Don Bacigaiupi was one of a number of presenters at the National Docent Symposium in San Antonio in October, 2001, who gave docents different perspectives on museum education. The following is an excerpt from Dr. Bacigalupi’s keynote speech, which focused on a program developed for high school students, but has …
The 2001 National Docent Symposium was held in San Antonio, Texas, in early October 2001. Despite the tragic and unnerving events that transpired on September 11, 2001, nearly all the docents who registered for the symposium chose to attend, and the event was a resounding success! Jackie Littleton, associate editor …
The “three R’s” of old have been replaced in the modern middle school. Reading has become literacy; writing is now called composition, and ‘rithmetic is, more often than not, pre-algebra. Nevertheless, four “R’s” are still available to help museum and classroom teachers make learning real and relevant for these “tweenagers.” …
“History? Ho-hum.” A spoken or body language response that is every history educator’s nightmare, whether his student is of elementary school, junior high, or college age. How does a decent make the past come alive and resonate relevance to people living now? A group of dedicated and determined docents of …
If all the world is a stage and we are merely players . . . then is history our script, in serial form and full of cliffhangers? Will we repeat the same plots or produce a new version of our story? How can the past help us find meaning and …
Docents at the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, have long had access to copies of The Docent Educator as it arrives throughout the year. However, upon the recent death of my mother, a life-long teacher who clearly understood the role of art education, docents made …
Imagine a hypothetical situation in which an out-of-town couple asks for directions to your museum. In all likelihood you would give them directions that you, yourself, feel most comfortable following. If you have a good sense of direction, you might tell them to go “north on 5* Avenue.” Alternately, you …
Perhaps you might salute a group of arriving eighth-graders with the same slogan I’d use, “Hail mighty contrarians!” These awkward, yet occasionally articulate, fourteen and fifteen-year-olds reflect the many challenges and dichotomies inherent when transitioning from childhood to adulthood. Young people in this age range are full of a restless …