On Tuesday, September 26, many of our students – ranging from those in kindergarten to twelfth grade – participated in the “Pinwheels for Peace” art installations around the District. At several of our schools, students created pinwheels made from paper that expressed their reflections concerning such topics as peace, tolerance, social justice, unity, and friendship. I visited the schools and observed these art installations. At William O. Schaefer Elementary and Tappan Zee High Schools, the students arranged their pinwheels into colossal peace symbols. In the picture below, you can see an example of this symbol. Mrs. Piteo (WOS art teacher, pictured) did a great job explaining to our kindergarten students the role that symbols play as an expression of meaning. Our kindergarten students knew instantly that a heart symbol represented love and that the smiley-face symbol represented happiness.
From my perspective, this display seemed remarkable in its beauty and simplicity. The students had great clarity in terms of what these symbols represent. Historically, the symbolism of different images can mean different things to different cultures depending on the context of the time and place. A study of history can help students better contextualize the meaning of symbols and how those symbols can influence social behaviors. For example, “Pinwheels for Peace” reminded me of some not-so-ancient history: I was an elementary school student in the 1960’s during the period of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. People reacted to the “peace symbol” differently depending upon how each was connected to the war in Southeast Asia. The year was probably 1967 (I was in kindergarten) and I remember a day when my father took me to the barbershop. While I was waiting my turn to get my hair cut, I was looking at photographs in a magazine article about college protests of the war. Images of war, violence, and conflict are frightening to a child and I remember being disturbed by the photographs. There was a man (unknown to me) sitting nearby who muttered, “damned hippies” in response to the protest photos that I was looking at. It was clear to my 5-year old brain that the protests and symbols displayed in these photos were upsetting this man. He mentioned that he had a nephew serving in Vietnam. I remember that the symbols for peace in the 1960’s – long hair, hand gestures, tie-dyed apparel – drew different responses from different people and I remember the difficult and awkward conversations that these symbols elicited from the adults in my life (teachers, relatives, neighbors, etc). In contrast to the societal response from fifty years earlier, our “Pinwheels for Peace” art installations (and the tie-dyed curators involved in this project) prompt a singularly positive and hopeful response from onlookers.
In the present day, our young learners will see symbols that represent love, peace, and happiness. Additionally, they will witness symbols that may be intellectually or emotionally confusing to them. Youngsters interpret some symbols, like the peace sign, the heart, and the smiley-face with clarity. Other symbols – like my “peace sign circa 1967” (e.g., armbands, taking a knee during the National Anthem, gestures of solidarity) will require a more thoughtful discussion with our kids to help them understand how we got here and where we are headed as a society. I had the good fortune to discuss this in detail with Mr. Daniel Braunfeld, a 1999 Tappan Zee High School graduate. He provided me with some excellent insight regarding the role that a study of history plays in shaping our students’ civic participation through intellectual rigor, ethical reflection, and emotional engagement.
Thank you to all of our students and teachers of arts/humanities who are treating popular symbols as an opportunity to promote civic participation. A thorough, interdisciplinary study of these symbols is a starting point towards a more learned citizenry and is supportive of our Constitutional rights and responsibilities as People of the United States.