RedOrbit, TX
May 30 2008

Artists, Students Find New Voices
Posted on: Thursday, 29 May 2008, 15:00 CDT

By ASHLEY KINDERGAN, STAFF WRITER

Haiku set to the beat of a drum and illustrated through printmaking.

An installation art piece that expressed students’ feelings on social
issues.

These art projects, coordinated by teachers and professional writers,
musicians and visual artists supplemented the reading, writing and
math curriculum at River Dell High School and Middle School this
year. Professional artists did residencies in both schools as part of
an $11,900 Artists in Education grant from the New Jersey State
Council on the Arts.

"It extends the students’ understanding and application of what
they’re learning," said Matthew Cahn, supervisor of staff development
at the high school. "The goal is to discover different ways to
communicate effectively and poignantly, and not just study for a
numerical score on a standardized test."

The state council handed out 21 grants to schools last year for
similar programs.

At the high school, a poet helped students express more with less in
haiku verses. A printmaker helped them illustrate their poems, and a
percussionist helped them set a musical backdrop.

"We had a Japanese style of poem written about soccer matches and
basketball games and being at the Jersey Shore, and what it’s like in
the morning getting up to go to school," said William J. Higginson, a
noted haiku poet who worked with the high schoolers.

Middle schoolers created their own version of Times Square in the
school courtyard, populated by oversized papier-mach people with
television heads that looped videos of students talking about issues
from abortion to anorexia. Students also wrote about their feelings on
the issues and created posters as advertisements for their stances.

John Cloud Kaiser was one of the artists who helped students with the
middle school project. He is part of a group of artists called Free
Style Arts Association, which stages educational and interactive art
projects in museums and on the streets of New York City.

"It’s somewhere between a public service announcement and an
expression of what their values and issues are," Kaiser said.

For many middle schoolers, the project was a chance to express
thoughts they rarely get a chance to air. Katrice Karanfilian, 12, of
Oradell, made a poster against genocide because her great-
grandparents survived the one in Armenia.

"I’ve always wanted to do something about it, but I didn’t know what
to do," Katrice said.

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