By Kayla Blackwell | Observer Contributor
For the past four years, a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities has been used by MWCC in order to improve our school’s humanities curriculum. The mission statement of the Humanities Project includes, “[examining] the intersection between the humanities and other disciplines.”
According to Michelle Valois, an MWCC teacher who wrote the grant, “humanities needed a boost here. By humanities I mean art, literature, philosophy…etc.” Valois said, “These disciplines are often seen as unpractical and so receive less support than technical or career majors. I’m talking the traditional liberal arts, which is steeped in critical thinking, writing, and reading- all important skills, no matter what field of study.”
The Humanities Project incorporates humanities into the core curriculum classes. This is done through one single theme used by all teachers throughout the year. The theme changes every year, and no two have been the same. The themes have been chosen in a number of ways; the faculty has been asked to choose, surveys were taken by students, and they’ve been chosen depending on possible guest speakers in the area. This is important because of the small operating budget-speakers from Massachusetts save the school more money.
Maureen Provost, a professor of early childhood education, believes that, “there’s not enough time to explore all curricular areas, and we want people to think bigger and broader.” Professor Provost has found many ways to incorporate the themes into her lesson plans each year. Since Professor Provost is a firm believer in children spending time outdoors, this was a major part of the discussion when Walden was the theme. She also used this theme to connect it to the art show she was hosting, where viewers could find a quote by Henry David Thoreau.
The NEH Grant is a matching grant, which means that MWCC raised money to pay for the grant, and the National Endowment for the Humanities matched our earnings 2:1. The school was able to raise approximately $300,000, therefore the NEH has given them around $150,000.
Professor Valois said that, “the beauty is that the grant built an endowment that lasts as long as the college lasts. Future faculty might do something different with the themes, and I hope new faculty will do just that, but the endowment, the money, will always be there to support programming; pay for speakers, films, books, events, etc.” With many arts programs having been eliminated or at risk of being downsized, this grant is important to our school in order to keep the humanities alive in the core curriculum.
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