Artful education

Riverside School team helps Chinese children learn through the arts

By: Hilary Parker
   Bob Wickenden had one of those "Eureka!" moments as he watched his daughter, Kita, perform in a student-written opera at the Riverside School this spring.
   As the CEO of Franklin Park-based Jersey Cow Software, an educational software company, the Princeton resident had previous experience taking teams of American teachers to China to provide arts workshops and camps designed to teach innovation and creativity. Relationships with Peking University’s Allied Elementary School were already in place and he was looking for a new team of teachers to travel to China over the summer.
   "As I was watching I was thinking, ‘This is exactly what we’re talking about in China — it’s learning through the arts, it’s multidisciplinary, it’s project-based,’" he said.
   A conversation about educational philosophy with Riverside Principal William Cirullo ensued — and Mr. Wickenden’s search was over. In relatively short order, plans were made that Mr. Cirullo would lead a team of educators to teach a "Learning Through the Arts" camp for children ages 6 to 13 at Peking’s Allied Elementary School.
   "(Bob) was looking for a model and a philosophy and a practice that was well articulated and one that could help their kids be more creative, better problem-solvers," Mr. Cirullo said. A lifelong educator, Mr. Cirullo jumped at the chance to work with the Chinese teachers and students in August.
   The selected team included Riverside vocal music teacher Paul Chapin, kindergarten teacher Jennifer Bazin and fifth-grade teacher Amanda Blair-Nichols. New Jersey Opera Theater Director of Education Peter Hoyle joined the teachers, having recently completed a two-year residency at Riverside.
   Funded by Jersey Cow and The Herman Auerbach Fund, the Riverside educators were joined by teachers from Glen Cove, N.Y., Mr. Wickenden and his family — including his wife, Dianne Witherbee, and their children, Robert and Kita, who served as student models and facilitators.
   "The curriculum was created right here at Riverside with our teachers and a combination of a few teachers from New York," Mr. Cirullo said. "It was created from scratch prior to the trip. It took a lot of effort and a lot of work."
   Through the use of the Chinese fairy tale, "Lon Po Po" — a version of "Little Red Riding Hood" — the 80 students in the program were taught using an interdisciplinary approach to the visual and performing arts. In a fitting conclusion to the five-day arts camp, the children staged a complete performance of "Lon Po Po."
   As the English language skills of the campers varied, Mr. Chapin explained, it was expected that some of the Chinese English teachers would work alongside the American teachers to help with translation. As the week wore on, however, their involvement in the program grew.
   "They began teaching with us and alongside us," he said. "Teaching is all about sharing, and they had an understanding of their own students that we didn’t have. It really made the whole thing work much better. That part of it was really very lovely."
   Describing the people he encountered as warm and welcoming, Mr. Chapin said the relationships established through the camp with teachers and students will serve as a foundation for future collaborations.
   As far as Mr. Wickenden is concerned, the relationships were also the strongest he’s seen created through these educational partnerships.
   "There was no doubt that this team was the most powerful team we’ve taken over there," Mr. Wickenden said. "They clearly bonded with these Chinese students and made a difference in their lives. I have the utmost respect for these teachers."
   Though the educators have been back for about a month, the educational exchange is far from over. Now that the person-to-person connections have been established, Mr. Wickenden said, they may be maintained remotely in online educational communities.
   "If you can help (the teachers) to continue that communication and collaboration by the Internet — it’s a very interesting proposition for the global exchange of learning and teaching," he said.