At first glance, these three article titles—Making the Multicultural Connection: Multicultural Education: Development, Dimensions, and Challenges: American Pie, A Multicultural Snapshot – – all taken from recent educational journals, might indicate that multicultural education is simply the latest buzzword in a field well-known for leaping from trend to trend with …
The use of a word or phrase unique to a historical period can add a memorable touch to a tour. Visitors are always interested to hear a word that is no longer in modem usage but reveals an aspect of early American culture. It not only brings visitors one step …
Curators are educators, too. Every decision we make during the exhibit planning process is made with educational goals in mind. Like each word in a Poe short story, each object and illustration is selected for its contribution to the whole and for its ability to tell a story larger than …
Receiving The Docent Educator has encouraged me to write about a special project of mine. I call it “building memories.” It began one day while touring a third grade group. Three of the children recognized me from the previous year and asked if we could go to see the same …
References about the Full Spectrum of American History While the English immigrants and their descendants require and deserve attention, for they possessed inordinate power to define American culture and make public policy, learning about a range of other cultures can fill out understandings and help to explain general patterns and …
The paintings are in muted browns, greens, and beige. Asian eyes — eyes like mine – – stare back at me from behind barbed wire and in barracks. They were my parents and my relatives and all their friends. In this case, art imitated life — the life of over …
Incorporating multicultural perspectives into exhibit interpretation encourages visitors to gain an appreciation for the longevity and diversity of native cultures. At the Brookfield Zoo. a team of docents has developed a “touch cart” demonstration that introduces visitors to the lifestyles of the Gabbra people, who live in the Chalbi Desert …
Multiculturalism is a term that perplexes me. I have attended conference sessions and museum-sponsored seminars, read articles, and participated in many informal discussions on the term. It seems the term ‘multiculturalism’ is one of those enormous concepts that holds a variety of meanings. I’m a little uncomfortable with this because …
Regardless of whether you read The Docent Educator in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Panama, or the United States, you reside in a multicultural environment. All modern nations are composed of a variety of cultures — indigenous, dominant, and minority; and all societies are characterized by diversity — including …
Chances are that every docent will eventually encounter reluctant or skeptical visitors. Docents serving in art museums and galleries have special problems with such viewers since much of the art world seems subjective and mysterious to novice gallery-goers. Because art museums do not have the same straightforward, factual aura found …