Volume 18, Number 1, Fall 2007

China Art Exchange Helps Wayne 4-H’ers Learn About Diverse Cultures

Laurie Rivetto

The Michigan 4-H China Project, conducted in cooperation with the People’s Republic of China, is a global education program that uses the arts for in-school and after-school learning experiences.

The project provides Michigan kindergartners through sixth graders a chance to learn about the many similarities between their lives and the lives of their counterparts halfway around the world and gain a sense of being part of one world, regardless of where they live.

It also gives them a significant learning experience that is both experiential and interdisciplinary (language, social studies, natural science and art). Students are invited to send “visual letters” to children their own ages in China. They get to see pieces of art and photographs of the Chinese children who created them, and their teachers get strategies on assisting them in discussing the pieces and creating their letters.
Two elementary school sites, Bulman Elementary School in Redford and River Oaks Elementary School in Dearborn Heights, as well as the Wayne County 4-H Critter Club, participated in the 4-H China Art Exchange Program in Wayne County.
More than 500 youngsters discussed the similarities and differences between their cultures and the Chinese culture they saw in the artwork, including the experiences related to religion, free-time activities and national monuments. The artwork opened doors to family discussions, too.

One art teacher commented that the class “liked learning about [the Chinese people’s] characters in their writing and relating characters to character traits and story characters.” Another mentioned that the project “made students think about the things that are alike and the differences among kids. Many of the students from this class are from the Middle East; one boy is from Romania. They shared experiences from their lives in another country.”

Out of 70 pieces of art by 4-H’ers from across the state that were selected to be sent to China, four pieces came from Wayne County’s elementary schools and 4-H club. The selected pieces show a Disney vacation, horseback riding, painting flowers and a walk in the woods. They will be included in a kit that goes to China and will allow Chinese youths to learn about Michigan, the United States and the lives of children here.
Contact: Laurie Rivetto, 4-H Extension Educator, at 734-727-7236