|
The Guanacaste Journal
(Infocom) — Using a methodology that seeks to foment critical thinking and the development of values among students in both public and private schools, the Piensa en Arte (Think Art) Program began implementation last Oct. 20 at four elementary schools: La Aurora and Llorente de Flores in Heredia province, and Honduras and Lagos de Lindora in Santa Ana, west of San Jose.
The program — which will incorporate 450 new students for a total of 1,576 participating nationwide — is to reach public schools in the provinces of San Jose, Heredia and Guanacaste, plus two private schools in San Jose.
An initiative of the Accion Arte Association, Think Art is a program based on the methodology developed by the international Cisneros Foundation, which uses works of art from the New York Museum of Modern Art.
In 2007, the Cisneros Foundation (founded by Venezuelan media and entertainment mogul Gustavo Cisneros and his wife Patty) and Costa Rica’s Ministry of Education (MEP) signed an agreement to implement the program here, incorporating local works of art into the educational curriculum of public and private schools in an effort to promote “transversality” among cultural institutions.
“One of the goals of this program is to instill in students tolerance toward diverse and even contrary opinions, where the important thing is not to be right but to listen to other people’s opinions, and learn to think and be critical from the starting point of enjoying a good work of art,” said Education Minister Leonardo Garnier.
Garnier added that early exposition of students to the works of great art masters awakens in them appreciation for the arts.
In this new phase of the program, sponsored by transnational corporation Hewlett-Packard (HP) with support from the Business Association for Development, 13 teachers from the four schools listed above were trained.
“Our work focuses on facilitating this type of public-private alliances, which, in this particular case, not only enrich the educational system of this country, but directly benefit the children and educators thanks to the vision of our associate, HP,” explained Alicia Fournier, executive director of the Business Association for Development.
The teachers received a program guide, an introductory brochure and a review of the Think Art Program’s methodology; 28 structured lessons around 20 works of arts by local and international artists; and 20 high-quality posters featuring the selected works of art to facilitate conservations in the classroom.
The program’s goal is to work with these students during three consecutive years, incorporating 20 images per each level. In this way, upon completion of the program, the students would have gotten to know and learned about 60 works of art from both Costa Rican and international artists — including paintings, sculptures, photographs and installations.
Think Art is offered to students in grades 4-6 as part of Language and Writing curriculum, beginning with fourth graders.