A VIEW OF PLURALISM:

CHILDREN DRAW THE WORLD

By: Amanda Carter

Best friends no matter the distance between us on the globe.

INTERPRETATION: This work represents two girls who are best

friends. I interpret the two friends as making a pact to remain friends no matter where their dreams take them. It reminds me of my childhood best friend. We are still best friends even though we are often on different continents.

TITLE: Dance Of Friendship ARTIST: Viktoria Hantseva AGE: 13 COUNTRY: Ukraine SCHOOL: General education school, village Bohdanivka, Pavlohradskyi

raion YEAR: 2011

The whole world can be in the palm of your hands

INTERPRETATION: I interpret this work to be about great hope, meant

to inspire people to realize that they have the whole world in the palm of their hands. The work represents a world filled with opportunities that people can choose from.

TITLE: We are Great Family, Take Care of Our Home (Diploma winner) ARTIST: Alicja Ogorzelska AGE: 13 COUNTRY: Poland SCHOOL: Szkoła Podstawowa nr. 223, Warszawa YEAR: 2005

If the world won’t save its self who will save the world?

INTERPRETATION The work of art depicts a globe that is on a life raft in

snowy/icy water. The life raft is connected to a rope but, the artist made it unclear if the rope is connected or not. With the artist leaving the status of the rope connection unclear it seems that they are hopeful that the people of the world will ‘pull’ together to save the world as a whole.

TITLE: Untitled ARTIST: Stelios Petrakis AGE: 15 COUNTRY: Greece SCHOOL: Thessaloniki YEAR: 2001

We are one in the (virtual) world.

INTERPRETATION: The interpretation that I have of this work is of people

uniting as one in the virtual world. Each of the four people represent different cultures. The linking of their hands represents them uniting and accepting their differences. When people talk to one another online through the many social networking sites (depicted as the background) their preconceived notions and inhibitions fade away. The design of the clothing conveys hope that the virtual worlds acceptance will spread to the real world.

TITLE: Global Netting ARTIST: Amor Basson AGE: 10 COUNTRY: South Africa SCHOOL: Laerskool Wierdapark, Wierdapark YEAR: 2011

Is the world still separated?

INTERPRETATION I interpret this work to mean that the world is very

connected now. In the past people would say that oceans, continents, or an amount of space separated us. The metro which represents current technological advancements is on a track that is connected and intertwined to every part of the world. This track represents the interconnectedness of the “small” world we live in.

TITLE: Around the World ARTIST: Monika Saletinger AGE: 14 COUNTRY: Slovenia SCHOOL: OŠ Pesnica, Pesnica YEAR: 2011

The Small Picture

INTERPRETATION: This work represents “The Small Picture”. So many times

we are told to look at the big picture and to think about the total outcome that we overlook the little things. The magnifying glass represents taking a look at something that is far away and bringing it into focus. The objects that are being looked at are of a tiger and its cub. The work wants us to remember that there are other creatures in the world that we need to think of even if they are a small part of the big picture.

TITLE: SOS ARTIST: Aleksandra Mozhayeva AGE: 12 COUNTRY: Russian Federation SCHOOL: Secondary School No. 323, Moscow YEAR: 2011

We all just get along!

INTERPRETATION: I interpret this work to be spreading the message that

we all can and should just get along. The ship has people dressed in attire from all over the world that represent multiculturalism. All of the people are smiling which represents them getting along and having fun together. The artist seems very optimistic of the future.

TITLE: Living In a Globalized World In One Ark ARTIST: Juan Edwin Kusmartin AGE: 10 COUNTRY: Indonesia SCHOOL: Damai Primary School, Tambora, West Jakarta YEAR: 2011

This world is a gift. Appreciate the present.

INTERPRETATION: This work of art has a globe with a red ribbon

and bow wrapped around it. The bow/ribbon represent a gift and the globe represents the world. I interpret the work to mean that the world is a gift. The bird in the center represents a new start.

TITLE: Closer And Together One world One Dream ARTIST: Dhandhayuthapani Olivia AGE: 8 COUNTRY: India SCHOOL: Delhi Public School, Secunderabad YEAR: 2011

Learning at Every Location

INTERPRETATION: This work displays an open book that has its’ pages filled

with images of the world. Surrounding the book are both global and local symbols that represent learning, culture, and education. This work reminds me of the American Education Week slogan “Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility.” Everyone deserves a great education which should include global learning and to me this drawing depicts that.

TITLE: The World Today - Knowledge To Everyone ARTIST: Chavdar Lalov AGE: 10 COUNTRY: Bulgaria SCHOOL: SOU 'Peyo Yavorov', Pleven YEAR: 2011

Beauty from despair.

INTERPRETATION: I interpret this work of art to represent the beauty

that can come from such despairing conditions. The bottom of the piece shows factories that have smoke rolling into the air consistently and it is forming into clouds. With the sunset in the background beautiful images of the continents are formed from those pollution clouds and are illuminated.

TITLE: Is the Earth's Future Going to be Like This? ARTIST: Jacek Majewski AGE: 11 COUNTRY: Poland SCHOOL: Święcice k. Błonia YEAR: 1997

This map shows that the child is very knowledgeable in geography which is shown by the accurate and detailed depiction of the continents. This work is the only one of the ten that is dark both figuratively and literally. The work is titled by the author, “Is Earth’s Future Going to be Like This?”. I would infer that the child lives in an industrialized busy city since kids usually draw what they know. I would also infer that the child is afraid that not just where they grow up will be like this but, the whole world. The child also knows that the smoke from those factories causes clouds to form. I can infer from the title that the child knows the smoke is a pollutant and is bad for the place they live which, is why they are fearful that Earth’s future is just as grim. Based on the beauty that is made from all of the pollution I believe that the child is still hopeful that the future of the Earth will be a good one.

ARTIST: Jacek Majewski

SYNTHESIS OF THE CHILDREN’S GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

SYNTHESIS OF THE CHILDREN’S GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

Ten different perspectives are shown in the ten works of art that were completed by ten children from all over the world. Even though all of the works were different, some vastly so, one thing that was weaved into every one of the pieces was hope. Some of the pieces show the slightest glimmers of hope in little parts like that of the bird in “Closer And Together One world One Dream”(The World is a Gift) piece. In other works hope is blatantly obvious like in “Living In a Globalized World In One Ark” (We all just get along.” where every character has a huge smile and it is clear that they are all living together in one “ark” happily. The other works of art all have hope ranging from the slightest glimmer to blatant obviousness. Children and people in general always try to find good in things. It is only natural to hope for something better or to hope for the future. These children are very wise and aware. They have learned of the interconnectedness of the world. They also realize that, even though spatially we are still far apart on this world, with the globalized context of education and the advancements in technology we are mere clicks away from anyone/anywhere in the world. A few of the children thought about some of the issues that are plaguing our world and their art posed questions about what the future will hold. They focused on pollution, the future of the planet, and animals (endangered species). This shows that they pay attention to current global issues. Those children were on the lower end of the hope spectrum but, still displayed it in their works. Most of the children (7 of 10 maps that I selected) depicted happy scenes of how the globe has evolved and is continuing to evolve. Those tend to focus on the world coming together as one with many artists including tech symbols like the at(@)sign and logos from social networking sites like facebook. Those students have noticed that we are connected now more than ever and show hope that we will celebrate that. For these reasons I believe that hope is the string that threads these children’s art work together.

IMPLICATIONS OF THE CHILDREN’S WORK AND THE PROJECT FOR TEACHING: INSTRUCTIONAL

IDEA The implications that the children’s art work and the project itself could

have for the classroom is immense. I would show my students a few of the maps and ask them what they think about them. We would have a discussion about what global perspectives are and share ours.

A project would be assigned that would ask them to draw their own maps to represent where they live(local){Culture and Traditions}, the state{History}, and the country {Geography}. I would have criteria CLEARLY written out on a rubric that would describe the different components that had to be included.

For all three they would have to include the political official in some way(their name, picture, drawing of them, etc.){Political}

For the local piece the requirement would be to show 3 things that their family does every single year.

For the state piece the requirement would be to list 3 facts about the state. For the country piece they would be required to show the country in the

most correct way possible(accurate geographical depiction). The three maps and possibly a reflection that they could write about one

child’s on the site could then be made into individual books. Students would learn through class discussion, library research, and

classroom lessons. I would ensure that they had learned the content taught by using some

form of assessment. If they do not learn what I expected I would re-teach and remediate for understanding.

The rubric would ensure that students know exactly what they have to do for the project and would be used to determine if they were successful.