Official Department of Education Photo by Leslie Williams
“Through art, military-connected children open a little window to tell us how they feel and offer us a glimpse into their world,” said Patricia Shinseki at last week’s opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Military Child Education Coalition’s (MCEC) Student Art Exhibit at ED headquarters. Shinseki, an MCEC board member, gave the keynote address at the opening, which included the Presentation of the Colors by the Joint Armed Forces Color Guard, a musical performance by Nate Hutchings and a poetry reading by Jaron McKinnon, students from the teen center in Ft. Meade, Md.
Nate Hutchings a student from the teen center in Ft. Meade, Md., performs at the exhibit opening. (Official Department of Education Photo by Leslie Williams)
MCEC is an international organization that identifies, brings awareness to and implements solutions to meet the challenges the highly mobile military child faces. ED’s newest exhibit includes artwork and writing from K–12 students living on military bases around the world, featuring a range of themes, such as globalization, familial love, loneliness, fear and patriotism. Military child and artist Kayla Rausch explained that “Art is my passion and a way of showing myself to others. Being in the Army is like being part of a huge family and I’m proud to be part of it.”
The opening was organized by the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Art Exhibit Program, under the direction of the Office of Communications and Outreach and the Office of Innovation and Improvement. The program features student art to honor teachers and students in a highly public space and to demonstrate art as an effective path to learning and knowledge for all. For more information on ED’s Student Art Exhibit Program, please contact Jacquelyn Zimmermann at jacquelyn.zimmermann@ed.gov
Lydia Jun and Jasna Rodulfa are interns in the Office of Communications and Outreach at the Department of Education.
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Being raised as a child of an army officer and attending 10 different schools from K-12, I understand the benefits of such an organization. No one has really paid much attention to the children of the men and women serving our country. How did we feel when our parents were not home, etc. or what it was like to leave friends so often and try to make friends quickly. Often, we were shunned since parents knew that we were only temporary friends. Or parents did not want their kids to play with us because we were considered “wild”. Some of my friends now think it sounds glamorous to have lived in several foreign countries. Yes, there are benefits to such a life. Anyway, YES this organization is a well deserved and much needed organization. P.S. I also am an artist and art teacher…currently teaching 3rd grade in Canoga Park, CA. I got my art teaching credential from Florida State University in 1962!