Dena Duignan

Quilts
Judy Logan believes that quilts can have a powerful impact on the learning
community. In the book True Stories of Teaching she addresses the usage of these in
the classroom. What began as a lesson in womens studies melded into a inclusive
study of community. It encompassed both her knowledge and the prior knowledge
of the students in her learning community. She started the lessons with essay
written on famous women in political activism, civil rights, science and music but
chose to use multiple entry points when addressing the needs of a reluctant learner
who wanted to include the ballet teacher.
What occurred to me as a teacher with 25 years of experience is that I have
done this on many different levels of success. When I first starting teaching I made
them intertwine their family stories in a quilt format with much such. What it did
was provide a fabric for future learning because there was this sense in the
classroom that this teacher really knows me. When you truly know your students
and you have a repertoire with them they will try to do well for you at first and then
for themselves later.
My second attempt at quilts involve interviewing community leaders and
developing a quilt of the community. The quilt was amazing and was the focal point
at the entrance to the door of the school as we had our annual Career Day
conference. People from all walks of life in the community came to speak to our
children and their careers and the children were excited to present to them what
they had already researched about them. It always made for a welcoming way to
invite our guest into the building. The guest would return year after year and I

believe for some seeing a depiction of themselves through the eyes of our children
had a lot to do with it.
Lastly, in recent years I have work for a Core Knowledge school, while is you may
disagree with some gaps in the program the evidence of success was witnessed all
around me. It was not an actual quilt a more abstract form of quilt which embodies
the fabric of a community. I created a book for my core knowledge school in which I
documented the fabric of our learning community during a Core Knowledge expo in
which the students created scenarios replicating Themes from ceiling to floor in the
hallways of our school. This living document represented community and in an
abstract way told our quilt story.
I hope Judy Logan and I were able to illustrate to you the importance of
creating a community of learning, this can be done with quilts, mask or whatever
other tools of authentic assessment you have in your wealth of knowledge thus far.
What is imperative is that we unite and show the world what real teaching is all
about.....the children.