WHY MUSIC MAKES OUR BRAIN SING

"More than a decade ago, our research team used brain imaging to show that music that people described as highly emotional engaged the reward system deep in their brains — activating subcortical nuclei known to be important in reward, motivation and emotion. Subsequently we found that listening to what might be called “peak emotional moments” in music — that moment when you feel a “chill” of pleasure to a musical passage — causes the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine, an essential signaling molecule in the brain. When pleasurable music is heard, dopamine is released in the striatum — an ancient part of the brain found in other vertebrates as well — which is known to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli like food and sex and which is artificially targeted by drugs like cocaine and amphetamine. But what may be most interesting here is when this neurotransmitter is released: not only when the music rises to a peak emotional moment, but also several seconds before, during what we might call the anticipation phase." > read full article http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/opinion/sunday/why-music-makes-our-brain-sing.html?_r=1&

PRINCIPLE FIRES SECURITY GUARDS TO HIRE ART TEACHERS AND TRANSFORMS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

One student comments: “There's no one particular way of doing something,” he said. “And art helps you like see that. So if you take that with you, and bring it on, it will actually help you see that in academics or anything else, there's not one specific way you have to do something.”

> Read/Watch the story here: http://dailynightly.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/01/18005192-principal-fires-security-guards-to-hire-art-teachers-and-transforms-elementary-school?fb_action_ids=10201095002525993&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_ref=AddThis_Blogs&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map={%2210201095002525993%22%3A665265983488877}&action_type_map={%2210201095002525993%22%3A%22og.recommends%22}&action_ref_map={%2210201095002525993%22%3A%22AddThis_Blogs%22}

TOP 10 SKILLS CHILDREN LEARN FROM THE ARTS

Washington Post - "You don’t find school reformers talking much about how we need to train more teachers in the arts, given the current obsession with science, math, technology and engineering (STEM), but here’s a list of skills that young people learn from studying the arts. They serve as a reminder that the arts — while important to study for their intrinsic value — also promote skills seen as important in academic and life success. (That’s why some people talk about changing the current national emphasis on STEM to STEAM.) This was written by Lisa Phillips is an author, blog journalist, arts and leadership educator, speaker and business owner. To learn about Lisa’s book, “The Artistic Edge: 7 Skills Children Need to Succeed in an Increasingly Right Brain World,” click here. This appeared on the ARTSblog, a program of Americans for the Arts."

> READ ARTICLE

1. creativity
2. confidence
3. problem solving
4. perseverance
5. focus
6. non-verbal communication
7. receiving constructive feedback
8. collaboration
9. dedication
10. accountability

BRAZIL TO GIVE MONTHLY CULTURE STIPEND TO WORKERS

Brazil to give $25 monthly culture stipend to workers to go to movies, read books or visit museums.

BRASILIA (AFP).- Despite the economic crisis, Brazil announced Thursday it planned to give workers a 50-real ($25) monthly stipend for cultural expenses like movies, books or museums. “In all developed countries, culture plays a key role in the economy,” Culture Minister Marta Suplicy said in an interview on national television. She recalled that popular former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva created “Bolsa Familia” (Family Grant), the program of conditional cash transfers to the poor which his successor, President Dilma Rousseff, expanded. “Now we are creating food for the soul; Why would the poor not be able to access culture?” the minister said.

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