Field Trip: Studio Museum

After taking my students to the MoMA, I was thrilled that I would be able to go to the Studio Museum with them. When I was soliciting chaperones, one parent said, "Oh, I always thought that was a Target! I don't want to go there." Her reluctance highlighted to me that proximity does not equal accessibility. I think one area of improvement for the museum is outreach and I was excited to bring four parents with us on the trip. Unfortunately, our trip was disappointing, but there is a happy ending!

First we sat in the lobby as our tour guide talked mostly about the rules of the museum. Her unspoken implication seemed to be that our students wouldn't know how to behave in a museum. She never talked about why we are careful in museums. She never asked if we had been to a museum before.

Then, she took us into the basement where some of the permanent collection is housed. We looked at a sculpture, a photograph of an adolescent African American, and a Romare Bearden collage. For each work our tour guide had students sit on the floor in a lecture style formation. She talked and asked questions. We were not given any time to explore.

Afterwards, our "art workshop" consisted of construction paper, primary-colored markers, and instructions to draw "someone." Although some varying shades of brown were available, the choices were limited and many of my students reverted to showing their skin in primary or secondary colors (red, green, etc.).

In addition to the exceedingly low expectations that our guide had for students, she also committed a microaggression that made my heart sink. While we were looking at the photograph of a young African American, she tried to highlight that the artist was trying to give power to people of color by showing them in a museum (I think). Instead she said something like:

She certainly doesn't look like a celebrity. Right? 

First of all, what is a celebrity? And why should our children be striving for that? In one fell swoop she undermined all of those mornings that I have started the day by saying, "Hello Beautiful Children!" and I wanted to interrupt her, but I didn't.

Later when we returned I did write an email to the head of the education department. She swiftly replied with an apology, a refund, and an offer for us to come back for another workshop experience. The lesson in all of this is don't be afraid to advocate for your students. If you hear something that makes you uncomfortable, but you aren't sure exactly why, just say that you were uncomfortable. Our job as educators goes beyond teaching, especially with students of diverse backgrounds. Often your privilege (e.g., educational background) can be used to benefit your students.