Junior Docents at the African American Museum

This post is by guest blogger Tasha Speed, Museum Education & Public Programs, African American Museum

The Junior Docents at the African American Museum had a blast this summer supporting “Discovering Nature and Art,” the Museum’s summer enrichment camp held from June 6-July 15 for 70 elementary-age campers. Docents assisted campers with creative learning activities, exciting fieldtrips and much more. The docents also helped with Dallas ISD’s Thriving Minds Summer Camp, which brought nearly 2,000 middle school students to Fair Park, offering guided tours of the Museum and its collections. But it wasn’t all work and no play, docents were treated to a special performance of Dallas Summer Musical’s Guys and Dolls.

The African American Museum launched the Junior Docent program in March to give high school students hands-on experience as museum curators. Twenty-five students from Dallas-area schools participated, and went through training that taught them about the history, philosophy and practices of museum work. All the docents received a stipend for their work this summer.

For additional information about the Junior Docent Program visit our website at www.aamdallas.org.

The Power of Reflection

Guest blogger and SLANT 45 Community Heroes Art Exhibition Committee Chair Lisa Glasgow shares her thoughts on the importance of creative reflection.

Reflection is essential to learning. Teachers have understood this for hundreds of years. Parents know this intuitively. Given time and instruction on how to reflect, children are better able to make meaning of their experiences and integrate them into their values in meaningful ways. Yet in the pressed-for-time, test-based world our children are being raised in, too often time for reflection is the very thing missing from their lives.

Recognizing this powerful opportunity, the designers of SLANT 45 built a reflective component into their service learning program, which asks participants to consider the service they have performed – what that work has meant to their community as well as what it has meant them – in a piece of art. In this way we increase the likelihood that the lessons of service will be lifelong. And that is the goal after all: giving children a chance to understand that they can affect the world around them for good.

Now through October 31, 2010, the SLANT 45 team is gathering the reflective art of North Texas children and from it will create three art exhibitions – one at NorthPark Center, DFW International Airport and at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. Each will tell individual stories of children who, through service to their communities, discovered their own capacity for problem solving, giving and grace. Each will be a celebration of the power we all have to make a difference in the world around us.

For more information about how you can participate in the Reflective Art component of SLANT 45, click here.

Social Media Fire & Brimstone vs. Creative Social Media

Guest-blog by Big Thought President/CEO, Gigi Antoni

I’m somewhat of a newbie at the social media thing, but it seems that when most experts talk about it, they take on the characteristics of a southern preacher. At conferences and in newsletters, techies and marketing gurus scrunch their faces and point their fingers to demand, “You have to be using social media at your organization. You just have to. You’ll be lost in the crowd without it.”

The gist of the social media message has thus far been fire and brimstone. If you don’t have X followers on Twitter and don’t have a large enough Facebook presence (presence sounds so extraterrestrial, doesn’t it?) your organization is doomed to social media limbo, always missing out on would-be donors or volunteer hopefuls.

In this way, social media has become exactly what it never was intended to be; a tool that makes your life harder. For personal use, the purpose of social media was to connect people, provide venues for them to express ideas, thoughts and to share them with the world. With social media came extraordinary videos, fascinating exchange and millions of blogs powered by everyday Joes who wanted to write about life, network TV or any other topic under the sun.

But more importantly, for those of us in the creative world, the arts became something, well … cool, thanks to social media tools like YouTube. Instead of audiences of hundreds who watched a symphony, an unbelievable multitude of millions were wowed by the creativity of bands, dancers, and even string players who became memes of extraordinary popularity by merging innovation with creativity.

As artistic and creative nonprofits, we tout the importance of innovation all the time in connection with the arts. We convince non-arts lovers of its importance in the lives of our young ones because it means that they will be able to thrive in a new world with new challenges. Unfortunately, we can say it until we’re blue in the face but until people see it, hear it, read it or live it, the prospect of creativity falls decidedly short in the minds of our constituency.

This is where social media comes in. Far from being an obligatory process of routine tweets, relationship-less exchanges or a begrudging step into the 21st century, its very existence provides us the opportunity to show the world what creativity can mean. And this doesn’t always mean posting videos of a program or writing newsletters about our work. It could simply be a young virtuoso on the piano. It could be a TED video which would spark conversation. Or it could be tweets from our staff about what instrument they played or creative activity they take part in with their friends or family.

Social media doesn’t have to make our lives harder. It can make our lives incredibly easy. We only have to leverage what people have already shown that they love … creativity and innovation. These are the open doors that will draw people into our work in arts and education. All along, we’ve been focusing on the work itself, and ignoring the work’s inherent ability to amaze people and make them say “That’s so cool!” And voila, the would-be volunteers or arts and creative learning supporters are right in the palm of our hands.

Follow us on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter so that you can share the cool and creative videos, songs, organizations, social media ideas and anything else that you are buzzing about. Together we can show the world what creativity looks like in everyday life!

Gigi Antoni
President/CEO, Big Thought

Leadership Learnings

Leadership Learnings
by Gigi Antoni, Big Thought President/CEO

I always enjoy watching the Academy Awards with my family. Though the hosts and dresses change with the years, the acceptance speeches have always carried a familiar theme that consistently emerges; in the menagerie of thank-yous and teary remembrances, the winning actors almost always praise a teacher, parent or other mentor who stood out as a supporter of creativity.


Imagine that! As experts in their craft, these Oscar winners attribute their success to some adult who made it all possible. I suppose that the sentiment isn’t at all uncommon. If I asked you to reach across the vast expanse of childhood memories to pull out an adult who impacted you, I am confident that you could do it in an instant. Because we all have that person who helped us realize our talent and potential, and in doing so forever changed the course of our lives.

Adults are crucial in developing the creative capacities of our young learners. It takes courage and diligence to create something and share it with others, especially for a child. Big Thought research has laid it out clearly: Students who are creative mirror the creative investment of caring adults. In fact, 50% of a child’s willingness to try and stick with an artistic endeavor depends on their family, while the other half depends on teachers, family members and other adults.

But developing creativity is only the jumping-off point for success when children have a mentor who cares about them. According to the Search Institute, teens who feel that others value their creative passions are three times more likely to have a sense of hopeful purpose, be actively engaged in school and take on leadership roles.

The most wonderful part about these encouraging facts is that the role of a supportive adult can come from anyone who has the time and desire to invest in a child. With creative organizations like Big Thought, too many would-be volunteers mistakenly believe that artistic ability is necessary to work with or mentor our youth. But kids don’t need someone with the magic hands of Picasso or the graceful feet of Anna Pavlova. All that children need (and want, for that matter) are adults who make them feel special and worthwhile. More than that, children desire that a grown-up really see and hear them, recognizing and validating their individuality, dreams and talents.

Big Thought serves thousands of children each year, and every single one can benefit from the kind words and encouraging nods of a supportive adult. Big Thought recently kicked off the SLANT 45 program in partnership with the North Texas Super Bowl XLV Host Committee. This ambitious program encourages parents, mentors, teachers and other adults to head a team of youngsters in their individually designed service-learning projects. SLANT 45 is not only a fantastic opportunity both for the adults and children who will participate, but it’s also a great way to proactively change your community. Look around. At schools, churches and in neighborhoods there are myriad ways to help out and make a difference in the life of a child who needs you. And who knows, maybe you’ll be thanked at the Oscars someday!

Visit http://www.slant45.org/ and sign up your team today.

This article was included in the April issue of The Big Idea newsletter. To receive e-news and updates from Big Thought, join our Mailing List.

Photo Friday!

As promised, here are some of Community Site Manager Judy's awesome pictures of the students in the Thriving Minds after-school program. These were taken during their fantastic Black History Month celebration in February. What a smiley, happy bunch of kiddos!

Guest Blog: Mills Elementary Site Manager Judy Danielson

Hello again, all!

Each day continues to be an adventure here in the Thriving Minds after-school program at Mills, and we’ve all been busy. Our third, fourth and fifth graders have been working on some excellent creative writing; they have great imaginations when they are inspired by an idea. Kindergarten, first and second graders have been doing fun arts and crafts, including some very cool bird masks and funky mirrors with frames. They’ve also been making a respect journal and discussing how important respect is in all of our lives.


We have all, staff and students, been hard at work on our Black History Month performance which took place on February 26. Our students put on a fabulous show for their families, friends and teachers highlighting the important contributions that African Americans have made, and continue to make, in the shaping of our country. The children performed African songs and dances, and portrayed famous African Americans such as Harriet Tubman and Thurgood Marshall; the girls also did a beautiful praise dance. Their parents were so very proud of them and so was I - the children were just beaming with pride! I asked some of them what the best part of the performance was for them. Most answered, “My mom said I did good,” and “I saw my daddy clapping…”

Enough said!

Stay tuned for pictures from the Black History Month celebration tomorrow on Photo Friday.
Until next time,

Judy Danielson
Community Site Manager, Mills Elementary
Thriving Minds After-School

Pulling From Both Sides of the Aisle

Pulling From Both Sides of the Aisle
By Gigi Antoni
(from the December 09 issue of The Big Idea)

There’s a saying that goes “There are two kinds of people in the world— those who put things into two categories, and everybody else.” Here at Big Thought, we’re everybody else. For many in the field of art—or the broader world of creative learning—there is a tendency to divide camps when it comes to ideology.

The first I’d call “art for art’s sakers,” those who evaluate the arts based on its inherent importance. The Wallace Foundation commissioned a RAND report to study how the arts help and change individuals. The study found that exposure to music, dance, theater and visual arts improves cognitive development, offers health benefits (such as increased quality of life) and provides numerous other advantages for individuals in their personal growth.

On the other side of the aisle are those who see the arts as a solid foundation that plays a central role in society; the arts can act as an economic boon or as a mechanism by which we can achieve wide-scale social change. Researchers in this arena focus on how creative endeavors help raise test scores and provide a meaningful opportunity for children to engage in school and in life, among other things.

A 12-year study conducted by James Catterrall, an education professor from the University of California, found that students from low-income families were twice as likely to have low arts involvement, while students from high-income families were twice as likely to have high arts involvement. Catterall found that those with high-arts involvement, regardless of socioeconomic status, showed substantial and significant gains in achievement and life skills. Essentially, when we deprive our low-income students of artistic and creative experiences, we are taking away a sure-fire, statistically-backed method for engaging them. With this information, how can we not reasonably call the work that we do at Big Thought an issue of equity?

It’s hard to ignore the fact that the arts are important all on their own, or as a catalyst for educational and social change. The answer of its value isn’t either/or, it’s all of the above.

We hear comments from students all the time, such as “I never knew I could do anything right before this class.” Other times, a student might simply raise her hand in music class—a monumental feat in the life of a painfully shy wallflower. These are great examples of the inherent value of the arts that we see each and every day in classrooms and communities across Dallas.

But that’s not all we see. We’ve seen partners and communities aligning with one another, coming together around the arts. Through the arts, we continue to grow and serve hundreds of thousands of children and families across Dallas. Our assessment team has shown us that the arts improve scholastic investment and achievement, with results that are truly inspiring.

Big Thought is making differences each day, in big ways and small, in ways that we measure and in immeasurable strides that are changing the way that people see arts education and creative learning. Whether you believe that art is important on its own or for its value in improving education and our community in general, we’re pulling from both sides of the aisle to create a better future for children and families across Dallas.

Have a Witty Holiday!

Please extend a hearty "Welcome Back" to our After-School guest-blogger, Judy Danielson! Judy's kiddos have been hard at work getting ready for the holidays at Mills Elementary. Here's a sneak peek at what they've been up to this month:

Last week was another week of adventure and learning in Thriving Minds After-School Program at Mills Elementary. On Monday, fourth and fifth graders worked on their team building skills. All of the students have been writing their own short plays and are doing an outstanding job. Kindergarten and first grade made turkeys from oranges and felt pieces. Second and third grade had Mad Science on Wednesday and learned about optical illusions. The children have been earning tickets for good behavior, following directions, being a good leader, being kind, etc. On Friday we had our Reward Store, where my office turns into a Chuck E. Cheese-like store where the children can exchange their tickets for prizes ranging from candy to pencils to stickers to Hot Cheetos! For some, it's the only time they have their own "money" to spend and the decision-making process can be brutal. It is a great incentive and in a roundabout kind of way, a math lesson to figure out how many prizes you can get for your tickets.

On Saturday evening, I gathered some friends and we headed off to Barneys New York at NorthPark Center to see the "Have a Witty Holiday" window art. Our afterschool students at Mills participated in a project with Barneys to provide art for their Holiday Windows. Under the direction of artist and instructor Junanne Peck, the children painted canvases of the funniest person in their lives, or the person who makes them laugh. The visual presentation of the children's paintings is outstanding. The kids all did such good work and Barneys has done a fabulous job displaying their work.

I am so proud of my kids, and people were stopping to look in the windows! How cool is that? Of course, like any proud Mother Hen, I let people know that my afterschool kids created the paintings. Most of the salespeople in Barneys now know me and all about Thriving Minds After-School, too. I encourage all of you to go to Barneys and see the windows. I know you will be touched. I can't wait to share all the pictures I took with my kids and their families!

Judy Danielson
Community Site Manager, Mills Elementary
Thriving Minds After-School



*Editor's note: The Barneys window displays of the children's art from Mills, Tatum Elementary and Long Middle School will be up throughout the holiday season. Stop and take a look while you're doing your Christmas shopping - it's quite a sight to see!

Guest Blog - Judy Danielson, Community Site Manager for Mills Elementary

Please welcome Judy Danielson, our Thriving Minds After-School guest blogger! Judy is in her second year as the Community Site Manager for the after-school program at Mills Elementary School in Dallas ISD. We will feature her posts every week or so to keep you apprised of what's going on!

We had another fun week in the Thriving Minds Afterschool program at Mills Elementary. Fourth and Fifth graders talked and wrote about why they love themselves. For some, this task was difficult. We did lots of coaching about positivity and the great assets we all have.

Last week my students finished painting portraits of the person in their lives who makes them laugh. They did some outstanding work. You will be able to see their work displayed in the windows of Barney’s department store at Northpark Mall. The paintings will be on display after Nov. 9. They all worked very hard and I am so proud of them! I got lots of hugs and high fives this week. Also, several new pieces of artwork for my office, magic marker stains on my pants, a shirt damp with tears and runny noses, and one apple. The perks that come with this job are outstanding! And yes, we do use tons of hand sanitizer.

We finally had one sunny afternoon for some of the kids to play outside. Fresh air and outdoor play make all of us – kids and staff – feel so much better. Second and third graders planted some flowers for their room and they will record their growth. They also talked and journaled about ecosystems. Kindergarten and first grade played Alphabet Bingo. It’s a fun sort-of-back-door-way to work on letter recognition and letter sounds. They are happily learning and don’t realize it.

On Thursday night we had a Family Fun Night celebration in recognition of national “Lights On Afterschool” night. Our families had fun eating dinner together and doing some fun art projects. I love the support my parents show me and the thanks I get from them. Many parents know that their children need a safe and nurturing place to go after school. One of my students, Necovia, cried the other day because her mom came to pick her up too early. She wasn’t finished with her painting, was having fun and wasn’t ready to go home yet. Little things like that let me know I’m in the right place.

-Judy Danielson

 Community Site Manager, Mills Elementary

 Thriving Minds After-School Program

Reflections on the Conference Call with Arne Duncan

It was exciting to participate in the conference call arranged by The NAMM Foundation and the Support Music Coalition on Tuesday, August 18th, with the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan.

Arts education advocates have become used to hearing leadership at agencies such as the National Endowment for the Arts, Arts Education Partnership or Americans for the Arts speak on the value and critical need for arts education in our country. But I had to pinch myself as I listened to the United States Secretary of Education emphasize the national Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)which defines arts as a core subject, how arts play critical roles in extended day education, and also about how the arts have significant impact in the developmental and learning process for all children.

He reiterated ways that school districts can use funding from the Department of Education to support arts education in many ways. Examples are Title I funds, Title II funds, the Department’s grants for model development and dissemination – and the list goes on. Equally important are the funds that are sent to state governments to support arts education. Secretary Duncan emphasized the importance of advocating to our state agencies; support for arts education must be strong at the state and local level as well.

Big Thought was a sponsor of the second Dallas Arts Advocacy Day event just two days after that phone call with Secretary Duncan. We met and conversed with arts advocates and administrators from all over the city to discuss new and better ways to encourage our patrons and program participants to advocate for the arts in their lives. Economic impact studies done on the arts both nationally and locally make their value plain to see; it’s now up to us to use what we’ve learned to inspire others to take up the charge.

Nancy Webb
Vice President, Organizational Advancement
Big Thought

Intern Stephanie checks out the Creative Solutions dress rehearsal!

August 5, 2009
I got to see the dress rehearsal for the Creative Solutions today. I was so excited to see it all come together after sitting through some rehearsals and talking with the kids throughout the program. While there were still a few kinks to work out in the performance and not all of the art was up in the gallery, you can definitely see all the hard work that went into pulling these off.The performance, which is called “The Switch,” showcases all different kinds of talent: dancing, percussion, spoken word poetry, acting, singing. The kids really can do it all. Six of the kids played “angels” and “demons” and they stole the show with their hilarious performance! I was also blown away by the spoken word poetry that was performed. The way that the kids talk about their own lives and the way that they’re channeling their experience into performance is powerful.

The visual art is equally impressive. After spending a couple days in the gallery helping to hang some of the pieces, I actually took the time to step back and really look at the pieces. There's glass work, ceramics, charcoal, watercolor, and acrylic work – a little bit of everything. One of the coolest pieces was a group project of a tiger. It’s an amazing stippling project that took a week to create and the artists were so excited to tell us about their work and how everything was created. Though they’re a little more reserved than some of the performers, you can see their talent and passion just as clearly.I know they’ll all do an amazing job at their first official performance tomorrow!

-Stephanie
ps - check out our mini CS videos at http://tinyurl.com/BTMovie! More to come...

Intern Stephanie checks out Creative Solutions

Hi! I’m Stephanie, a student at SMU that's interning here at Big Thought. Last week I had the opportunity to go visit Creative Solutions, a Big Thought program for at-risk teens. Here's what I saw!

For three days I helped a photographer (who currently serves as a Big Thought Board member) as she took portraits of all the kids in the program. I was absolutely blown away by these kids! Having the chance to interact with them and watch them have their pictures taken was amazing. Some of them had never had their portrait taken before! The kids came in two at a time and while one was having their picture taken, the other would crack jokes or make faces to make them laugh. You can just see their personalities shine through the photos and how they interacted with each other and with us. Some were very particular about how they looked in the pictures; others weren’t all that comfortable having a camera lens in their face. But the really amazing part about observing them was seeing that all their energy was going towards whatever project they were working on. Peeking in the visual art studio, hearing a student’s poem, or feeling the drumming from the percussion rehearsal just proved how creativity is really changing and challenging these kids. I can’t wait to attend their final show and see just how far they’ve come!

To give you a taste of what's going on behind the scenes over at SMU with the Creative Solutions students, I made some video clips of the dancers, the visual art kids and the percussion ensemble! Check them out at http://tinyurl.com/BTMovie/.

Stay tuned for more...
-Stephanie

Julia E's Summer Camp Recap - part 3

Tuesday June 30
More rehearsals, more projects, more fun activities! Today in the morning we set off a Diet-Coke-and-Mentos experiment, which consists of reacting small mints with soda and watching the soda erupt. Although some walked away drenched in sugar-free pop, the kids have never been more thrilled by a science experiment! I’m planning on bringing more bottles of Coke tomorrow so that we can do it again. All the children decorated shirts for the play, with their character’s name and whatever other creative designs they could think of. Some of the shirts have too many glittery flowers on them to read the print, we ran out of fabric-paint, and we had several huge paint spills, but the kids definitely had fun and the project was very expressive! Our all-day rehearsals continue. With two days left, I hope we can pull it together!

-Julia E.

Julia E's Summer Camp Recap - part 2

Tuesday June 23
As we enter the second half of Summer Camp, things are starting to really level out. Every day I have a steady number of kids which always hovers somewhere around 23, with the same kids returning each time. The script is in print, and I figured out the cast list for my class without any meltdowns over role assignments (major and surprising success). Chris’ music class has turned to dancing, which is great, especially for the older children. Thrilled to dance to songs that they recognize, the kids seem really focused and engaged, a welcoming change. Our project for the day: what is your favorite animal in the sky, under the sea, or on the ground. We had several dinosaurs (and a “dinser”), sharks, puppies, and dolphins - which they were enthralled to hear were the smartest animals in the world, after humans. After classes were over, Elliot, another ATA at Conner, organized a camp-wide game of red-light, green-light which was a huge success!We will start rehearsals later this week for the end-of-camp show. Hope everything runs smoothly!

Friday June 26
The weekend again! We ended the week yesterday with a somewhat unproductive rehearsal, but now that we are more organized, we will have a better rehearsal on Monday. All of our instructors communicated and found a way to include every art form in the program; now we just have to straighten out the logistics. Yesterday, while the kids were not needed on stage, I took my group for project free-time, and set everyone up with quiet individual projects. While most of the boys were entertained folding new models of paper airplanes, everyone else found creative busy projects and stayed happy and focused.Chris also put the finishing touches on the two dance routines, and the kids seem to really enjoy them and are getting really good. Now that we're allowing the kids to dance on stage, even those who didn’t feel like participating are jumping in, which is great. The challenge comes in fitting forty antsy children on stage to dance!

-Julia E.
ps - more pics here!

Julia E's Summer Camp Recap - part 1

Hi! I'm Julia E., an Apprentice Teaching Artist from the Thriving Minds Summer Camp at Conner Elementary. I had a great time working with the kids this summer, so when Big Thought asked me to put together a short recap of my time at Conner, I jumped at the chance! What I'll be posting here are my reflections on the process of creating the play the students performed at their culminating event on July 2nd - and some of the fun daily activities we did. I hope you enjoy it: today I'll post a special two-fer for you from week 2 of Camp!

Tuesday June 16
Going into our second week of Thriving Minds Summer Camp at Conner Elementary, the craziness is beginning to settle. I have a sweet group of four and fifth graders, who get better daily as we get to know each other a little bit more. As of now, I am happy to report that the Thriving Minds Summer Camp is a successful program. Our kids participate in four classes throughout the day: theater, drumming, percussion and rhythm, and visual arts, all of which we hope to compose into an end-of-camp show. Because my kids are the oldest bunch at our campus, they can participate in the more difficult activities; today, they excelled at an improv game called Taxi, individually took turns on the big drum set, successfully put together a cohesive rhythm in percussion class, and created still life paintings in art. Also, as a project, I brought in a long sheet of butcher paper for the kids to write and illustrate what they wanted to be when they grow up – my favorites: Batman, FBI agent, a farm man, a skateboard, and a vegetarian (not to be mistaken with a veterinarian). I will be working on the script for the play tonight!

-Julia E.
ps - Click here to see one of my pictures from Conner!

Friday June 19
The script for our end-of-camp show is officially finished! All last week, my class (the older kids) helped Krystal and me think of characters, setting, and plot for their show, and it has all accumulated into a short and sweet medley of fairytale characters (Dorothy, the Cat in the Hat and Tinkerbelle, just to name a few!), set on Fairytale Island. We read the finished play to the kids yesterday, and they seemed pleased. Now we just have to put it into action! More of the same in terms of activites. The children did blind portraits of each other in art class, or drawings where they couldn’t look down at the paper while drawing. The craziness of drawings, with eyes next to chins and teeth inside the ears, was bizarre enough to get the kids laughing at themselves.

-Julia E.
ps - here are some more Conner Camper pics!