CAPE After School 2020-2021: 

Tanniqua-Kay Buchanan & Carlos Cerda

BIG IDEA: 

MINDFUL PRACTICES IN THE ARTS


Inquiry Question:

How can we participate and apply 

mindful practices in our everyday life as we observe 

new forms of meditative practices?




Here we are!

 

Tell us the story of your project. Because we work with high school students, we wanted to amplify their voices and give them a platform to have autonomy of what they wanted to explore. The pandemic has restructured the students values and needs. When we took a survey of the things the students were interested in, it was very clear to us that they were looking for outlets to release like yoga, music, painting, and meditation. The story of our project organically blossomed from there as we explores meditative sounds, movement, constructive rest practices, “Paint and Vibes” and ice breaker questions that really expand their perspective and a springboard for thinking about who they want to be in the future. 



 

THE PRACTICE OF OPENNESS

How has the practice of openness changed for you pre/during/moving out of the pandemic? 


The practice of openness came with waves this year. We were determined to make the program “feel like the norm” and thought that the outline we made for the first project to bring forth new conversations about openness. We quickly realized that there is no “norm” to virtual engagement, but we can mold “new norms”. During our program, we found simple practices of openness looked like allowing students to freely talk about what's going on in their minds, collectively breathing, identifying where we are feeling most tense/tension in our bodies. We are moving towards more mindfulness. 



 

What was your approach to online teaching? Our approach to online teaching was more like workshop series on one session (Tuesdays) and a work session and constructive rest practice on another session (Thursdays). We thought that having small “vignettes” of projects was more conducive to the after-school layout or approach. We also had the opportunity to connect with another high school (Dyett High School) and collaborate on a project, so our online teaching approach was very collaborative.  We hosted a listening party and invited a younger group (New Sullivan) to listen and jam out to some of the playlists that we curated. 



 

CLASS NARRATIVES

What narratives have you created with your students? 


We believe that the narratives that we have created with our students are the ideas of release and healthy coping mechanisms for heavy weeks. Many of the students really enjoy the Thursday Constructive rest classes because it allows them to “let go” of their heavy week and reintroduce relaxation in their practices whether that be once a week or if they (personally) apply it multiple times a week. The narrative that we created with our students is about creating spaces of stability, strength, tenacity, and resistance in environments or situations that are out of our control, or in this case, pandemics that restructure the meaning of one-on-one connection and active introspection. 




 

Tell us about how cultural capital played a part in your class. Cultural capital was woven into our curriculum from start to finish. We started first with the meditative sounds project that challenges the students to make two playlists: The “Soundtrack to their lives” and “Music for Meditative sounds”. The students took this project and truly applied it to their everyday life, we were able to see what kind of music that brought joy and release into their lives through such a challenging time. We often have conversation corners and one time, in particular, one of the students mentioned the feeling of discontent and disappointment in the lack of access to healthy food options in her neighborhood while other community areas have a large pool of options of healthy food choices. She mentioned that while she is trying to consume healthier options, it is significantly challenging to do so. This is a turning point for high schoolers as her cultural capital is her awareness of both benefits and limitation in her community area that molds her experiences. 


 

CULTURAL CAPITOL

What kinds of cultural capital have you noticed and learned about your students/school community? 

The cultural capital that we have noticed and learned about our students and school community comes from the perspective of closeness and cultural unity. Because GWHS is situated on the southeast rim of Chicago and in some ways is a contained community area, cultural enterprise and unity come with ease. 




CROSS CLASSROOM EXCHANGE

We had a cross-classroom exchange with Dyett High School. The following is a typical outline of what we participated in:


I. Introductions/Ice breakers

a. 10-minutes movement challenge 

b. One drawing prompt (Shout out to https://yollocalli.org/draw)

c. Introspection/ Ice breaker question

II. Collaboration Project!


Ultimately, we were able to exchange such a rich form of openness and idea building. Though they were originally a bit hesitant to participate, they were eager to connect with a different high school and curious to know the students. We ended up choosing to recreate different music videos from some songs that they loved (and were gracious enough to extend the invite to the teaching artist/instructor to participate).


MOVING FORWARD

How do you foresee continuing to lift up and/or celebrate those going forward?


Because we are looking to find new ways to re-engage our students with the world, and some uncertainties in the world. We want to continue supporting the high school students in imagining who they can be in the future and what values they want to carry with them into the new chapters in their life (adulthood). Planting meditative practices through art is a way we can impact the students going forward. 




 

Tell us about how family learning played a part in your class.

"This year's CAPE after-school program was such a wonderful adventure for myself and my daughter. It enabled us to learn as a family in a relaxed and 'fun' atmosphere. We developed essential skills to aid in our mental and physical health through the restorative rest classes with Ms. TK. Family Learning with my 18-year-old was such a meaningful opportunity for me to reconnect with her as we both have extremely busy schedules. I would like to give thanks to Joey, Jenny, and most of all Ms. T-Kay for this unforgettable experience!"




 

STORY OF THE SCHOOL YEAR

What is the story of this school year? What is the story you want to tell?


You can find mindful practices through different outlets of art (or art-making) and it can deepen your connection with your full self.