Happening This Week

Dear readers,

I want to personally invite you all to attend two terrific events happening on the UW-Madison campus this week. I will be speaking at both and hope to see many of you there.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Department of Educational Policy Studies will be holding its annual conference. The topic is The Obama Education Agenda: Principles, Policies, and Prospects.

The speaker for the opening session, Tuesday night at 7 pm at the Union Theater, is none other than Diane Ravitch. (You can bet Liam is excited!) She will be talking about "The Future of Public Education."

On Wednesday there will be several panels and a lunchtime session featuring former Wisconsin congressman David Obey. You might've seen the video of Dave attempting to get into the Wisconsin State Capitol building recently -- I sure hope he talks about that. Take a look at the full agenda, and note that the title for my talk has been revised -- I will now be speaking on Saving Public Higher Education for the Twenty-First Century: The Case for Pragmatic Idealism.

In addition, Wednesday night there will be a teach-in about the New Badger Partnership-- Chancellor Biddy Martin's vision for our public flagship. It will take place from 7-9 pm in Humanities room 2650. Panelists include: Steve Stern: Associate Vice Provost for Faculty and Staff Programs, Chad Goldberg: Associate Professor in the Sociology Dept. and Vice President, United Faculty & Academic Staff (UFAS), AFT 223, and Ben Manski: Executive Director of the Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution.

There's plenty to do around here and a great need to get involved. Come join us!

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What Do New York City and Madison, Wisconsin Have In Common?

Read here (New York Times, 8/23/2008) and here (WISC-TV, 7/15/2008).

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UW-Madison Grad Students Produce Local Food Map

Yet another connection between education and sustainable local agriculture... and it features two of my favorite things: food and maps.

Four University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate students in geography have produced what they call the "100-Mile Diet Map". It is an interactive, web-based map that features foods produced within 100 miles of Madison, Wisconsin. It also includes businesses such as farms, co-ops, supermarkets, restaurants, and breweries.

Their project is written about in a story posted on The Capital Times web site as well as by UW-Madison News.

You can also view an initial public version of the map here.

Yum.

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Musical Elective of the Week

The Musical Elective for this week is: Stuart Stotts.

This one is for all of you on what Kathleen Edwards (our first ME of the week) referred to last night at her killer Majestic Theatre show as "Raffi time." Meaning Mommies and Daddies with rockin' taste but toddlers to please.

Stuart is a local Madison songwriter and storyteller. His new CD Everybody Started Out Small features the classic "Eight Hugs a Day" which is catchy, sweet, and exactly what I want to hear my kid singing.

We first met Stuart at a performance at Madison's Overture Center for the Arts Saturday morning Kids in the Rotunda event. These shows are always great, but Stuart was extra special. He's a witty, intelligent singer with a great voice and infectious smile. He's very into audience participation, and managed to get several daddies up on stage for "When Daddy's Dance." My own husband even got up there!

There is a lot of crappy kids music out there these days--you know, stuff that when the CD shuffle in the car brings it around you just cringe. Stuart's music is an exception, and for those of us living in Madison, that's a point of pride. Check him out!

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The Edible Schoolyard

I just returned home from the opening day of the Madison (Wisconsin) Farmers Market (spring starts late here!). And it got me thinking about how to connect food and education. No, not like culinary school, smarty pants. But getting younger kids to appreciate the bountiful harvest in their own backyard.

Fortunately, others have not just thought but acted upon this idea. The best and longest-standing example perhaps is The Edible Schoolyard in Berkeley, California. Established by Alice Waters--the award-winning and world-famous chef and owner of Chez Panisse--the nonprofit Edible Schoolyard teaches middle school students how to grow, harvest, and prepare seasonal produce through the use of an on-site garden and kitchen classroom. It's been in operation since 1997.

Here in my backyard of Wisconsin a similar effort is in existence. Wisconsin Homegrown Lunch is a partnership of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and the Madison-based nonprofit, REAP. It provides locally grown produce to elementary school cafeterias. According to FarmToSchool.org, it's one of an estimated 1,115 farm-to-school programs in 34 states. One of its related initiatives is Cooking Healthy Options in Wisconsin (CHOW), which brings L'Etoile chef/owner Tory Miller into a Madison middle school to teach kids about fresh, local ingredients through cooking. Looks like Madison could have some Top Chefs in the making!

For those of you who are no longer school-aged but are interested in supporting local, sustainable agriculture, buy local and eat local! Check out the web sites of Local Harvest or Slow Food USA or consider joining a local CSA.

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