SEPTEMBER 2004

ARTFUL CITIZENSHIP TEACHES VISUAL LITERACY

Four hundred and fifty Miami-Dade County students from Fienberg Fisher, Miami Gardens, and Phyllis Ruth Miller elementary schools participated in The Wolfsonian's Artful Citizenship program during the 2003-04 academic year. The program is an arts-integrated social studies curriculum designed to teach visual literacy to third- through fifth-grade students and is geared to underserved students in Title 1 schools. Student artwork created during the program was on display at The Wolfsonian April 19 - May 10.

The program recently completed its second year of a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Arts in Education, Development and Dissemination Grant Program.

Artful Citizenship teaches students to understand how visual language and the media work in order to realize the effect that living in an image-saturated world can have on people. The program uses objects from The Wolfsonian's collection to teach students how to "read" and deconstruct visual images. The program also aims to develop characteristics of "good citizenship," such as cooperation, tolerance, conflict resolution, and active engagement with the community. As part of the program, students create original artwork that explores the role that art and design play in shaping the world. Student artwork is based on the following themes: what it means to be a hero, envisioning a new community, and creating persuasive messages that address issues in their schools or communities.

"This is an incredibly effective program for engaging these children. The children from the Title 1 schools typically don't have English language skills, they don't have reading and writing skills, and this is a way to engage them in learning," explains Kate Rawlinson, assistant director for education and public programs at The Wolfsonian. "We encourage them to think critically, to take chances, to guess...these are bright kids, but they're kids who are getting left behind, who need other ways to show how intelligent they really are and to keep them engaged."

News Index