The students enrolled in the Spanish 5H Adelphi classes at Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School with Christina Visbal are attempting to develop a broader approach and appreciation of different cultures and a deeper understanding of diversity in and around our community. The students have incorporated interdisciplinary methods, while engaging in a comparative field study of art with a "hands-on" experience in an enriching project that highlights social realism within the foreign language curriculum.

In addition to developing the "ATM" student-based, peer-mentoring program called "Amigos That Mentor" this past fall, the seniors studying college level Spanish with Adelphi's adjunct lecturer Christina Visbal, were exposed to a vibrant and diverse, Latino-inspired exhibit at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington. The students' background studies of Spanish-speaking artists ranged from Spain's Picasso and Dali to works by Colombia's Botero and Obregon. An introduction to the art and the cultural traditions of Mexico, Puerto Rico and Cuba were also explored by the students through literature and music before they attended the Hispanic-based exhibit from Manhattan entitled, Tesores del Museo del Barrio.

One of the aims of the course in studying Spanish through art was "Las Apariencias Engañan" which translates as "Appearances are Deceiving." Through art, the students learned that regardless of how a painting or a person looks on the outside, it merits a deeper understanding of its origin and makeup. Students practiced the exercise of this deeper appreciation of differences by recognizing and defining the literary terms of the composition or the work of art. The terms such as the characters, structure, theme, tone, point of view and the setting laid the basis on which the students viewed each work of art. They found these literary terms universal and they could be applied to any art form whether it be a painting, a sculpture, a short story, a poem, a play, a movie or a musical composition. Although many of the works were not pieces that the student might elect to place in their own rooms at home, they did discover that they could at least develop a deeper appreciation for the work.

They successfully achieved this by actively trying to understand more about the context of the work itself and the life of the artist who created it, in relation to the time and place where it was created. Moreover, this concept of not only understanding but appreciating individual works of art for their unique differences had an important parallel. And this concept was transferred to the idea of developing a deeper awareness of acceptance and tolerance with respect to people as being seen and recognized as individual works of art in progress.

They processed this experience in the Spanish language by listening to lectures and music in Spanish, by participating in intense conversation, by reading articles and writing compositions and finally by interacting and playing out dialogues in Spanish. The enrichment of leaving the classroom and attending an actual exhibit however, is paramount in developing the student's cultural awareness, character and depth.

While in the middle of a "hands-on" activity at Heckscher Museum, the students were surprised when Congressman Steve Israel stopped in the museum unannounced. Israel spontaneously took the time to share with the students of Plainview his personal interest in art. He also explained how the early American paintings of the west by Thomas Moran, on exhibit in front of them, were not only his favorite works but that Moran's art was instrumental in motivating Congress to found the National Parks Service of America. Thus art was a tool that helped form and sculpt national policies with regard to land conservation. This confirmed for the students, that art impacts on government policy and that government politics impacts on art as well.

This idea of politics impacting on art was reinforced this past month when our students became acquainted with the muralist movement by the famous Mexican artists Orozco, Siquerios and Diego Rivera, who claimed that they painted their murals for the people of Mexico. Visbal's students had the opportunity to focus on the murals of Diego Rivera with the latest revival of the central figure in his life that they are studying.

Most recently the Plainview students studying upper level Spanish were privileged to take part in an artistic project of Social Realism through mural painting. This mural project was sponsored by a grant from the Kennedy Center Partners-In-Education Program in Washington, DC in conjunction with the Great Neck Arts Center. JFK High School department chairs Judith A. Chen and Elizabeth Welshofer were instrumental in developing the applications for a grant to support the vision of this community-based school project.

Visbal's students and their peers studying Spanish, worked side by side with Artist-In-Residence John DiNaro. Together they have created a mural measuring approximately 8' x 30', the size of Picasso's Guérnica, known as one of the most important works of modern art in the 20th century. With professional muralist John DiNaro's supervision and guidance, this mural has been painted in the true style of muralism, which was by the students and for the students. Furthermore, this mural makes a social statement that expresses the ideas, thoughts, reactions and feelings of the students studying a foreign language within our community today.

Although the mural reflects a society immersed in the painful aftermath of September 11 and the presently unsettling turbulence of war, it also embodies images from our culture that represent hope for a future that is built on the principals of " ... life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness ..." in a land of freedom and opportunity.

Through this interdisciplinary study within the Spanish 5H Adelphi course, supported by the Art and the Modern Language Departments of POBJFKHS, Visbal's students have learned that a work of art cannot only depict history and evoke meaning but that art speaks universally. Thus, art has no boundaries and can be translated into any language.