1994 School Magazine

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Girls' Grainniar School 3Grisbaiie 1994

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Cultural Diversity a, rid Difference n A, Iai'cli 1994, the Deputy Principal, Miss WilljailTs, anti I Inat students InusI come first, not politics and that regional and attended the forty-ninill Annual Conference of the Asso- culluial differences Inus I be considered in the adminisiratioiT of schools. Above all, we shotilcl asl< WITat sort of people we want 10 emerge froiiT the education process

clarion for' Supervision and Curticultiiit Development: Finerg- ing Images of Learning World Perspectives for the New Minerinium. Even willT the Chicaoo Hilton and Towels as a venue 11Te Confei'ence organisers performed a logistical 11Tiracle in accommodating over 10,000 participants. and pro\, iding more than 450 sessions, addresses ancl discussions The Conference

Cultural tolerance and greater emotional I}Tartirity are the by- prodticts of well-designed, balanced currictila. The principle that strong schools nave strong arts programs was the basis of the first Key-note Address from the Director of National Cultural Resources, Charles ~ . $*;*-I a;as, I, ;',:33" * gigag Fowler, author of Cam 1:11:.'.'.\;;;:;:* jin3 ^ 31g!E :-.- '*;; * - _.';\.,*;/ a** ' \ .'; ,\\*. E^ - foam"'""" am' ~' *i* ' 'it a'^,'I #\\. 9' , for Am""fonts chii. -. -;t*':~' 4915 a-'^^I g 91 it- ~a '

addressed problems caus-ed by the be- wildering rapidity of technological ad- vances, and profotind social clianges. As the Pi'esideni of the As- socialion, Dr Bathara Taibert JacksoiT re- mincled Lis. the tech- * nological global vil- lage is now a reality Resultant clianges felt within society are re- Heciccl in schools. initl in shifting GIIT- PIT;Ises in edtication Inc role of TITe 51u- <1cni is In oring froiTT *#; learner 10 a 1110del of

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' the relationship be- Iween a quality edu- cation and the Arts TITro\Igll clifferent ap- proaChes and solu- lions 10 the same problem, di\, ergeni thinking, and an in- troduciion 10 ITeighi- ened perceptions, sitidents of the Arts learn tolerance of other individuals and of other cultures. By developing their craftsmanship, they learn alleniion to de- tail, self-discipline

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coopel'alive Ieai'rimg armong peers, focus-

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ing o1T gi'oup worl{ and sharecl projects. Meanwhile, the role of teachei's is constantly changing also: the^ neecl a goocl grotind- ing in tileii' <115cipline, ancl dedicate <1 coniiiTiiment, but also flexibility ;incl ^ecepiivencss to ITew ideas. especially as the concept of the CLIi'Tic\11uiiT ITas 1110ved froil, a clisciplinaiy 10 a multi-disciplinaiy approach V(/ithin this restructuring of the concept of eclucaiion, theI'e \v;t:; WIPi'isingly little consideralloiT of the implications of the 1111pcn

and self-criticism. This address recoonisedihat science explains natural phenomena, but showecl that tile arts experience and I'eact to then, ; liencc the arts lielp LIS 10 Linclersiand eruoiive meaning. cultural cli\, ersity ancl the ITUman dimensions of history. This must inevitably lead 10 a gi'Galer sense of balance 11T Otir priorities TITis theme was ILii'the^ ^eiteratecl by lamake Highwater, \\, ITo, in considering J, ""gt, ,"tto" "s " Po"tic"I Force, showeclito\, children's imaginations are stifled because society confuses conformity willl equality. He asserted that we 11vc not in a tiniverse dominated by one set of \, alues, but in a "multiverse", and that mere mechanical literacy and technologi- cal skills ale socially confinino becauseiheylimit an jinaoinaiive encounter willI life. Mr Higliwater thus focused on some of the potential dangers inherent in a technological ftiture, and signalled the ITeed for new perspecti\, es in the global \, illage The indi\, idtial was also impol'tant in Ajichael Fullan's percepiioiT of Cb",, ge rimd Cb",, ge Forces, A Darere"t W"y of Looki, ,g at it. Fullan, the Dean of Education allhe University of Toronto puts I'esponsibiliry on the individual rather than the system. He <1rew together aspects of chaos the o1y and learning the o1y in two itey principles : change is non-linear. and those

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