if people saw me as one
of them . . . I don’t really
mind being different.
I just mind that some
people don’t like me
because I am different.”
—Carlos Molina
(El Salvador), June
Yoo, photographer
Hig h School Studio Lesson
Transcending Cultural Borders
Robert Graham, Kris Murphy, and Joy Jaworski
Cultural diversity presents many
challenges to the art educator.
Teaching children to be tolerant
and to appreciate differences is
particularly important in a world that is
characterized by polarization, embittered
cultural divisions, and prejudice. Our stu-
dents’ knowledge and attitudes are mediated
by popular culture, which often reduces cul-
tural differences to ste-
reotypes or clichés.
The problem for
teachers is how to
counter the persistence
of negative stereotypes
and encourage students to become active par-
ticipants in initiating social change. Art has
tremendous power to develop student’s inter-
cultural competence. Artists can reveal the
assumptions, values, and beliefs of a culture in
a way that makes them poignant and comprehensible. Art-making can be a catalyst to develop
confidence and competence in engaging in inter-
cultural dialogue.
One Port, Many Faces
The potential for art to involve students with
important questions about culture and diversity
led two teachers in Port Washington, Long Island
to create an ambitious pho-
Creating a work of art can be a tography project designed
potent way for students to value to help students understand
the diverse cultures in their
the differences among people. midst. Students created a
visual record of the rich
diversity of the people in their community by
documenting stories of immigration.
Each student was required to interview and
photograph someone who had immigrated to the
United States. Students used a medium-format
