The Power of Connections

On a blustery Monday morning, my colleague and I headed out to a luncheon at our local Chamber of Commerce. We were seated beside a group of people who worked for a fibre optics company in our region. Not too far into our roast chicken, I started asking them some questions: “Tell me more about your business. What obstacles do you face? What really bugs you or challenges you at work? What are your goals and hopes for the future for your company? What is your company trying to do that extends out toward the community in some way?” (Some breaths and bites were taken in between, I assure you!) 

The good folks at the fibre optics company had great answers. They told us that they were trying to secure a larger portion of the market share for telecommunications in our region so that they could provide faster, cheaper, and better service to the community. One of the struggles they faced in the pursuit of this goal was the negative press they experienced every time one of their local utility boxes in the area was vandalized. As a result, they were constantly having to patrol the region and paint over graffiti that had been plastered over their large (and admittedly ugly) metal boxes. 

Before dessert came, I proposed that perhaps there was something we could do to help them with their graffiti problem. After all, we had an army of smart, energetic, and creative young people at the school who we knew would be eager to devise some sort of solution. My lunch companions raised their eyebrows.

A Win-Win Connection 

A collaborative venture began to form as we mapped out our plan in the weeks that followed. We focused on creating a win-win partnership that would meet the needs of the company while contributing to student learning as well. First, students would create artwork for the utility boxes (a win for the company). We jointly agreed that, if students created digital work tailored to the exact dimensions and specifications of the utility boxes, the company would cover the cost of professionally heat-sealing these designs onto the boxes. A layer of durable plastic would then be applied on top, ensuring that any future graffiti or damage could be easily removed. I began to get excited as I felt that students would produce much higher quality art if they knew that their work would be displayed in public, especially if it had their name on it (a win for the students). 

After the initial excitement and flurry of activity wore off, I realized that we could—and should—do much more. 

What if we told the students they could choose which utility box their art would adorn? And what if they were asked to think beyond the box itself—to consider the space around the boxes and the activities happening there? For example, we learned that one utility box was near the local skate park, another by the library, and a third close to a shopping area. Could student artwork reflect and enhance the unique community settings that surrounded each box? 

We discussed this angle further at the school to build upon it: Might the students incorporate one of the school’s core values—simplicity, peace, community, integrity, equality, or stewardship—into their designs? What if their artwork wasn’t just decorative but carried with it important and expressive meaning that could inspire the people interacting with the public space where it was displayed?

Now we were starting to explore a sense of purpose for our joint project. Students could embrace the vision of the school and the school values, and then help to translate their reflections on these ideals into their art work. As the goal of the project became more meaningful, we started to think about how we could share that meaning with the community. One teacher suggested that students could create QR codes, visible on their artwork and on the utility box, to connect community members digitally to an online explanation and rationale for their work. Using this platform, the community could better understand the depth of thought that went into the artwork and the intentions behind it. When a person linked into a QR code on one box, they could access all of the students’ articles about their various artworks and they could see a (student-designed) map of the utility boxes around the neighbourhood.

Layering the Win-Wins

But we weren’t finished yet. This focus on seeking out the win-wins sparked another idea: What if we invited the Mayor or local MPP to lead a community art walk during which students could speak about their art and answer questions that community members might have? The fibre optics company ‘win’ would come from the generation of positive press. By engaging in a community project to create inspired artwork throughout the neighborhood, not only would the company look good, but they would resolve their aesthetic problem: utility boxes would go from being an eyesore to being an interesting point of discussion. The students would win because they would have more motivation to ensure their work was “public” ready. Their art skills would be enhanced and the quality of their output improved. Students would also spend more time reflecting on the school’s vision and values and demonstrate, through their work, how those principles can positively impact their community: another win. Having a purposeful impact on community spaces could also generate positive press for the school and the community could benefit from having an event (or events) that brought people together to celebrate art, shared values, and public spaces.

As we imagined this project unfolding, we considered another win-win idea that would broaden the academic element of the entire enterprise. What if we welcomed local artists to participate in the project and work one-on-one with the students to mentor them and create artwork together? Students could then have the chance to collaborate and receive authentic feedback from a local artist—an extraordinary opportunity. The students could use this feedback to develop their art further and to continue to hone their skills. The local artists, in turn, could be included on the community walks and on the website—to highlight their work beyond the utility box project. This way, we could support local artists and celebrate their contributions to the project while also engaging their expertise.

Now our plan had legs! Developing a project by focusing on a real problem, and the win-win connections we might form through it, had created an energy and momentum of its own. The ideas that came from this process—such as inviting local artists, engaging politicians, and creating artwork for the community—might never have surfaced if we had planned an art unit at the school by thinking through the lens of the curriculum alone.

We were now ready to map out a substantive plan with a series of win-win opportunities that articulated the increasing layers of meaningful engagement with our partner. Here is a schematic of our thinking:

This example and the development of this art project highlight the first part of the CAP Method of education: the creation of a meaningful connection.  

This is an excerpt from the upcoming book, Connections, Academics, and Purpose: Designing the Future of School by Dr. Cinde Lock (Head of School at Pickering College) and Anneke Lee.

Teachers, stay tuned for next week's excerpt which will walk you through how to develop the Connection component of a CAP Project.