Cheri Gaulke,
the Upper School Head of Visual Arts at Harvard-Westlake School and teacher of
Video Art at introductory and advanced levels, and her students are embarking
on an educational adventure to Rwanda this upcoming January with Friendship
Tours World Travel (FTWT). Next year marks the 20th anniversary of
the Rwandan genocide when hundreds of thousands of Tutsi were slaughtered by
the Hutus. As this significant date approaches, it’s important to remember and
reflect on the atrocities committed during the Rwandan genocide. Cheri and her
students hope to spread awareness through the creation of Visual Arts.
 |
| Cheri with Lao children, 2013 |
FTWT: Why did
you become a teacher? What do you love about it?
Cheri Gaulke: Two
of the things I love about teaching video is developing critical thinking
skills within my students and developing collaborative skills as film is a
collaborative medium. For the critical thinking part, we live in a
media-saturated world and yet we do not learn how to be media literate…To not
be a passive “couch potato” but rather an engaged and intelligent consumer of
moving images is life changing…As savvy media producers themselves, students
can have an impact on their world.
Why do you
like leading trips of students abroad?
CG: I love travel
and being exposed to different ways of thinking and being. Taking students to
different countries opens up worlds of consciousness for them and allows them
to better know who they are. I love the kinds of trips that I am doing with FTWT
because it is not just about going and seeing, but also about students
reflecting upon their experience and giving back. We charge them with the
responsibility of doing something with their experience by turning it into a
video documentary, a news article, a photographic exhibition, or whatever form
of public expression that they desire. In doing so we are challenging and
empowering the students as agents of change.
 |
| Cheri with Harvard Westlake students interviewing a UXO victim at the COPE Center in Vientiane, Laos, 2013 |
What do they
learn on these experiential adventures that can’t be taught in the classroom?
CG: Instead of
learning about war in a textbook, they see where a war was fought, meet people
affected by it, and they get to confront who they are as US citizens and what
their role is in relation to these issues. It makes history tangible and
personal.
Leading these
trips is a lot of work and responsibility. Why is it “worth it” to you?
CG: Being a
teacher is a never-ending experience of being a learner. Travel offers a lot of
learning. I love getting to know students in an environment outside of the
classroom, where we share in a process of being challenged by looking at
difficult issues and pushing through to making art out of those experiences. It is a lot of
work but it also makes me a better person – more open to change, more
experienced with transforming life experience into art.
Have you
traveled abroad with other tour providers before? Why is working with Alethea
and Friendship Tours better/ more rewarding?
CG: I have
done a little travel with other providers. Alethea’s values match mine. Most
trips are simply about visiting places and learning about them. Alethea’s
values go way beyond. She’s all about a much deeper mission of learning about
war and peace. As a person who has been passionate about fighting against
injustice my whole life, I love how these trips introduce these ideas to
students. What better reason to study history than to not repeat its mistakes?
What better reason to meet people different than yourself than to realize we
may not be that different.
What I saw on
the trip to Laos is 15 year olds many of which had never traveled outside of
the US and who certainly knew little about the Vietnam War and nothing about
how Laos was illegally bombed by our own country. Now those young people know
Laotians who have been personally affected and these young people deeply care
about them and are working hard to let others know about their plight. That’s
truly amazing and represents the beginnings of a generation of peacemakers.
 |
| Cheri and Harvard Westlake students with UXO survivor, Mr. Yelee and his family. The group assisted the family with basic needs and continued to raise funds for the family after their return from Laos, 2013. |
What would you
say to a teacher who is considering taking students abroad for the first time?
CG: Go for it.
But work with someone organized, smart and passionate like Alethea, because
your trip will result in a more profound experience for the students and
yourself.
 |
| Alethea Tyner Paradis, Director of Friendship Tours World Travel and Cheri Gaulke |
No comments:
Post a Comment