name).

It’s one of the most empowering types of learning that can happen in (or out) of the classroom, and the real kicker is that we tend to follow this “inquiry-based” learning path in many other areas/aspects of our life.

Yet, when I started down this path of PBL and Genius Hour I had it all wrong. I believed that I would be “helping” students by guiding them and giving them some advice here or there. I saw it as more of a call and response type of guiding where I had all the answers (or at least most of them) and could help in times of need.

Boy, was I wrong.

Since going through those first few PBL experiences, I’ve had my perspective and bias towards teaching and learning changed many times. When I have conversations with other educators about moving towards PBL or Genius Hour, I hear many of the same questions I had when I started.

Here’s my best effort at sharing what I learned along the way.

People often believe PBL and Genius Hour is a response to teacher-directed learning…

Some believe that PBL and Genius Hour is all about kicking back and letting the students do the driving…

But it’s more like putting them in the driver’s seat while you are still in the car…

Many focus on the all the possible issues that might arise from giving students choice…

Or worry about how much time they’ll spend “policing” students who have time on their hands… 

Or think it’s time to “gamify” learning (it’s not)…

PBL and Genius Hour is definitely student-driven learning, but we can’t be backseat drivers during this experience…

And we can’t spend our time in the classroom judging what students are learning and making…

Instead, we are on this journey together. The student is the hero, and the teacher is the guide ON THE RIDE…

Reflecting along the way on failures, successes, and lessons learned…

So that each student can navigate their own way, and create their own learning path, with us by their side (and along for the ride) on the journey…

And watch the entire class find their own path, own goals, and own failures and accomplishments along the way.

That is what PBL and Genius Hour are all about.

Here’s the piece that many teachers (me included) often miss.

Sometimes the main character in the story isn’t the students. Sometimes that main character is the teacher.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone through a school year and had my students guide me and call me to action. In fact, the best stories are when I’m joining them on the adventure. When we are embarking together and learning by each other’s side. We may be learning different lessons along the way, but the journey is shared.

There is a popular phrase in education that teachers must be a “guide on the side” instead of the “sage on the stage”. The thought is that we should be facilitating the learning from the side instead of preaching to students on what they should learn.

If we look at our students’ learning stories as shared journeys that we take an active role in, then we are more than a guide on the side.

We are guides on the ride.

We are active participants in this adventure, and learn just as much as our students do throughout the process.

When students are empowered to craft their own learning stories and go on shared learning journeys, they’ll often take the chance to dramatically impact their own life (and the lives of others) through what they make, create, design, and explore.

Call to Action

Interested in learning more about PBL and inquiry-based learning experiences like Genius Hour? Sign-up for the PBL Checklist below and get access to the Innovative Teaching Toolbox filled with step-by-step guides on bringing this type of learning experience to your classroom!

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With inspirational speeches from alumni leadership, current students, and University officials, including the Harvard president, along with musical performances by student groups, convocation can help first-years develop a sense of belonging and class unity, as well as of being a part of something even greater.

“Alumni marshals show students there is an even larger Harvard community at their fingertips,” says Mazareas, who has volunteered for all but two of Harvard’s 10 convocation ceremonies since 2009. “By being here to welcome students, marshals also help set a tone that it’s important to remain involved with their Harvard community when they become alumni.”

Ruiz-Colón brings a slightly different perspective, as a young alumna who experienced convocation as a student and has now returned to marshal for the first time. She arrived eager to meet the newcomers and share her experience.

“Most new Harvard students don’t know someone close to them who has also gone to Harvard,” she says. “As a marshal, I want to give new students the opportunity to connect with another part of the Harvard community, and a really valuable one. Knowing that others have come before you can be really helpful.”

Mazareas relishes the opportunity to return to campus. He even makes it a point to find the new occupants of his old dorm room, Holworthy 18. A few years ago, he began a practice that fast caught on: He and other marshals now take pictures of new students at each dorm entryway with their banners, capturing one of their first moments as neighbors.

“I talk to every possible student I can. It’s inspiring to see the diversity of the class,” he says.

Just being on campus brings back “a flood of positive memories” for Ruiz-Colón. The photos in her apartment remind her how she felt as a student.

One specific memory from her own convocation inspires her to participate as an alumna.

“I remember seeing a group of alumni come together and give each other big hugs,” she says. “Coming back as a marshal really brought me back to my first few moments on campus. I was so excited to be a part of this experience.”

This month, I'm participating in a blog challenge called Blaugust.  To see the list of participating blogs, click on the logo above. I would encourage to you please cheer on our participants with either a tweet or a comment on their blog during this month. It can be hard to blog on a daily (or even regular) schedule!   If you would like to join the blogging challenge, you can still sign-up anytime!

We reported back to school on Monday and thankfully we've had minimal meetings and a lot of time to work in our rooms over the past 4 days.  This work time has been a blessing since one of our campus buildings was under construction this summer and the math department adopted new textbooks, which means a LOT of unboxing and numbering of materials.  In general, I've stayed to myself in my room and tried to tackle my never-ending to-do list and I think I'm *almost* ready to see kids tomorrow!   I was in the middle of finalizing tomorrow's lesson plans when the power went out due to a massive storm that was causing all sorts of havoc.  Thankfully my laptop was fully charged so I was still able to work for a while, even without internet or printing ability.

But anyway, back to the point of the post...

Throughout the past few days, I've had several people make comments about "Are you okay?" or "You don't seem like yourself" and to be honest, I know I was being a little grumpy but I didn't know what was going on other than just the normal back to school tiredness.

And then I had my a-ha moment this morning.

I am an introvert.  Like a really huge introvert.  My students would NEVER guess this because when they are around, I do a great job of faking it.  As a result, I usually spend my summer in "hermit mode" and the only people I see is my husband and my elderly neighbor (my daily walking buddy), plus the people at church for one hour on Sundays.  So for the past 8 weeks, I've seen very few people, then I come back to work and I'm surrounded by 200+ colleagues.  Now don't get me wrong, I *LOVE* my colleagues but I was on pure overload and as a result came across as a real grinch.

I don't know why it took me so long to figure out that it was too "people-y" out there and that manifested as grumpiness.    Major apologies to anyone that I might have snipped at or been ugly to - it was not my intention at all!

But tomorrow is Friday, the kids come tomorrow, my elderly neighbor made me potato soup to celebrate back to school, and I figured out tomorrow's lesson plans before my laptop battery died, so life is looking up!

Source: http://statteacher.blogspot.com/2018/08/a-personal-realization.html

The Children’s Book Review | October 26, 2018

Mary Lyn Ray’s Selfie with The Thank You Book

When I start to write a story, I don’t usually begin with an idea or someone’s suggestion. Instead, something that seems to have story around it pulls me in, and from what attaches to that I discover what it’s about. So when my editor asked if I might write a book for young readers about gratitude, that was different. I sat a long time with blank paper. How to even introduce this word that’s not in our first vocabulary? But if “gratitude” isn’t, “thank you” is; and with that I found a way in. Now, here’s the book—twined around a child’s day, a child’s year, and their place in the world they are part of.

This is not, however, a book of manners. Nor is it really anything that has to be taught. In the privacies of their lives, children often feel already a certain “happy little hum” of gratitude but may not know the name of what they’re feeling. Or they may not go through a day thinking about it. In celebration of glue and glitter, laps and books, zippers when warm days turn cold, as well as this earth we ride on, family and home, and all else we say a thank you for, this book invites that.

Mary Lyn Ray’s Shelfie

Books outgrew my library shelves, so they’re all through the house. The ones you see here are mostly poetry and books about a sense of place. Poetry is necessary to me, reminding me of what the heart can know and where we can ride language to. And place? From my earliest memory, that was my first subject, when I was first looking around at the world. And some place is often where my stories have their beginnings.

To the right, in the next room, is my piano–almost the only thing shiny in my house. To the left, at the far end of the table, are windows that look out on fields and woods and stonewalls. Usually my camera is on the table. And, always, something to write on and write with. Because looking, listening, waiting, windows, piano, and writing (besides the stuff of a life–and my dog!) are what shape my days.

—

Written by Mary Lyn Ray

Illustrated by Stephanie Graegin

Publisher’s Synopsis: Perfect for fans of Margaret Wise Brown and Pat Zietlow Miller’s Be Kind, The Thank You Book explores the many ways of being thankful that can fill a child’s day. Timely, wise, and accessible, the poetic text and tender illustrations celebrate the powerful impact gratitude can have on our lives.

Thank you isn’t just for learning manners.
It’s also for when something wakes a
little hum—a little happy hum—inside you
and you want to answer back.

The Thank You Book explores the many ways we can be thankful for the pleasures great and small that await us every day. Tender and poetic, it reflects on the role gratitude can play in our lives and celebrates the powerful impact it can have on us.

Ages 4-7 | Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers | September 4, 2018 | ISBN-13: 978-0544791367

Available Here

About the Author

Mary Lyn Ray has written many acclaimed books for children, including New York Times best-seller Stars, illustrated by Marla Frazee; Pumpkins, illustrated by Barry Root; and Red Rubber Boot Day and Mud, both illustrated by Lauren Stringer. She lives in South Danbury, New Hampshire. Visit her online at marylynray.com.

Discover more books like ‘The Thank You Book,’ written by Mary Lyn Ray and illustrated by Stephanie Graegin, by checking out our reviews and articles tagged with  Gratitude, Picture Book, and Thanksgiving; and be sure to follow along with our Selfie and a Shelfie series.