Philadelphia Art Museum Teaches Teachers To Teach Art

by KYW's Lauren Lipton

What did some area teachers do on their summer vacation?  They went back to school-- not just any school; a special summer program at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

"Our belief is that if we teach teachers, as adults, to feel comfortable and excited about artwork, then they're going to bring it to their students," says Barbara Bassett, curator of education for school and teacher programs.

Special weeklong summer courses are just part of what the museum does to spread the love of art. 

"When we do the Renaissance, we study Hamlet, and then we do Renaissance art," says Emily Farrell, who teaches high school English in Wallingford. "I then have the kids research a Renaissance artist, and then they present the painting to the class.  And my hope is that they'll have a lifelong love of art, and they will not be intimidated by the idea of a museum."

Farrell says it works:

"After they come to the museum, very often, they bring their parents, they bring their boyfriends and girlfriends.  It's a very impressive date."

Bassett says it can have benefits in other areas of a kid's life:

"As kids come in, we'll often have a teacher come up and say, 'You know that kid who's been talking the whole time here?  They never say a word in the classroom.'  So it often gives kids who are not your typical linear learner the opportunity to really shine."

That's Positively Philadelphia!