Episodes 152-153: Cultural Responsiveness in the Arts Classroom
Educators strive to create inclusive environments that honor and celebrate differences using a host of methods, including cultural responsiveness. In this episode, Oral Historian Dr. Mi’Jan Celie Tho-Biaz and Matt Grundler talk with New York City educators from The Connected Arts Networks (CAN). Tina Barone & Edwin Brathwaite join the conversation to discuss incorporating Cultural Responsiveness into classrooms. Discover how this approach goes beyond tolerance and encourages genuine engagement and collaboration across diverse perspectives through honoring and appreciating the values, beliefs, and communication styles of diverse groups of people.
About Connected Arts Networks (CAN): The National Art Education Association (NAEA), in partnership with the Educational Theater Association, National Association for Music Education, National Dance Education Organization, and NYC Department of Education’s Office of Arts and Special Projects has launched a nationwide initiative to create virtual Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). The goal of this Connected Arts Networks (CAN) is to build a sustainable model of professional learning to help teachers better serve students.
The National Art Education Association (NAEA), in partnership with the Educational Theater Association, National Association for Music Education, and National Dance Education Organization has launched a nationwide initiative to create virtual Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). The goal of this Connected Arts Networks (CAN) is to build a sustainable model of professional learning to help teachers better serve students. In this series of episodes, The Creativity Department and co-host Dr. Mi’Jan Celie Tho-Biaz dive deeply into the importance of Cultural Responsiveness in the Arts Classroom. Following are resources and additional information for this episode.
Resources
Guests
Edwin Brathwaite
Science and Dance Educator
Edwin Brathwaite is a certified science and dance educator and has taught at the Meyer Levin Performing Arts School. A native of Barbados, he facilitates New York City-wide Dance professional development, and workshops for the Dance Educational Laboratory (DEL).
Tina Barone
Theatre Teacher
Tina Barone is an actor, director, and educator with a degree in theatre performance from Wagner College in Staten Island, New York. She also holds a master’s degree in education and has been teaching theatre in an elementary school for the past 20 years.
Lidia Menniti
Visual Arts Educator
Lidia Menniti is an art teacher with over 23 years of experience in NYC Public Schools and serves as the arts office lead teacher for visual arts in Queens South districts. She has had the privilege of nurturing the artistic talents of middle school students at MS137Q, known as \"America’s School of Heroes\" in Ozone Park, NY. Lidia has showcased her students’ artwork at Queens Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s PS Art exhibit in NYC.
Catherine Plichta
Director of Instrumental Music
Catherine Plichta is a graduate of New York University and Empire State College. As a teacher in the NYC DOE for the past 14 years and a quarterfinalist in multiple Grammy Awards, she has worked to bring high-quality music education to students across the entire city. In addition to teaching music, Catherine is an arts facilitator for secondary music and leads professional development for music teachers across NYC. Catherine’s students have performed with celebrities and have even opened at the VH1 Divas Concert.
CAN Partner Organizations
- National Art Education Association
- National Association for Music Education
- National Dance Education Organization
- Educational Theater Association
- NYC Dept. of Education’s Office of Arts and Special Projects (OASP)