Kendra Deutsche
mustang daily
Cal Poly students can take advantage of various classes being offered at a discounted rate to California State University students in the Summer Arts program at Fresno State this summer.
Susan Duffy, Cal Poly professor and liberal studies department chair, will be overseeing a class entitled “Expand Your Repertoire: Opening Doors to Employment in California Schools” to help artists learn teaching methods to share the arts to elementary school students.
“This particular class is for artists who might want to teach in a public school, but they don’t have a teaching credential, so they would be hired on as a resident artist or a visiting artist to maybe do a series of classes,” Duffy said.
She said a common problem is that artists who haven’t worked in the schools do not know how to meet the state standards and do not know what their legal responsibilities are in a classroom. These are the issues that will be discussed in her class.
“(This class) would prepare (students) for successful planning, lessons and expectations,” said Kathy Friend, a liberal studies professor at Cal Poly who will be speaking in Duffy’s class this summer.
“It’s always fun to bring the arts – to students and classroom teachers in a new way that gives the participants the personal confidence to begin their own artwork and share with their students,” Friend said.
“This will be the fourth time that I’m – overseeing a class for Summer Arts, and what I get out of it is just kind of a reassurance that there are individuals out there who want to teach the arts in the schools – properly,” Duffy said.
Duffy will be coordinating the class, which will be taught largely by guest artists.
“Students should enroll for the chance to work with guest artists they will otherwise never have access to. Besides being an incredible learning opportunity, it’s an opportunity to be creative with no restrictions, and to network and make contacts that will help (students) – throughout their lives,” Bartok said.
Speakers include contemporary dancer and choreographer Madeleine Dahm, mime artist Fran Dukehart and percussionist Andrew Grueschow. Cal Poly guest speakers include Friend and Deborah Spatafore, a credentialed teacher and curriculum specialist.
Aside from this class, there are several other two-week classes being offered in the July program. Topics include script-writing, percussion in world music, photography, drawing, painting and sculpting.
“The program offers three units of fully transferable semester credit,” said Joanne Bartok, assistant director of CSU Summer Arts. “Students work intensely, usually 12 to 16 hours per day, with world-class guest artists …”
“Students say that this intensive setting amplifies and accelerates their learning and creative processes,” Bartok said.
Duffy shared similiar praises.
“The whole Summer Arts program is fantastic,” Duffy said. “I mean, for me to go to Fresno in the middle of July and live in a dorm room in 110-degree heat, it has to be a good program. So I think Summer Arts is terrific, and students should take advantage of it.”
Cal Poly students are encouraged to attend, and CSU students will be given the best deals for the program.