Contact: Jenni Brockman
Telephone: 804-443-3357
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Art to Help Learning-Disabled Students Succeed
Tappahannock (August 21, 2000) - Local students who have learning disabilities soon will benefit from an unusual but effective method for strengthening academic skills.
Meeting with and learning from internationally acclaimed artist Robert Rauschenberg was the highlight of "Art Power 2000," a workshop attended by St. Margaret's School teacher Catherine Neuhardt-Minor. Rauschenberg funded the training session on using art to teach students with learning disabilities because as a child with dyslexia, he had difficulty in school. He believes that the arts should be a central part of education.
St. Margaret's School teacher Catherine Neuhardt-Minor was one of 30 educators from 23 states to attend "The Power of Art 2000," a summer workshop on using art to teach learning-disabled students. She plans to use many of the approaches she learned in her classes at the girls' independent school.
"We do not have a large number of students with learning disabilities," she said, "but we place a high priority on giving personalized attention to those who do. Making art is a multifaceted process through which students can integrate their thoughts, achieving success through spatial and critical thinking."
For example, in Art History, students can strengthen their understanding and retention of the course content by "recreating" history through self-expression. They make their own books, complete with historical facts, illustrations and personal observations. Students then solidify what they have learned by creating art of their own that echoes the historical work they have studied. This strategy can be transferred to other academic disciplines, Neuhardt-Minor noted, and benefits students without learning disabilities as well.
Teachers from around the country competed for participation in the workshop, which was sponsored by the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Participants spent the day with Rauschenberg, an internationally acclaimed artist known as one of the founders of the pop art movement. They toured the Lab School of Washington, D.C., and were given a private reception at the National Gallery of Art. In addition, participants received a hand-signed poster and original certificate created by Rauschenberg for the workshop and the Lab School. Winners also were awarded a gift certificate for art supplies to use in their classes.
Neuhardt-Minor has taught art at St. Margaret's since 1996. She and her husband reside in Tappahannock.
