​Responding to:​

 

​For your Critical Intervention/Personal Voice Action Plan, you will develop a plan for a critical intervention in the world, something that reflects your personal voice, and that you might actually implement at some time in the future. Your critical intervention may be a lesson plan, a plan for a community event or program, a research presentation to a professional association, a book review or letter to the editor (supported by research), a presentation to a school board or community leaders, etc.

Katharine Norman
Critical Intervention/ Personal Voice Action Plan
    I’ve recently moved to a suburban area that is greatly lacking a community arts center. It saddens my heart not only for the reason that the arts are being overlooked, but for what children in this community are missing out on by not having the arts involved in their lives. The arts are a means for expression, and a way for children to explore who they are. As Oliva Gude has said, “a child gains a sense of him or herself by freely playing with materials, images, and ideas” (Gude, 2009, p. 1). Creating art classes accessible for kids of all ages, races, backgrounds and even interest, isn’t a ploy for breeding future artists, but to create a haven where ideas and imaginations are begged to be explored. It is a place for the bettering of our future. The arts don’t just better an individual, but they “make learning more relevant, and build bridges between the local culture and the world beyond” (Davenport, 2000, p. 371). Giving children not only the skill set for creating their art, but encouraging them to put it out in their community is my mission and part to keep the art world constantly evolving. I strongly believe in the positive impact art can have on a community and that's very important to me. I found a freedom in art classes and galleries growing up, and I connected with creativity. It's important to have strong arts programs that foster young creative minds, so that the arts can continue with every generation.
    Knowing that it can take years to build a strong arts center, I would like to begin this venture with an art class through the current “community arts center”, located within the parks and recreation. My vision is to focus on one thing: the community. If the children can make a positive impact on their community with a small arts program, it can only motivate everyone to make the community arts center stronger.
    Introduction of unit:

This unit is designed to help students reach an understanding of who they are in their community, and how they are able to make a difference within it. We will explore our community through hands on research, and build a proposal for an arts intervention within the community.
    Targeted Age Level: 8-14 years old
    Timeframe: 6 weeks (over the course of the summer, meeting twice a week)
    Essential Questions and Enduring Ideas:
         Who constructs the community in which we live?
         What are our roles as individuals in our community?
         What’s our role as a community in our state? our world?
         How do you make your voice heard?
    Students understandings at the end of the unit:
         Our community is made up of individuals who all have a voice and a role within the community.
         Change will only come when individuals implement action for change.
    Lesson/Project:
We will begin the course with researching the community that we are in. The children will interview people of importance to them, conducting interviews that they will document. Important things to consider during their interviews will be the history of the community, and the most influential people and/or groups. We will then look at the research collected and create a visual timeline of highlights within the community.
The downtown area of our community plays an important role to the people, and it will be the main focus for our arts intervention. There is a strong alliance among small business owners, and it’s an important part of the downtown community. This is where the students will create a proposal for infusing the arts with local businesses. Downtown is walkable and encouraging of buying and producing locally, so the kids will explore that area to brainstorm ideas for their intervention. They will conduct interviews with the business owners as well, and then spend time constructing an over arching idea for an arts based project to implement with the local businesses. Once the project is decided upon, we will propose our idea to the owners and go forward with the execution. 
    Ideas for arts intervention:
        Creating a local business logo and designing products with the logo for each business’s needs
        Dedicate an art instillation from the arts center to the downtown courtyard
        Make artwork that is representative of each particular business, mass produce works and provide the business with the copies to sell
My hopes for this project are to establish a good rapport with our local community, and show everyone what a positive impact the arts can have on the community. The children should learn that playing an active role where they live is important, and the positive impact it has not only on their lives, but on that of everyone around them. I hope to strengthen the community arts center with our project and gain support to implement continual arts education opportunities through the center. My personal mission is to strengthen the young minds of the youth in my community through the arts. It is a means to broaden their horizons, and in turn progress the community in which we live.
Through programs allowing children to question, explore, and develop their own answers about who they are, developing personal and intellectual growth is the ultimate goal.
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