When schools closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Art+Education graduate students and the New York Public schools went online. This drastic shift in how teaching and learning could happen was both a difficult transition, and an opening and opportunity for new modes of teaching and learning.
The International High School for Health Sciences is a high school that works with new immigrant students who come from 30 countries and speak 20 languages. As a student teacher and eventually a long term substitute at IHSHS, Sarah Sanders was already developing a curriculum focused on the theme of Empowerment. When schools moved online, this theme became even more powerful and a chance to hold space to address student feelings of isolation and the impact of the pandemic on their lives.
Sarah started by asking students to create an artwork using any materials they had in response to the following prompts:
Students responded in creative ways with the materials they had on hand in their homes using drawing, painting, and building with materials like cardboard and toilet paper rolls.
During the following week, Sarah continued with the personal and moved to the relational, asking students to think about how they would hypothetically help a friend who was feeling depressed:
Again, students responded in various media, including using familiar chat formats, such as Facebook Messenger:
In the next sections of the curriculum, students continued their inquiry into the theme of Empowerment and moved their artwork to represent larger social contexts and participate in social action. Stay tuned!
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