A Delicate Balance: Principles and Practices Of Promising Arts And Humanities Programs
For some children, success is completing work, however modest the project. For others, success lies in fulfilling a contract with a community organization, selling works of art or mounting an exhibition or performance.
"We try to guarantee success, because a lot of our kids have not been successful in school," says Robert Sotelo, artist/educator who works in one of the juvenile detention centers in Washington state. "We make sure they finish projects, make sure they finish what they start, no matter how small. They may do 10 percent of their first project, and I may do 90 percent of it as a way of nursing, basically. But I've had kids go from that to want-ing to stay when I'm supposed to go home. Then they will call and want to come over and work because they have these great ideas."
These programs dedicate themselves to finding a way for everybody to excel at something. Sometimes it takes a little cleverness. At The 52nd Street Project, actors and playwrights motivate a youngster by writing a play in which he or she will be great, or by performing the child's ideas. The staff also casts according to the unique abilities of the children. "If a kid has a raspy voice, make him or her a pirate. If the kid can't remember long passages, then we're talking a terse pirate. If the kid can't manage to stand still on stage, that terse pirate is tied to the mizzenmast," says Willie Reale, artistic director.3
These groups work tirelessly to construct an environment where young people believe that even if a contractor does not pick their design, they are not featured in a performance or their artwork is not picked for an exhibition, it still has value. Dollie McLean, founding executive director of The Artists Collective, Inc., says, "Somebody has to care about what happens to these young people and say, 'No, you can do it better,' or give them the encouragement to try it again, to try it in another way, and if that doesn't work, try it some other way. If they don't do this well, then you find the thing that they do well and concentrate on that."
These programs, however, put a high premium on excellence. Many of the groups put on performances and exhibitions,
or sell items the students make. The response of the public is one criterion for excellence. "If the audience didn't like it, not only would we be unhappy, but the kids wouldn't be successful. So it is about creating good theater...it's not so much about social work for kids," explains Carol Ochs, executive director of The 52nd Street Project.
Public affirmation can be the most powerful motivator of all. "It doesn't
matter if people tell you, 'Oh, you're wonderful,' " says Elsasser. Outside recognition from the public can be much more compelling. She goes on to explain: "We opened this gallery last Friday, and there were over 200 people who came and bought commissioned work. Bingo!...The youngsters do need positive reinforcement, but they know when it's real and when it's just part of the curriculum."
Effective programs provide children and youth with opportunuties to succeed.
Central tenets of these programs include generating the expectation of success and then providing the means to accomplish defined goals.