Diversity in Action

About the project
In the summer of 1998, we were offered an internship to study the Fleisher Memorial's children's art education classes. The goal of the project was to try and identify cultural biases and assumptions in Fleisher's curriculum and to suggest ways in which they might draw on the cultural diversity of South Philadelphia to address the changing face of the community. With backgrounds in Art and Folklore, we saw ourselves primarily as documentors and were drawn to the internship as an opportunity to employ innovative research and presentation strategies that might be useful to educators interested in this topic. We do not consider ourselves authorities on art education or community outreach, but it is our hope that this outsider view might offer new angles by which to examine these issues.

About the materials
Perhaps the most difficult aspect of this project has been trying to make sense of such a large amount of data in such a short span of time (2 months). In producing these materials, we were attempting to address a variety of concerns. Fleisher was interested in resources that were accessible and relevant to educators both within their institution and in the larger educational community. They also expressed a desire for us to present our methodology as a reference for future self-reflective studies. With all of this in mind, we have created these materials as a way to open up the floor for discussion about cultural diversity in ways that avoid defining identity simply along ethnic lines.

The video presents the How and What of the project. In it we try to tell the story of the project, showing what was effective and what was not so effective. The extensive use of photographs proved an excellent tool for observing the subtleties of human behavior and interaction that can be difficult to convey in words.

This booklet discusses our impressions of what we observed along with suggestions of ways Fleisher's curriculum might be diversified.

Folk Expression and the Construction of Identity
One of the most salient realizations of our studies was that by using ethnicity as a sole means of identifying cultural themes and biases, we miss out on many equally important facets of how and why communities come together. People identify themselves through association with a wide range of groups defined by such themes as age, social standing, work background, education, not to mention simple likes and dislikes. We can view each of these identities as constituting a folk group and their expressive culture (their jokes, stories, songs - even their clothing) comprises their folklore. It is through the enactment of folklore that people seek to express their perspective on the world and it is through knowledge of other people's folklore that we may gain compassion and understanding for people who belong to "other" groups. Our underlying premise, then, is quite simple: by identifying folk groups and embracing their range of approaches to the production of art, one also embraces a multiplicity of world views, thereby enhancing the curriculum and appealing to a wider range of students. In the following section, we attempt to suggest ways to include such multiple perspectives and experiences without losing focus on the business of making art, which is what the staff and students here at Fleisher know how to do quite well.

Conclusions and Suggestions
Collaborative projects, especially those that bring together public school curricula and art projects, as well as those that involve public space, are thorough ways to offer multiple views on a theme while teaching practical skills. When students get together to work on a project such as The Well, they learn a variety of practical skills (such as cooperation, group decision making, compromise, sharing, etc., not to mention familiarity with a variety of artistic materials) in addition to creating something that benefits the whole neighborhood. Working in the public sphere also provides a neutral locale for meeting and interaction among groups that might not otherwise find themselves in the same place. As common enterprise is one of the primary ways people form community, group activities also offer an endeavor in which individuals with a variety of interests are emotionally invested in a single creation. Lastly, collaborative group endeavors offer a type of artistic expression not commonly addressed in the classroom setting in which emphasis is often on individual creation.

Similarly, students in such programs as the Papua New Guinea project at Nebinger Elementary were able to gain insight into another culture through concrete human contact. Adding to their social studies curriculum through artistic endeavors, cultural exchanges offer a glimpse into another world view by considering how and why others create art. Just as the Papua New Guinea Project resulted from the relationship between Nebinger Elementary and the Fabric Workshop, we realize that collaborative endeavors of Fleisher's might extend between organizations to address a broad range of visual as well as performing arts. To have students from Fleisher work to produce a play, utilizing visual arts resources to interpret the story and collaborate on set design and costuming, for example, would be an exciting way to enrich the curricula of numerous organizations.

Interactions Between/Among Teachers and Classes
It was suggested to us by some of Fleisher's staff that they would benefit from more creative interaction between teachers and their classes. In our observations of the summer courses, most teachers did not remain at Fleisher long after their classes had ended. While we realize that teachers are extremely busy and that for many here, teaching art is one of many ways in which the bills get paid, we do feel that the institution could foster more creative interaction. Indeed, the teachers we observed were extremely knowledgeable and have developed innovative approaches and techniques to art education which could greatly benefit other teachers. Designated meeting times or forums through which teachers talk about aspect of their teaching might be an exciting way to increase this cross-pollination.

Additionally, we feel that course offerings could be enhanced through interaction by exposing students to a variety of expressive traditions and emphasizing the interrelations between various forms of art. Chimroeoun's Khmer Court Dance class, for example, could be particularly compelling to a sculpture or figure drawing class as the form's extended poses offer an excellent study of the human form. Furthermore, as Chimroeoun's class draws a large number of Southeast Asian children, it provides an opportunity to introduce them to the rest of Fleisher's course offerings. Similarly, it would be a way to make other students aware of the opportunity to learn this beautiful Cambodian art form.

Folk Expression as an Educational Resource
Identifying local patterns in folk expression can offer an excellent way to augment art education by drawing on the expressive skills that children bring with them to the classroom setting. The Young Composer's class, for example, might benefit from some basic research into the forms of musical expression which students are already familiar with and proficient in. We noticed in the questionnaires filled out by prospective Young Composer's students, for example, that many defined music as a combination of rhythm, vocal expression (specifically the content of songs) and dance. Many also expressed that they belonged to local drill teams or that one of their parents had been a singer in the past. In fact, one of the most exciting performances for us involved two boys who based their composition on drill team rhythms. The program might have benefited even more fully from such strengths, for example, if more elements of song and dance had been incorporated (though we do not mean to question the obvious fact that these students thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from the program). Through inquiry into these forms, therefore, it is possible not only to integrate the skills of the community (by, say, inviting parents to come and teach songs), but also to widen students' perspective on the world views of different groups while validating and recognizing their own.

Another example of the incidental application of folk knowledge was related to us by John Giordano. In his Papua New Guinea project, he was interested in having the children relay information about their familial relations as this had emerged as an important element of New Guinea social life. After asking students to construct genealogies, Mr. Giordano found that many of the children seemed to have difficulty expressing their relations in this format. When he reframed the activity as the telling of "ancestor stories", however, he was amazed to hear children relating detailed chronologies learned from parents and grandparents. What this suggests is that for these children, familial relations are perceived not as a chart, but as a web of interwoven and overlapping narratives. In this way, the investigation and identification of folk patterns can enhance the curriculum by widening the range of avenues students have for expressing themselves.

Community Recreation Centers
Though a small part of our study, we had the opportunity to scratch the surface of the social services available to children through neighborhood recreation centers. Through our visits to the Marian Anderson and Palumbo Rec Centers, for example, we found that a great deal of programming is designed to provide a range of constructive activities after school and during the summer (ie. sports and summer camps). Though there are many talented and effective people involved in the operation of these centers, the reality of the more impoverished neighborhoods is that they lack the resources necessary to offer the range of activities they feel would most benefit their youth. Indeed, the need for stimulating and enriching forums for artistic expression was immediately apparent and we were nearly recruited to teach art classes ourselves. As some of Fleisher's staff expressed interest in recruiting children from a wider range of socio-economic backgrounds, partnerships with these local recreation centers might offer an in-road to establishing lasting relationships with these communities. It might also provide a way to let more people in those areas know about the free art opportunities Fleisher offers during the school year.

Institutional Issues
Based on the argument that people representing different folk groups carry with them a wealth of meaning about the nature of their perspective on the world, we would like to suggest that Fleisher could benefit from a diversification of its staff (both teachers and otherwise). Again, we are not concerned primarily with ethnic diversity, but rather with a diversity of approaches toward the production of art (some of which may indeed be informed by ethnicity). At present, Fleisher's teaching staff represents largely an innovative, educated, western art school approach to creative expression which they teach with great skill and talent. If, however, they are concerned with addressing the interests of the changing local demographic, we feel that the incorporation of a wider range of approaches to "why" and "how" art is created will go a long way toward addressing this multiplicity of groups. In essence, we are advocating teaching diverse "ways of seeing" in order to enhance the expressive skills of our young people.

The incorporation of Chimroeoun Yin into the curriculum is an excellent example of what it is we are suggesting, for he is involved in teaching far more than Classical Cambodian Court dance. Through his movements, gestures, speech, dress, and body language, Chimroeoun conveys the many subtle aspects which inform his world view and the significance behind his art - information best understood through concrete human contact. Introducing students to a multiplicity of such views by the people that espouse them may enable Fleisher not only to teach a well rounded approach to the production of art, but also generate understanding and compassion among groups whose views may otherwise clash. The most effective way to accomplish this, we believe, is to employ teachers from diverse social backgrounds. We realize that such an approach requires a process of active recruitment and that they may not possess the resources for such an active job search, but in our ideal model, we envision a staff of artists representing varied folk groups - each contributing their view on what the process and purpose of art production entails.

Video and Booklet
The booklet is intended as an accompaniment to the video, TITLE, which outlines the research strategy used by Wade Patterson and Karen Mazur during their Summer 1998 Fels Internship. The internship was concerned with studying the children's art education offerings at the Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia, the goal being to identify cultural assumptions and biases. Further, the goals included an interest in suggesting ways in which Fleisher might expand their classes to address an increasingly diverse student body reflective of a changing South Philadelphia community.

The format which this project took emerged as a response to requests from teachers and administrators that we provide materials that would be useful to and used by Fleisher's teaching staff. There was also an expressed interest in learning not only what our conclusions were, but also how we went about conducting the study.

THE VIDEO portion of the project provides a frank discussion of how we planned and executed the study. In it, we try to expose not only what was effective and insightful, but also what was problematic and perhaps not so productive. We hope that this self-reflective style will prove useful to those interested in this topic and especially to those motivated to take this line of inquiry even further.

THE BOOKLET is intended as the presentation of our suggestions and recommendations concerning programs/strategies we found most effective as well as thoughts on what other approaches might be instituted. As the bulk of this project took place over only two months, the process of collecting information and making sense of it was a difficult one. the presentation of our suggestions is therefore an open-ended one as new ideas and ways of thinking about our findings emerge on a daily basis. Our main hope is that this information will stimulate others to discuss, debate and to think critically about how Fleisher can effectively draw on the rich and constantly shifting cultural resources of the South Philadelphia area which they strive to serve.

Problems And Limitations
The Fels Summer Internship is intended to provide graduate students with full-time employment to conduct research projects primarily during the months of July and August. This time frame enabled us to examine the children's art classes in great detail. Unfortunately, the offerings which Fleisher truly prides itself on are the tuition-free classes given on Saturdays throughout the school year. Also of great importance are the Community Partnerships-the Fleisher artists placed in public schools and the after-school programs.