Visual art: the universal language.

Over the past decade, the enrollment of Asian children has increased dramatically in the Wilmette Public Schools. Enrollment of Asian children at one of the district's schools has climbed to more than twenty percent. In each of the visual arts classes, there are at least two children who do not speak English. This does not prevent these students from successfully accomplishing the studio art activities, provided the lessons are presented in conjunction with a visual demonstration. Chinese, Korean and Japanese students are able to surmount the verbal language barriers, and grasp the universal language of visual art symbols - they don't need a translator to communicate their individual creativity, as their keen eyes search for the visual symbols necessary to understand the essence of each lesson. Could American students be thrust into an environment where they do not understand the language of their teacher, and pick up enough clues from visual symbols to create artwork with the same high degree of competence as their Asian counterparts? This hypothetical question found an answer during a school-wide cultural awareness program.

In an effort to help students to understand that each society of people has its own aesthetic values, Romona School in Wilmette embarked upon a cultural celebration to highlight Asian heritage. For one week, each grade level (K-5) focused on various curricular activities related to Asian culture. Teachers used language arts, geography, social studies and other curricular areas as a means of interrelating the arts with classroom activities. Kindergarten through third grade students experienced the arts through Asian folk dances taught by a dance consultant. The climax of the celebration was a reverse visual arts experience in which fourth and fifth grade classes were instructed by Asian artists speaking only in their native tongue. The students were advised before starting the lesson that there would be no English spoken during class. Their task was to concentrate on the presentation of visual clues, and to use those clues to create individual interpretations of the project. A Chinese brush painter from a local college demonstrated her art for the fifth grade. Fourth graders were taught to write their names in Japanese characters by teachers from a suburban Japanese school. A bilingual teacher assisted in the project by preparing an example of the students' names, and passing the examples out before the children entered the artroom. Students at each grade level who spoke the native language used by the guest artists served as aides to the Asian teachers.

To show the courtesy expected of students attending Japanese schools, the children were asked to stand and bow when the Asian teachers entered the room. This was carried out by the American students with great dignity. The attitude of the students was one of anticipation - they clearly desired to accept the challenge of understanding visual symbols without understanding the language. Two hundred twenty-five children worked with India ink, rice paper and soft bristle brushes without a drop of spilled ink - the care in handling materials reflected their interest and commitment.

Could American students understand the language of visual symbols without verbal clues? Yes! The results of the lessons were sensitive and individual interpretations of a visual language. The English-speaking students gained an appreciation for cultural values unlike their own, and demonstrated compassion for the foreign students' verbal handicap. The Asian students experienced a sense of pride in their culture and a feeling of belonging. Visual art is truly a universal language that needs no translation. The students' experiences taught them that communication between cultures and individuals through the arts, promotes humanistic understanding worldwide.