Museum Education Program
at Bank Street College Enhances Literacy
by Elisabeth Jakab
“Literacy isn't merely about learning how
to read and write. Literacy is about being an educated person
in the most profound sense of the word. Museums are in an excellent
position to promote an expanded definition of literacy, one
in which meaning and understanding, not merely decoding, are
central,” says Nina Jensen, Director of Bank Street's
Museum Education Program. “Literacy is about understanding
the human spirit through reading literature, and by looking
at and studying art, artifacts from the past and from other
cultures, and specimens from the natural world.”
“Museums are traditionally about the things
they collect; one can learn to ‘read' them in many ways,
including visually,” adds Leslie Bedford, Director of
Bank Street's Museum Leadership Program. “The challenge
for educators is how to provide context, clues, and roadmaps,
so that the collections and exhibits speak to them and relate
to their lives.”
Once palaces of privilege where the elite admired
art and artifacts only they could afford (and in some cases
had donated), today museums are seeking broader audiences through
differently focused exhibitions. Part of this outreach is the
immense growth in the past fifty years of museum education
programs for both children and adults.
It was in response to this cultural shift that,
in 1975, Bank Street started its Museum Education Program.
While many of its graduates teach in schools and
use museum resources to enhance their teaching, others go directly
into museum education.
Museum educators
offer online and in-house opportunities for research; professional
development for teachers so they can create their own museum
programs and prepare their classes before coming to a museum;
information on how to use museum teaching ideas and resources
in their classrooms; and advice on teaching with primary
sources, such as artifacts of another culture, or scientific
specimens.”
The Museum Leadership Program, which began in 1978
in response to the desire of museum educators to attend Bank
Street while maintaining their jobs, is geared to people already
in the museum field who want to learn how to attract audiences
by designing exhibits and educational programs, and also to
acquire the management skills to implement their ideas effectively.
“When museums understand that their mission
is to serve their communities, they approach their work from
the perspective of the educator,” says Leslie. “They
create experiences for visitors that make connections between
the objects and exhibits and the people encountering them.”#
Elisabeth Jakab is Senior Writer at Bank Street
College.