Election & Selection

I was aiming to make the BCB Mural Project an interdisciplinary course of study for my students. We had had readings. We had studied basic color theory and elements of design and composition. We had covered art history through murals and mosaics, which of course included basic archaeology and ancient history. And I knew math would play a huge role as we measured and enlarged our design.

Social studies. It was almost the election. THE election. The Presidential Election. When Barack Obama became our first president of African heritage. And since our students in the Virgin Islands are predominantly of African heritage, this was a HUGE event in their lives.

So the day before Election Day - which is a governmental holiday here, since most schools are used as polling stations and many government workers are slated to run the polls - we had Mural Election Day in my classroom.

All the mural designs were set up around the room, each numbered (yay for Post-Its!). Students received a small pad of paper, and they were asked to walk around the room and make notes, or jot down the numbers of their favorite designs. They weren't allowed to talk to each other, since voting is private and personal. And my special needs students with more involved diagnoses were accompanied by the paraprofessional aide, who helped them write down their numbers.

Students then were handed a ballot. Each student was allowed to vote for only three designs. They were asked to write the three numbers on their ballot, and then deposit their written ballots in the box (labelled, so it looked official) at the back of the room.

This actually took about half an hour. My Basic Art class helped in the set up prior to voting. My Advanced Art class spent time after the election discussing the merits of each work. And my last class, also Basic Art but mostly academically advanced students, tallied the votes. The twelve designs receiving the most votes were identified, and those designs then went to the mural selection committee (our electoral college).

The mural selection committee was comprised of the principal and three assistant principals. However, I also asked the Drafting teacher to look over the winning designs, and her favorite design was also the one I personally thought would be the best mural composition.

Fortunately, the selection committee also thought the same design was the best - it filled the space well, it showed various aspects of our school community, it was positive, it was bright and cheerful, it was well-executed, and it showed our school emblem, the torch of knowledge (since we are the BCB Burning Blazers).

We had a design. We were ready!