by Amy Valens
One of the things I have enjoyed so much in being part of the Open community is how even the traditions that repeat every year–the haunted house or the holiday cafe, never are the same twice, and always allow us to get excited about learning something. Another is how there have also always been activities that had to do with the very people who were part of that year’s community. Perhaps it came from a parent who had a particular interest: Marilyn Milos dissecting a cow’s eye, Nancy Anton, Alison Double or Malika Henderson each with their own approach to cooking with kids, Marty Meade teaching crafts related to her Mexican roots, Jack Sayers teaching chess his way, James Sanders doing it his way. Or maybe best of all when it came from a child who was very very interested in rocks or weather or politics or cartooning or basketball or fashion and most recently, coding!
Open teachers bring their whole selves to school and find ways to create curriculum around their interests: birdwatching, hatmaking, hiking, photography, caring for animals (including snakes!)… their curiosity and excitement brings the subjects alive for all of us. And of course reading, writing, math, art and the sciences all happen in the process.
I was recently able to look back over some once-in-the-life of-the-program experiences, because, with help from Owen Clapp and the San Geronimo Valley Historical Society, we are digitizing some of Open’s video collection.
When I was the art teacher my job was part time, so I had time to also be a parent in the classroom. I had an 8mm camera that my filmmaker husband Tom had given me. It led to a project with 9 students from John’s class. Once a week for several months, they hopped in my van to visit someone who had lived in the community at least 40 years. (wow, that could be me now!) They brainstormed questions to ask and took turns being the interviewer or the camera person. The people we interviewed were wonderfully willing to share their lives, and at each interview the students got better at it. When the interviewing was done students worked with Tom to edit it into a film we called Stories From The Valley. You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ckxd2YBFa8&t=30s
John Kaufman enjoyed creating “living history” projects with his students. One year his interest in the Dustbowl era and the songs that came out of that period led to his students creating a shantytown behind his classroom. I know for many it remains a highlight of their time in Open. It was weeks in the making, and also led to the students creating Hooverville, the film! Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYLs0ickLLs
Plays large and small have come into being as a result of parents and teachers who love that artform, sometimes with the insistence of children who wanted a play about their favorite story. The first play we did as a school was written by parent Marla Hunt. Meru and the Magic Thread was shot when video was in its infancy, so the quality of this black and white version does not match today, but the memories it will stir will be vivid: https://youtu.be/N5iVtOlLpcw
Small plays came naturally out of a read-aloud story that was dramatized with the simplest of costumes, like Hats for Sale on the play structure with construction paper hats. Over time we developed a style for the “big plays” that mixed a story (often read by all classes) with improvisation. More about that in another blog, once we get some of those big plays digitized! In the meantime here is a compilation of videos that John and his students shot that starts with improvs from his 1992/3 class : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpTquZt1ZUc&list=PLjW0mj4si6KGjjET_askXXiPkW83vuVec&index=5