Comments on: DrawingDay08 and Universal Design for Learning

By: Artist Anika

Artist Anika — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:35:58 +0000

I am very glad to find another supporter of Drawing Day 2008!

I had never heard of UDL before, but your description of it makes me wish it was a more dominate part of our society. Art is a necessity, but it is continually losing support. I was glad to learn about Drawing Day for that very reason, it brought art back into the spotlight.

Most people appreciate good art, but very few are willing to learn or teach it (or spend money to teach it). It is sad and my wish is for Drawing Day and all those that support it to change the way art is viewed world wide.

By: Paul Hamilton

Paul Hamilton — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 12:59:11 +0000

Thanks for sharing some historic context, Ira. I appreciate UDL as a conceptual framework that has the potential to help define and facilitate education more as I believe it ought to be. I agree that UDL must not be just about technology. Long before I’d heard of UDL, I had been trying to articulate my sense that the system is so badly broken that we need to “blow it all up so we can start over”. Yo put it well when you say UDL needs to be about “…redefining human learning and reconstructing the entire school experience.”

I will continue to share my enthusiasm for new learning tools made possible by digital technology. There are no magic bullets, but some of these tools offer the only hope of success for many who are stuck in the education system as it is.

By: Ira Socol

Ira Socol — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:57:39 +0000

Before John Calvin art and music and poetry were the dominant communication arts. But Calvinist churches banned both music and decoration from their buildings and American schools - created to match those religious environments - followed suit back in 1650 and have really never changed. Instead of welcoming and integrating the variety of human expression forms, and the varied forms of literacy, schools focus relentlessly on a very narrow path to success (again, a Calvinist notion).

This is why Universal Design is not just about technology. It is about redefining human learning and reconstructing the entire school experience, from the buildings to the clocks to the curriculum to the relationships between “teachers” and “learners.” It is about going back to the truly natural humane patterns which existed before Protestantism.

By: Paul Hamilton

Paul Hamilton — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:03:43 +0000

Thanks for stopping by my blog, Birdie. And thank you for your very kind words! I’m eagerly anticipating the next post on your blog. As the mother of 2 little ones, I don’t doubt your need for more energy. At the same time, I expect that Kai and Maryn have plenty of inspiration to offer! –Paul

PS I suggest that you consider setting up an account in Google Reader so you can subscribe to RSS feeds. That way you are automatically informed when a blogger writes a new post, and you don’t have to keep checking back.

By: Birdie

Birdie — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 05:06:49 +0000

Paul, you are a very, very busy blogger! What a wonderful site and resource. This looks like a lot of work, and you’ve done it beautifully. I got hung up on that conversation with the avatar. Pretty cool. Couldn’t strike up a conversation with it myself as my silly laptop has no mic. Thanks for visiting my blog. I need more inspiration and energy. I have your blog in my favorites now. Bird