The concept of Remembrance in homeschool art education

Many apologies for the tardiness of this weeks' blog. Baby B has been very ill with roseola, but thankfully is recovering. I was one of the rare adults to catch the illness, also, after baby recovered and so now I'm healthy, and back to work/school/life. It's amazing how the introduction if something new - or the subtraction of something familiar - can affect our bodies, and our lives. I'm learning some of my best lessons now, especially since I have been fortunate enough to become a mother.

So, without too much of my personal distractions, I had planned a letter surrounding 'remembrance'. The entire week prior to publishing - and prior to the week of roseola - had centered in the news media on the catastrophes of September 11, 2001. I am NOT going to use that day for any purpose in art, lessons, or otherwise. I think it would be disrespectful for me to do so. I also can't get aside from my own sorrow surrounding the events in order to be objective in teaching to this specific issue. I'm not saying that my student's questions will go unanswered. I am saying that I have a lot of information to give them, but very few answers.

What I have considered is the way in which the media focused on how we are remembering the tragedies that occurred that day. It was a reminder to me of how many cultures set aside a day for the departed: Day of the Dead. I was blessed and honored to be a part of the organization and fundraising efforts to hold the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) event at my university in accordance with the Native tribes and elders' blessings and protocol. The experience has changed my own perspective of life and death, while allowing me to retain and celebrate more fully my own personal beliefs.

There has been loss in my personal life, as well as yours, I am sure. Being a part of the Dia de los Muertos Event helped me to see my losses as cause for mourning, but more so: causes for celebration of the people (or ideas, pets, etc.) I have lost. My life was made far more special by the people that have been in it. Now that some of them are no longer here, I honor them by celebrating how they have added to the enJOYment of my life. It doesn't mean I don't miss them: it means they are special to me, and I love them.

The event I assisted with was actually a part of a service-learning assignment in a course I took. So, I had to teach the Dia de los Muertos concept to a fifth-grade class in an inner-city school here in Long Beach. I know what you're thinking: teaching about DEATH to fifth graders?? Yes. It worked. I'm not saying without surprises - and potential disasters. But as teachers, we can't be afraid to broach touchy subjects - well... we can, just don't show it in front of your students.

I DID have a potentially horrible stumbling block when teaching this unit: My teaching partner and I focused on attributes of people/pets/famous heroes/ideas to honor for the celebration. The first lesson entailed drawing out attributes of the honored one. Some students drew hamster wheels for their dearly departed hamsters. Some drew leashes for the chihuahua that had not lasted as long as the pet-store sales clerk promised. My partner drew cinnamon-toast for his grandmother who had departed, and he was honoring. I drew a petticoat and shoes for my square-dancing grandmother... and a pot of chili (which we made together), and whoopee pies. Does anyone know the deadly addiction of the whoopee pies?? :-) Anyway, while asking each students to talk about the attributes, we arrived to Veronica's desk. She seemed a little nervous, but I chalked it up to speaking aloud in front of her peers. Veronica drew a young man with a big, brown, bushy beard. That was the young man's attribute. She talked about the drawing, ...and revealed to us that the beard was her dad's. He had passed at age 28, and she gave the details, then burst into tears.

Of course, this was really unexpected. At the beginning of the lesson, my teaching partner and I made it clear that we didn't want to bring anything too personal to the project if it's not something we care to share. Veronica was a brave one: trying to deal with her feelings in class through art. I admire her for reaching out to us with something so personal. I thanked her for sharing with us, gave a big hug, and reminded her that she could continue the project focusing on her dad (which we could make into an appropriate tribute) or she can choose a pet, or historical figure whom she admired, or a different relative to honor. It was her choice to make.

The lesson turned out fine. The class overcame their fear of upsetting Veronica after we established a "safe" word to interrupt the mood if anyone became uncomfortable with the concepts. Of course, we were tested a few times: students would utter "banana" (the safe word) under their breath to see what would happen. They were immediately met by a no-questions-asked impromptu game of Simon-says, or a round of jumping-jacks for the entire class to break up the mood. So, it worked beautifully after our stumbling blocks. The kids set the mood, and worked with genuine respect for the ideas and people they were honoring.

We visited the classroom for two hours a week, for five weeks. Here's a short summary of how our lessons broke down:
1. Introduction to Dia de Los Muertos event/origins/celebrations. Focus on attributes. Project: Drawings of attributes representing the deceased. (If students did not personally know anyone deceased, they could choose a pet, historical figure, sports figure, etc. We talked about how to draw while doing it, and talked about our drawings at the end of the lesson.
2. Tissue Paper Cut-outs. Focus on positive and negative space, pattern, repetition, composition, rhythm. This was a messy day, but well controlled by frequent trips around the room with a wastebasket.
3. Votives. Instead of using real candles which would be lit (fire hazard) we were able to adorn and embellish cardboard tubes to look like individualized votives. Focus was again on attributes, radial balance, composition, and use of texture in the materials.
4. Murals. The 3 murals were painted in groups by the students on huge sheets of canvas (painters drop-cloths from the hardware store in heavy weight is the same as painting canvas before it's stretched out and primed.) One group focused their mural on extinct animals (their clever idea!). One group focused on historical figures whom have positively affected their lives. The third was a class collaboration which focused on all the pets and people of the student's choice. We used acrylic paints on unprimed canvas - laid the sheets out on the playground and let the kids go at it. Focus was on composition, color theory - mixing colors, warm colors, cool colors, etc., and collaborating.
5. The EVENT! We were fortunate to be in a community where the native elders gave us their blessings to hold the event on our campus. We honored the tribe that is interred at a place which has since become our campus, and we involved the community. We hired Mexica dancers, held a ceremony to bless the event, and threw a big celebration to celebrate the lives of those whom we chose to honor. At the event, we created the altars: set up the murals, placed the tissue-paper cut-outs, placed the votives, and hung the drawings. We placed sweet breads and marigolds to keep with the traditions. The students were able to visit our campus (it fell on a Saturday) and celebrate along with us. It was a wonderful experience for them to see their work completed, and to have the celebration that we supported and organized.

It was a lot of work, but well worth the while. So, if you have the opportunity, I would suggest contacting the elders or Native organizations in your community. Ask if you can volunteer to help with the celebrations. This is an excellent opportunity for multi-cultural experiences, and collaboration in art. Research the traditions and histories of Dia de Los Muertos. Make your own personal altar, and honor someone/thing who has added to your life.

Now is a great time to get started: Day of the Dead is November 1st.

Note: ALL information and links provided from this blog and subsequent issues are for educational purposes only. Please do not use copyrighted imagery without the consent of the image owner.
All lesson plans authored by Mrs. B are the expressed intellectual property of Stephanie T. Butler unless otherwise noted. Use of Mrs. B's lesson plans without Stephanie T. Butler's permission or failure of citation is considered intellectual theft and constitutes academic fraud.
plagiarism is theft: what lessons will you teach our students?