It's here: Feedback from ECA students

Yesterday we had a meeting with students from the Educational Center for the Arts, asking them to react to our draft agenda. Boy, did we get a reaction -- fearlessly strong and thoughtful.

Below is the original draft, with comments from the students bracketed and in italics adjacent to or underneath the appropriate section. Do you agree with them?

AGENDA

5:30pm	Sign-In, Mingle	Assign everyone to one of two groups: (1) YOUTH; or (2) ADULTS. [MIX ADULTS AND YOUTH -- don't separate us.]
5:45pm	Welcome and Introductions	Welcome & Introductions. Review Agenda/ Expectations
5:55pm	Small Mixed Group Discussions (25 min.)	Small Group Discussions will be facilitated byDialogue Project volunteers. [CONSIDER USING DIFFERENT QUESTIONS TO BEGIN, E.G., WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT ART OR HOW DOES ART CHANGE YOUR LIFE?]
	Questions/Instructions for Small Mixed Group Discussions	First, review ground rules for discussion and ask if anyone wants to suggest additional ground rules.Then ask: TELL US ABOUT ONE OF YOUR BEST ART EXPERIENCES – EITHER AS ARTIST OR AUDIENCE – IN THE NEW HAVEN AREA. [HOW ABOUT WORST ART EXPERIENCE? AND WHAT WOULD YOU DO TO IMPROVE IT? WHAT IF YOU ARE NEW TO NEW HAVEN?]
6:20pm	Break	Tell participants to take a 5-minute break
6:30pm	Tiffany Jackson	Introduce Tiffany Jackson, who will speak for 10 minutes?; then answer questions for 10 minutes?
6:50pm	FORM TWO GROUPS: YOUTH & ADULTS Instructions for these Two Group Discussions (35 min.)	Distribute index cards and pens to participants. (1) Ask people to take 2-3 minutes to think about one of the following questions, and ask them to write their thoughts on the index card: (A) TELL US ABOUT AN ART EXPERIENCE THAT CHALLENGED A STEREOTYPE YOU HAD ABOUT A GROUP OR INDIVIDUAL; (B) TELL US ABOUT AN ART EXPERIENCE THAT HELPED YOU INTERACT WITH OR UNDERSTAND A GROUP OR AN INDIVIDUAL BETTER THAN YOU HAD BEFORE. [THE PRECEDING QUESTIONS AND THE THIRD ONE ARE TOO NARROW AND HEAVY-HANDED, CONSIDER REVISING.] (2) Ask people to share their thoughts, until everyone has shared at least once. (3) Ask for any additional thoughts people want to share about “stereotype-challenging” or “barrier- crossing” art experiences.
7:25pm	Thanks & Good-By	As people leave, collect their index cards; people can’t leave until they give you their card. [MAKE THIS OPTIONAL.]