RealClearEd Today 05/26/2014: Another State Votes to Repeal Common Core
Good morning, it's Monday May 26th, Memorial Day. This morning at RealClearEducation we have news, commentary, analysis, and reports from the top of the education world. Oklahoma on Friday became the latest state to take a legislative step toward repealing Common Core -- the overwhelmingly approved bill to scrap the academic standards now goes to Gov. Mary Fallin. Today we will not be compiling an afternoon update because of the holiday. Below, as always, you'll find just a few highlights of what's on our site this morning but much more content is there.
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It's Levon Helm's birthday. The musician, best known for his work in The Band, was born on this date in 1940. He passed away two years ago after a long bout with cancer. Helm was also an actor. He played Loretta Lynn's father in Coal Miner's Daughter and a slightly fictionalized version of Air Force test pilot Jack Ridley in The Right Stuff. He also wasn't named Levon, rather Mark Lavon, but Levon turned out to be easier for bandmates to pronounce. It also worked for Elton John, although his song is named for Levon but not about him.
Songs were Helm's thing, though. He started out in a band called the Hawks and ended up backing Bob Dylan. That led to The Band, an arrangement that allowed Helm and others to continue to work with Dylan but also release their own work. Music from Big Pink and The Last Waltz are standouts in the pantheon of American music and songs like "The Weight" are now standards. After his first go-round with cancer, Helm came back in 2007 and released an acclaimed album that brought him back to his roots, Dirt Farmer. His first album in a quarter-century, it won a Grammy.
In many ways Helm's second act was as interesting as his first. During the aughts he opened his New York barn and studio up to small concerts with a variety of musicians and he led the house band. The idea was a riff on the old time "midnight rambles" that frequently followed medicine shows and brought a baser spirit to the assembled.
The rambles, which continue even now featuring Helm's daughter Amy and a who's who of serious players, including a standout horn section, are something special in American music. Incredible live music in a small and special custom venue in a lovely place. There is usually a potluck supper as well. It's live music as it's meant to be experienced and enjoyed. A CD of music from the rambles brought Helm another Grammy.
The rambles are a powerful legacy for a guy who grew up admiring musicians he heard on the radio in Arkansas. Now great American music lives on through his work.
Implications for education? Well, Helm never stopped learning and he was generous as a player, showcasing and highlighting all kinds of talent rather than just his own. Aspiring musicians can go to his studio today to learn. A good reminder that while we rightly value and celebrate teachers in schools, teachers are all around us.
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