Cross-Curricular, Cross-Campus Collaboration

The Blake Upper School is right down the street from the Walker Art Center.  We have an excellent relationship with this neighboring institution (Blake students get in free, for example, and teachers are often able to participate in private tours of new shows) and we take advantage of our closeness as often as possible.

It's usually art classes visiting the Walker, but when the museum opened an exhibit of Edward Hopper's drawings and sketches highlighting his artistic process, Lizz saw a unique opportunity to involve one of our favorite teachers and her 10th grade U.S. history classes.

Having just completed their big U.S. history projects, these sophomore classes were in the perfect position to appreciate the idea of process:  the research, notes, and early drafts that come before the final paper is complete and ready to turn in.  But focusing on the research process was just one way for the students to access the Hopper exhibit.  They're also history students, and Hopper's art reflects a specific period in time when he was working--that of the 1930s and '40s when America was experiencing the Great Depression and then World War II.

Margi went a step farther and called on a Middle School art teacher to Skype in to her class (which she held in the library classroom) and give a presentation about Hopper's art and its context in both American history and art history.  Students were encouraged to use various lens through which to analyze the art, and to think about the differences in objectivity and subjectivity that apply to historians and to art historians.

After art and history had had a chance to interact through the guidance of a Middle School art teacher and an Upper School history teacher, the students walked a block to the Walker, broke into small groups with guides, and toured the exhibit.

Just an all-around excellent example of collaboration.