A professional development workshop
Although I have been presenting Professional Development workshops for teachers for quite a few years, I just recently started offering them as an independent presenter. I was thrilled to have been able to offer this workshop for Long Island teachers via the Huntington Arts’ Journeys in Education Program, which brings multicultural programming to Long Island schools.
The Path is Made by Walking: using Proverbs to Develop Cross Cultural Competence –
An introduction to cross-cultural competence in the classroom. Cultural competence is the ability to successfully teach students who come from a culture or cultures other than our own. By participating in activities that connect the cultures that shape us personally and professionally, we can begin to develop personal and interpersonal awareness and sensitivities that lead us to understanding certain bodies of cultural knowledge, to begin to acquire a skill set of effective cross-cultural and culturally responsive teaching.
Every culture passes down proverbs in the oral tradition. These traditions cross cultural lines by connecting us in a way that is personal and human. Participants will share proverbs and sayings that they remember from their childhood or adolescence. In choosing proverbs, we understand the commonality of cultures. In this workshop, participants create mixed media collages using a chosen proverb, followed by sharing time, discussion and Q&A.
It was a fantastic experience meeting 24 enthusiastic, engaged and talented teachers from many different backgrounds and disciplines. It was really special to know that not all were art teachers since this workshop is designed as a multidisciplinary project.
I am happy to see more core curriculum teachers embrace the idea of an arts integrated lesson and explore their own creativity.
Here are some in-progress and finished pieces from that day and some super nice quotes from participating teachers.
Pattemade 