The Unseen, Societal Expectations and Our True Selves

Educator: Adriana Devers, Spanish Language Teacher 

Cultural Partner: Sofiya Cheyenne Brown, Multi-disciplinary Performance Artist and Disability Advocate/Consultant

School: Westbury High School

Grades: 9

District: Westbury Union Free School District  

District NYSED link: https://data.nysed.gov/profile.php?instid=800000049217

Summary‍

We spent 5 sessions together and used ensemble building, creative writing, embodiment and visual arts activities to engage the students in the themes of societal expectations. The students created masks to depict these societal expectations and their inner self. They presented their masks along with an artist statement and/or text that comes from the masks character in a final showcase at the end of our residency in front of their peers.  

Rationale‍

This is “Humanities Next Level” - Our cultural partnership aimed to address the complexities within societal expectations of culture and humanity.

What learning goals/standards did this meet?

Arts:

• Literary expression and reading arts
• Disability as part of an expression, as an art
• Theatre, physical embodiment, music, etc to create art
• Mask making as a vehicle for expectations vs feeling
• Creating, conceiving and developing new artistic ideas and work.
• Performing Realizing artistic ideas and work through exploration, interpretation and presentation.
• Responding, understanding and evaluating how the arts convey meaning that transcend the classroom.
• Connecting Relating artistic ideas and work with personal meaning and external context. 

CCCR:

Students were welcomed and affirmed in their ideas and engagement of the activities. They were encouraged to lean into the discomfort of learning from other cultures and therefore learning about themselves.

• Our rigorous schedule and multimodal access to culture through film, discussion, writing, visual art, movement, theater games, and performance motivated the students to continue to think and craft on their ideas and the themes we discussed.
• Many of our ensemble building activities were built with non-verbal action in order to create the most inclusive and accessible format for students. Everyone was able to participate with no prior experience to theater or needing to know the english language.  

CR-S: 

• Exploratory enrichment and arts in ed: What is the “voice” behind art pieces, literary works, song lyrics? Where does an artist find his/her/their true voice? (self exploration| What role do words play in creating a piece that allows us to connect with ourselves and others?
• Civic identity: How can the arts (visual arts, poetry, dance) assist in our personal growth? How can the arts assist in finding our voices? How can we explore personality traits and identities through the arts? 
• Civic Knowledge: How can learning from other communities enhance our value system as individuals?
• College & Career Readiness: communication, decision making, social skills, understanding personal strengths vs. challenges, written expression, context, as it relates to interpersonal communication and self-exploration. 

Outcomes

Students’ learning has expanded as a result of this project because now they…

KNOW… 

• that when you connect with other cultures, it adds to our individual value system and can support confidence in navigating new or difficult experiences with respectful curiosity. 
• that ensemble building, movement, creative writing and mask-making can be integrated in their learning process, and serve as a positive tool.

UNDERSTAND… 

• that societal expectations of “normal” can be toxic and lead us to hide parts of ourselves. 
• the difference between someone else’s perception of you  and your own confidence and understanding of yourself.

ARE ABLE TO… 

• communicate through spoken word, movement / embodiment  and visual arts. 
• take risks and be brave in uncomfortable situations.
• feel liberated from society's expectations of “normal.”