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This is about my philosophy of education.

Are people literally searching these terms the most?

...but I can't remember back that far.

 
Last night four women came to my home and brought brave ideas to help me work towards remembering a way of being that I've never actually known.  I woke up sick to my stomach with the smell of cornish hen dishes covering every surface.  This is why party dishes should be done in the night.  I woke up sick to my heart that I missed out on this much of Diana until she's getting ready to leave. 







Notes from husband/wife banter:

Moment certainty/un
certainty at least about what you need to deconstruct
not a matter of when/age/a cycle for all
I feel competitive
you feel impatient
I don't feel like I'm doing anything
when you were on a prescribed path
map or list about what I need to see happen?
nothing matters-- like a road trip?
I might impose
your work will be to relax
draw
have a visceral sense but I don't have words for it
you can only go in one direction
all the tasks
so slow
How do you not look back?
I don't have time.
you can do everything but you can't do everything at once?
practicing your craft
If you
Hate?
If you set out to do something
Fulfilling it
Imaginary things which are pleasant to behold
Fulfilling me
Once you do it, it's done, over
what it was is much more interesting than what it is
attitude-- perception?
shifting perception?
deep time.
what to discover
Before I came to Chicago I had none of these pauses
how do you bring it to the surface?
it's all underground
unless you're confident?
I think you can relax
frontline: a class divided: watch the program | PBS
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This is one of the most requested programs in FRONTLINE's history. It is about an Iowa schoolteacher who, the day after Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered in 1968, gave her third-grade students a first-hand experience in the meaning of discrimination. This is the story of what she taught the children, and the impact that lesson had on their lives.
Watch this 46:00 program here in five consecutive chapters.

Van Gogh letters available online


This is AMAZING.  See the newly translated and digitally-available letters of Vincent Van Gogh, courtesy of the Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam.

What is GOOGLE WAVE?

I can't understand really and the looooong video is bothering me.... ... ... :)

Google Wave - Communicate and collaborate in real time
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I wish I could embed this video I made of a recent program, but it's not an option for some reason.  This is 5.5 hours of collaborative paper rangoli making on Diwali.

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PREFACE
I quietly told Ada's mom a few weeks ago that I would be leaving.  She's barely 5 and we've had a special connection that goes back to before she could speak, so I thought they might want to take some time to talk about it at home.

SCENE 1: Mini Masters (ages 3-5): What Kinds of Lines?

Me (to the class): Alright, so we see two lines, maybe three even-- if you count the edge between them, and we think maybe they're about feeling something because they're not very straight, there's some squiggly-ness.  If these lines are about feeling something, what could the feelings be?

Ada: One is happy and one is sad.

Me: Okay, which is happy and which is sad?

Ada:  The reddish one is happy, but the gray is sad.

Me (to the class):  What do other kids think?

Class: (could be) (shrug)

Me: Can people feel two feelings at one time?  What's something that happens where you might feel two different feelings?

Ada: Like if you love someone but they're going away.

Me: That's right, if you love someone, that's a happy feeling, but if they're about to go away, you feel sad already thinking of how you'll miss them soon.

Ada:  I feel that way now.


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Me:  Mmm-hmm, me too.

So, can we be sure that this artist was making a painting about feelings?  Why not?
The fun thing about art is that even if we don't know what the artist meant, our ideas are still good because only we can have them...


SCENE 2: In the studio

Ada:  I made you a present

Me (looking at the cover):  Oh, what a nice surprise.  Something you should know is that sometimes grown-ups cry when something nice happens.  I just want to let you know about that in case I feel that happy while I'm looking at your beautiful book.


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Oh blog, I'm sorry I've been neglecting you.  Truly, it's not you, it's me.  Isn't this always the way things go?  A new relationship is so exciting, I was paying you so much attention, and then I don't know... the novelty wore off and look at me, just leaving you all alone in cyberpedegogyspace.

Of course you're much more than a novelty, I didn't mean to suggest--

I don't want to promise anything right now, I'm really at a transitional point, but I think the important thing is that we're having this conversation--

Of course I still love you, that's not it at all--

No, you're not fat!
Download the report here:
http://www.cae-nyc.org/staying-in-school/arts-and-graduation-report
Thinking about our conversation last night in class, something is sticking with me.  This program is asking us to consider what social justice means and one of the chief gifts for me so far has been the opportunity to deeply investigate personal bias. 

I think our conversation about the midwest was a revealingly interesting discussion, and yet if I replay the scene replacing "Indianapolis" with Harlem or Little Village or Compton, it takes on a whole new meaning entirely.  Could we have had the same conversation about certain parts of Rogers Park?  What are the discourses informing the idea that a museum in Indiana is exceeding expectations?  What did I mean when I knocked "the south" for not having any teen programs in a tone that suggested I might have expected such a thing?  When has it ever been true that our birthplace extends us rights to judge the neighborhoods of others?  When we talk about geography we're not talking about land, we're talking about people. 

There's a bigger issue here for me than whether the midwest gets a bad wrap.  Those aren't terms we have the luxury of thinking in anymore as cultural workers.  The issue is when do we right injustice and how?  I posted a few days ago about hearing or being faced with statements at work that I caught as overtly unjust and I let them go.  Do we have the responsibility to shut down thinking that is at best misguided and at worst hateful-- to our personal definition of social justice?  Do we have a right to?  I think we do have a right and a responsibility, but how?

SFMoMA Interactives


From: Carolina Kaufman
Date: October 20, 2009 10:39:04 AM CDT
To: Rachel Harper
Subject: Re: The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art presents

 Yes...definitely...also check out the Anne Frank House video (virtual interactive)  that I put up on the Ning...although you may have already seen it.

Best
Carolina


On Oct 20, 2009, at 10:03 AM, Rachel Harper wrote:

Carolina,
May I post this with your comments for my cyberpedegogy class?
Thanks,
Rachel

On Oct 20, 2009, at 9:47 AM, Carolina Kaufman wrote:

A cute interactive recently released from SFMoMA (has story telling components, writing components, and a gallery displaying what was created within the interactive).  Should we ever want to expand on Curious Corner, one nice added feature would be able to email share the Cornell and African Mask creations as this did with my Frida creation.  I also like the Gallery component to show how many different ways you could dress Frida or tell the story of an object.  

I am also noticing that some educators are using online games/interactive stories with their interactive whiteboards in class such as the Alexander Calder "Mobile Maker" interactive.

FYI, FREE from Pearson Foundation:


Mobile Learning Institute Leadership Summit 
on Digital Media 
November 5, 2009 
YouMedia Center, Harold Washington Library 
Chicago


In the 21st Century, young people, without always realizing it, are taking more control over the
ways they acquire, create, and share information and knowledge. Much of this is being brought
about by everyday digital technologies: mobile devices with multimedia capabilities, internet
access and text messaging; social networking sites; new modes of communication like text
messaging, blogging and twittering; complex gaming environments; and a wide array of
virtualized resources that are assessed dynamically via the internet.

The Leadership Summits are sponsored by the Pearson Foundation and Nokia. It is free of charge
to participants. Similar events are taking place in major cities in the United States and around the
world.

In partnership with local educational and cultural institutions, the Leadership Summit aims to
explore the ways in which digital media are changing the way young people learn, show what
they know, and share their ideas – inside and outside the classroom.

Some of the issues the Summit will address are:

 How do young people today interact and communicate with one another?
 What are the core tools and services they use?
 How can educators harness the attractiveness to young people of social networking,
mobile phones, and informal virtual communication to meet basic educational objectives
and extend learning?
 How can new technologies re-invigorate learning for disaffected youth?
 What are the best case studies that showcase digital media-based programs?
 How do you begin to integrate digital media into the curriculum or into existing
programs?

The Leadership Summit on Digital Media Literacy takes place in a one-day workshop at the
YouMedia Center of the Harold Washington Library. The workshop day features interactive
presentations by leaders in digital media programs, demonstrations of new media approaches,
and videos that showcase new media being used in a variety of settings.

There will be plenty of opportunity to ask questions, share ideas about projects that fit the needs
of participants. If you are interested in participating, please contact:

Stephen Brown
Stephen.brown@mobiledigitalarts.com 
415 378 1064


Those people

I had a very nice Diwali program this past Saturday, I'll post the fabulous time-lapse I made of our collaborative Rangoli soon.  There was one negative moment, though.  Even though I believe that I need to respect the complex value systems of the families I work with and allow them enough space in our interactions to let me know what to leave out, this incident caught me by surprise:

Me: Well, that is a lovely mask!  Tell me about it.
Child (age 9): (silence)
Me: (can I help?) I bet you can guess who it reminds me of!  Ganesha!
Mom: It's just an elephant.
Me: Oh, do you know about Ganesha?
Child: (shakes head)
Me: Well, there are wonderful stories--
Mom: Listen, lady, I do not want her hearing about what those people think.  
(also, we are in a room FILLED with Indian-American families, by the way)
Me: Oh!  Sorry, I'm an art teacher, so I'm super-used to talking about all kinds of art!  (walking away) Have a really fun rest of your visit.

And what do you do?  I guess I get it, it's her right to block information she doesn't want.  Families do that all the time, usually with sex or violent death, although I don't really feel the need to put those elements into a program for children anyway.  I can hope that she's making developmental decisions, like maybe at some point they'll talk about it, just not right now.  I think it was the "those people" part that really got me.  Earlier this week, I was looking at some Mughal & Rajput paintings and heard a man ANNOUNCE to his wife so that EVERYONE in the gallery knew how he felt: "let's get out of here and see if we can find something a little less offensive than Islamic Art."  "What?" I said aloud to myself.    And I looked again at the floral pottery and golden jewelry-- what?  

I can't really relate to a fear of other cultural ideas, but one hope I hang on places like museums is that they might serve to bring us together-- when we see sweet children dancing like Ganesha or perfectly benign floral pottery, we start to use these clues to formulate the conclusion that it's not so bad, what all those other people think.  And maybe it doesn't happen right away, maybe what I see is the initial resistance, and maybe later it comes together?
If you're into Museum Ed, and you haven't already subscribed, I recommend this discussion list.  I subscribe to the emailed digest & find it helpful and interesting to find out who's thinking what and what they're trying to do.  Here are the topics of some recent conversations:


Archives:

  1. [talk] Reggio Emilia Open House and Presentation in Washington, DC: November 17 
    Sent October 17th 2009
    This upcoming professional development program is especially relevant to those interested in integrating elements of the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education in their work with museums' youngest visitors: Come join us on November 17th, the...
  2. [talk] DINOSAUR NEWS - Huge Find In China * Dinosaur Cannibalism * Smallest Baby Dinosaur Footprint Discovered * Why Were Some So Strange? * Third Of Dinosaur Species Never Existed? * Early Bird Dinosaur Challenged * Coping With Slippery Slopes * More 
    Sent October 16th 2009
    Welcome to this edition of DINOSAURNEWS - the international Dinosaur Webzine with bite! This Week's Headlines: (For the FULL STORY visit the NEWS section of the webzine at this address: http://www.dinosaurnews.org ) ** GSI rejects dinosaur nest...
  3. [talk] CFP - Taking Stock: Museum Studies & Museum Practices in Canada 
    Sent October 16th 2009
    CALL FOR PAPERS Taking Stock: Museum Studies and Museum Practices in Canada Museum Studies Program, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, Canada April 22-24, 2010 http://takingstockmuseumstudies.ischool.utoronto.ca/ Over the past 40 years, ...
  4. [talk] Artist Statement Workshop Question 
    Sent October 16th 2009
    Hello All- Next year Id like to offer an Artist Workshop focusing on How to Write an Artist Statement. Who should facilitate this presentation? Can you recommend anyone? Many thanks, mary *Mary E. Cantu* Program Manager Artpace San Antonio 445 North ...
  5. [talk] 
    Sent October 14th 2009
    Interesting article- definitely one to ignite discussion- FYI http://www.newsweek.com/id/217012 Leah M. Melber, Ph.D. Director of Student and Teacher Programs Lincoln Park Zoo 2150 North Cannon Drive Chicago, IL 60614 312-742-2064 lmelber@lpzoo.o...
  6. [talk] Teen Museum Theatre Program 
    Sent October 13th 2009
    Hello Everyone! I am a Public History graduate student at Texas State University and am doing an internship at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum where I am developing a teen theatre program. The goal of the program is to teach Texas history to h...
  7. [talk] Re: Scheduling Software 
    Sent October 11th 2009
    Hi Joanna, We bought a site licence for Artifax Event. However, after installation we discovered that some functionalities that are crucial for us were not there. These all related to a requirement that we have that apparently many other museums _don't_ ...
  8. [talk] Re: Hazardous Art Materials 
    Sent October 9th 2009
    Dawn and everyone, I know this woman, Monona Rossinol, was very helpful to the Newark Museum re: material safety data sheets, etc- looks like there is another organization that is similar to ACMI. I would suggest contacting her, perhaps she has some examp...
  9. [talk] Hazardous Art Materials 
    Sent October 9th 2009
    Does anyone who runs art-making programs have a policy document on the use of hazardous materials, or have you found one by another institution? Id also be interested in educational materials, like posters or pamphlets you might have found on the topic. I...
  10. [talk] Archaeology Labs for School Programs 
    Sent October 9th 2009
    Roberson Museum and Science Center has a really impressive wet lab facility. Originally it was built exclusively for life science programs, but as time and needs have changed, the uses for this space also have. We're still teaching Gel Electrophoresis in ...



Find them here.
I'm having problems seeing them with safari-- well, not seeing them, but pausing, etc.  What do you think?

The production is beautiful, especially the one for community programs.

We all do, right?  When I was teaching in the classroom, I went to great lengths to hide my special affection for certain students, and I suppose I still do in my informal setting, but I do have a favorite student named Ada.


I met Ada when she had just turned 3.  I met her in the galleries with her mom and she talked to me so openly that I invited her to come to Mini Masters, a class I teach for 3-5 year olds.  She's been coming now, twice a month, for two years and I've gotten to know her fairly well.  


Looking at the Turner, she is the child who wants to talk about the dark water, who moves her arm like the waves and shows us how all the movement flows up to the tiny flag.


Yesterday with the Kerry James Marshall, she noticed the fists behind the loving couple.  She talked about the shackles for slaves and that the artist was showing us that the fist broke the shackles and now the fist stays on the fence forever.  


She questioned Sol Lewitt's originality with bars of tones, wondering if he didn't owe Ellsworth Kelly something (ha! she's right) and opened up a PRESCHOOL WORKSHOP to a conversation about participation in a school of thought.  


She's homeschooled, or unschooled, evidently-- something I'm interested in. Her parents support her ability to construct her own learning.  


I'm thinking about asking her mother (and Ada) if I might make recordings of Ada.  I'd use lapel mics and walk around the museum having casual conversations.  My work is usually fiction, and I really don't know much of anything about crafting solid non-fiction, but I'm thinking about it.


I posted this on the Art Ed ning site, which I only found out existed 8 seconds ago because nobody tells me anything :)

Meredith's post about the CNN article is making me wonder:  does anyone use LinkedIn?  Should I be?

volunteer @ threewalls

hey, I just saw this on saic launch:

Position Information

:
October 31, 2009
:
ThreeWalls  [view profile]
:
Salon Coordinator
:
threewalls is offering a unique opportunity to graduate students studying in the visual arts: SALON coordinator. threewalls hosts a variety of public programs aimed at engaging audiences in conversations about the visual arts. These include: engagements (open topical discussions), artist talks (scheduled with each SOLO exhibition) and an annual summer symposium.We are seeking up to two students to coordinate this program, which includes: designing and coordinating a topical discussion series with 4 events to be held over the course of the programming year, overseeeing artist talks and working on the symposium publication in spring 2010 for which they will receive editorial credit. Students will work alongside the Executive and Artistic Directors, with creative license over the discussion series. Students will gain experience in directing a public program, writing PR and marketing.
:
September 2, 2009
:
Looking for students seeking graduate education in Fine Arts (studio), Arts Management, Arts Education, Arts Administration, Curatorial Studies, Arts Journalism or Art History, Theory and Criticism
:
Location


Chicago


Illinois


United States


:
Part-Time, Temporary, Volunteer
:
Volunteer/internship
:
Email.
:
1 year
:
Unpaid
:
no

MUSEUM 2.0 BLOG, PART II: Nina's Picks!!


Well, it seems that there is no end to what facebook can do for a person in this day & age.  After becoming friends with Nina Simon, I asked her for her picks of posts on her blog and VIOLA!  she wrote back.  Imagine that.



Nina Simon September 28 at 8:18pm
Hi Rachel... favorites are tough. While I don't have one absolute favorite, I'm most proud of the content inhttp://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2008/10/future-of-authority-platform-power.html and this onehttp://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2009/03/self-expression-is-over-rated-better.html

I was amazed at the response to:http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2009/02/magic-vest-phenomenon-and-other.html

I'm weirdly attached to:http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2008/05/get-on-bus-how-mass-transit-design.html

and from a professional standpoint, feel strongly about:http://museumtwo.blogspot.com/2007/06/voluntary-apprentice.html

I hope this helps!


So, let's talk about Nina's faves.


THE FUTURE OF AUTHORITY: PLATFORM POWER


This is a concise post about exactly what Web 2.0 offers museums while speculating on the reluctance to relinquish control to these platforms.  This dialog approaches some of what we're thinking about in critical pedagogy.  Check out this lovely little paragraph:

The problem arises when expertise creates a feeling of entitlement to control the entire visitor experience. Power is attractive. Being in control is pleasant. It lets you be the only expert with a voice. But if our expertise is real, then we don't need to rule content messages with an iron fist. As Ian Rogers has said, "losers wish for scarcity. Winners leverage scale."

SELF-EXPRESSION IS OVERRATED: BETTER CONSTRAINTS MAKE BETTER PARTICIPATORY EXPERIENCES

Second, open-ended self-expression requires self-directed creativity. You have to have an idea of what you’d like to say, and then you have to say it in a way that satisfies your expectations of quality. In other words, it’s hard, and it’s especially hard on the spot in the context of a casual museum visit. What if I assigned you to make a video of your ideas about justice? Does that sound like a fun and rewarding casual activity to you?
I found this post interesting because it relates to some of the problems of artistic practice.  In my artistic practice, I often feel nostalgic for the days of undergraduate "assignments" where I felt like I did my best work with outside parameters.  In fact, I do my best work without parameters (or with the parameters I set myself) but it is certainly much harder.  The interesting distinction mentioned above is "casual."  Museums offer casual experiences, however rich they might end up being.

This is also an interesting point when Nina describes an experience with teen participants:
The client kept saying, “do whatever you want,” which they thought meant, “we support your unique self-expression.” But the teens heard, “Do whatever you want—we don’t really care what it is.”


THE MAGIC VEST PHENOMENON AND OTHER WEARABLE TOOLS FOR TALKING TO STRANGERS
I always say that once you've gone on the floor, you never come off. I was at the zoo with my family and noticed a lost child. I immediately sprang into action, until I realized I was just a random adult trying to talk to a lost kid - creepy!

GET ON THE BUS: HOW MASS TRANSIT DESIGN AFFECTS PARTICIPATORY POTENTIAL
The frequency of stops and the local windiness of buses makes them downright provincial. As a driver said in this charming article about the glacial pace of NYC buses, "the bus is only as fast as its slowest rider." Social chitchat among strangers is something associated with small towns and areas where people move slowly. It's no surprise the bus can simulate that experience, even in Manhattan. What museum experiences slow you down while simultaneously bringing you in contact with others?

THE VOLUNTARY APPRENTICE


Here's my "getting started in museums" story:  When I decided I wanted to work in a science museum, I went to two in my area--one giant, one tiny. I didn't look to see if either was hiring. I didn't even consider what my dream job would be. I found departments/people that were interesting, and made the same speech to each: I want to volunteer for you, part-time, for three months. I have X, Y, Z qualifications, but no direct museum experience. At the end of three months, I want us to sit down and assess whether you will hire me for pay or not.  
That's it. In both cases, my offer was accepted. And within three months, I was getting paid (though not much) for real work. Both experiences were educational, experience-building, and got me "in the door" for future opportunities. 
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