class work on China
at Howell High School
Asian Festival highlights
class work on China
at Howell High School
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer
PHOTOS BY DAVE BENJAMIN Students in the Howell High School humanities program look on as artist Linda C. Chiu explains the technique of brush strokes.
HOWELL — If it’s the year of the monkey, then it’s time to celebrate Asian Festival 2004.
From Confucius and the Manchu Dynasty to Tiananmen Square, freshman students in the Freehold Regional High School District’s Scholars Center for the Humanities at Howell High School are learning about the history and culture of China.
"This morning the students did their presentations of ancient, middle and present day China, and now they are learning brush-stroke painting," said Joanna Barlow, literary arts teacher for freshman humanities.
Barlow and teachers Rosa Libertini and Diane VanderHorn have created a program that is educational and gets the students to be totally immersed in their subject.
Students in the Scholars Center for the Humanities came to school dressed in Asian clothing as they celebrated Asian Festival 2004 at Howell High School.
At first glance it is easily recognizable that the students’ Asian-culture classwork fills the walls of the classroom. There are paintings, artwork, bulletin boards depicting different periods of Chinese history, historical reports and giant columns representing an ancient Asian temple.
As part of the Asian Festival, brush-stroke artist Linda C. Chiu was invited to give a demonstration lesson in Chinese brush-stoke painting. Chiu taught the students how to hold the brush, how to make the strokes and how to paint a wash with the brush.
The artist demonstrated how the brush should be grasped so that there is a hollow space between the fingers and the palm. The brush is controlled by the wrist, Chiu said.
After the art session the students dined on Chinese food and later in the day had a lesson in taekwondo, a martial art, Barlow said.
The students in the literature arts program are Staci Tausstine, Erin Nieto, Emily Fisher, Erin Donahue, Casey Alberti, Marylin Carnevale, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Kaylin Gosack, Brett Siegel, Ashley Ozery, Lauren Howell, Anne Fuller, Christy McCoy, Emily Duhovny, Jon Barr, Kerry Bocchetto, Craig Held, Jillian Chamra, Katie Bonica, Kathleen McGinn, Coryell Bogan, Olivia Osterman, Clarissa Gomez, Alana Ciolek, Dan Parisi, Steve Edwards, David Schanck, Jesse Benigno, Erin O’Connell, Alexandra Gallarello, Quinn Gashlin and Jessica Pringle.
The Scholars Center for the Humanities is now in its 12th year. Students who reside in the FRHSD may apply for acceptance to the program.
Barlow said the students are together for three periods each day where they focus on the humanities — history, world cultures, literature and art, as well as process skills, speech, grammar, and essay writing. The rest of the day they continue with a regular schedule of physical education, science, etc.
Erin O’Connell said she applied to the humanities program because she is interested in social studies and history. She said the art work ties into the program because students have to be creative.
"It’s very important that you can express yourself and write well," Erin said.
The freshman said she is already thinking about her future college application and hopes that taking the special program will give her an advantage. Erin said she would like to attend Cornell University and become a veterinarian.
"That would be my dream," she said.
"I think this is a lot of hard work, but in the end it’s fun," said Clarissa Gomez. "It was a good experience, and I was happy that I did it."
Clarissa described the Chinese brush painting as delicate and not easy to do, even though it might look easy. She said she plans to go to "a good college like Columbia or Princeton and then become a doctor or a lawyer."