The Hermitage Programme as a
therapeutic
holding
environment
Having
time and being there
Consistency and dependability
Continuity of contact
These are three key features in the creation of a
therapeutic holding environment and the Hermitage
programme for children with special needs fulfils these
criteria.
Throughout the children’s period of attendance they
have the same guide, who has time for them and is there
for them and thus a warm relationship can develop.
The systematic presentation of the courses building on
knowledge previously imparted and discussed can develop
a sense of consistency and dependability. The new being
built on the old, which is familiar.
Having the same guide also provides the all-vital
continuity of contact, as does visiting and revisiting,
over a period of years, the same physical environment –
the Museum.
The Hermitage is vast and awesome, but calling the
programme ‘Our Hermitage’ lends a human quality to the
museum which, hopefully, enables the children to
develop a sense of being part of the culture and
history of their country.
Helena
Abram
[Published in Galatea Newsletter No 22]
Synopsis
—
Preface, by I. A. Kureyeva, Director of the School
Centre
— The Museum as an environment for humanistic education
[…], by L. Ya. Shostak
— The Art Gallery and problems of special education, by
T.O. Oderisheva
The Hermitage Museum St
Petersburg
The
Museum and Special Children – Conference Papers
PREFACE
A
conference on the Hermitage’s work with sick or
‘special’ children, as it is customary to call them
nowadays, should be of interest not only to the
specialist guides who work with them in the museum but
also to those teachers, psychologists and medical
professionals who are concerned with these children and
the effects of art on their health.
The Hermitage has always paid a great deal of attention
to the specific needs of sick children. For many years
the museum has been organising visits for blind
children and for those with illnesses of the motor
system. For the former, tours are arranged which enable
them to touch exhibits with their hands. For those with
mobility difficulties we provide wheelchairs and a lift
to first floor galleries. Everything is done to make
the children feel comfortable within the museum.
For a little over five years now, the Hermitage has
been working with children with retarded mental
development. Our specialist guides will talk about
their experience of this work, their research and
methodological findings. These guides form a special
group within the museum under the direction of our
School Centre methodologist, Larissa Yaroslavovna
Shostak.
Teachers, psychologists and doctors have observed the
effects of museum visits on children. Their findings
are especially important and interesting for the
Hermitage staff. What do the children gain from the
tour? What sort of behaviour do they display after
their visit? How do these visits help the work of
health professionals? Is it possible to affirm that art
therapy is not simply a medical expression, but a new
method of treatment that will benefit children’s
health? I hope that the conference will answer these
and other questions.
I.
A. Kureyeva.
Director
of the School Centre
THE MUSEUM AS AN ENVIRONMENT FOR THE HUMANISTIC
EDUCATION OF SPECIAL CHILDREN
L. Ya. Shostak
These
days it is customary to call ‘special’ those children
suffering from some kind of physical or psychological
ailment which affects their development and behaviour.
They require care and attention, especially in these
current uncertain times in which they have even fewer
opportunities than their contemporaries for the
development of their individuality and for preparing to
lead normal lives.
Special children are vulnerable to influence and
suggestion, which may not always be positive. As
Professor L. M. Shchipitsina noted, they “are more
likely to follow instinctive impulses and inclinations.
During their adolescent years they may easily adopt the
ideas, behaviour and way of life of criminal circles”
(Shchipitsina, 1994). The Hermitage assists those
special schools that are dedicated to the humanistic
education of sick children and their integration into
society. It helps those teachers who understand the
enormous contribution of art to the formation of the
personality and its beneficial effect on the psyche of
the sick child.
In 1990, when orphanages and special schools first came
to the School Centre, they had only a narrow aim in
mind: to give children introductory tours of the
Hermitage. It immediately became apparent however, that
the general nature of such tours was ineffective. The
children’s capacity to perceive and comprehend the
material on display was extremely limited and they lost
interest very quickly. At first it was suggested that
we should work with children of middle and senior
school age, who had already acquired a certain stock of
knowledge, ideas and understanding from history and
literature lessons at school. In fact children of
junior school age, like their healthy peers, are more
open to fresh impressions and knowledge. They are more
trusting and open towards the staff who lead the study
sessions and thus constitute a more receptive audience.
We offered the schools a programme of systematic
studies at the Hermitage aimed at second to ninth year
pupils and adapted to the ages and specific
psychological characteristics of children with retarded
mental development. The programme was called ‘Our
Hermitage,’ and offered two types of study tour. For
younger pupils, a set of ten to twelve visits
introduced them to the world of the museum; for older
children a series of visits was linked thematically to
their school history studies.
Systematic work with special children demanded deeper
understanding of their psychology and responses to the
art of the museum. We took as our starting point the
lectures of the child psychologist Professor D. N.
Isayev, and the research of the museum psychologist T.
O. Oderisheva. We added to this the experience of
holding study sessions with groups of junior school
children in the Hermitage, and readings from specialist
literature on the question of sick children’s
creativity and their perception of art.
We developed our methodology by observing the effects
of art on the children and their reactions to the
material presented to them. We trained members of
Hermitage staff who were already experienced in working
in our school lecture hall and who had the desire and
requisite skills to find a common language with our
target groups of children. Each member of staff was
assigned a particular group. This was crucial at the
first stage, for the psyche of these special children
is particularly vulnerable. They must adapt to new
surroundings and become accustomed to their new guide.
They are highly responsive to kindness and attention.
Our staff treat each child with respect, irrespective
of his state of health, avoiding pity and
condescension. Equally, they respect the child’s
personality, recognising its unique value and
potential. As a result the children rapidly become
attached to their ‘Hermitage teacher.’ The
effectiveness of the study sessions depends to a large
extent on their regularity and follow-up. It is
important to note that the directorate of the Hermitage
allows special schools to participate without payment
and that we always provides these visiting groups with
a member of staff.
The goal of our work is to help the sick child develop
his personality and to build his mental strength
through contact with world art and culture. We proceed
from a basis of humanistic psychology, which believes
in the unique individuality of each person and in his
creative potential. It affirms that true mental health
depends upon the opportunity for the self-actualisation
of the individual. The American expert in the field, C.
Rogers, believed that for each individual the
foundation of the self, the personality, is just such a
creative process. He wrote, “Close
acquaintanceship with those who, in the course of
psychotherapy, originally and effectively fashion
themselves as individuals inspires faith in the
creative potential of every human being.”
(Rogers,
1994) By lifting the fetters and obstacles created by
external conditions, the doctor’s role is to establish
conditions for the emergence of the spirit’s potential.
The influence of art on the emotional sphere of the
spirit can be a powerful stimulus towards the
manifestation of its potential, to the expression of
the ‘ego’ and to changes in perceptions of reality. In
the museum the child enters into a new relationship
with his environment, his horizons constantly expand,
external impressions leave vivid traces on his soul
which in some form or other will be reflected in his
future life and activities. For a child suffering from
low self-esteem, study visits to the Hermitage
reinforce belief in his own powers and in the
possibility of overcoming his weaknesses and
difficulties.
The museum environment is an accumulation of the
highest level of achievement in human thought, talent,
skill and spirit. It nurtures the child’s sense of
perception. Our task is to foster in problem children a
desire to visit the museum and to teach comprehension
skills which will enable them to develop a love of art.
The perception of art is a creative process, a dialogue
between the viewer and the producer of the work. For
this process it is vital to establish conditions of
freedom in which the child feels free to express his
thoughts, impressions, questions and feelings. The
museum staff must not be mentors, but willing helpers,
sensitively grasping what and how the child sees and
understands. They unobtrusively guide the child through
this new world. The guides see their task as one of the
development of perception, of enabling the children to
see and observe, to form the ability to view
intelligently, and to acknowledge spontaneous emotional
impressions. These skills are hard enough for any
viewer, for they demand a certain foreknowledge,
experience, development of the associative thought
process, imagination and command of special words and
terminology. It is all the more difficult for children
with retarded mental development. However, this path is
the only way of connecting the child to the world of
art, and we follow it slowly, step by step. We are
aided by the emotional openness of the child, his
appreciation of beauty and capacity for surprise.
The study sessions take the form of free discussion,
supplemented by play and drawing of exhibits in the
museum. This method activates the child’s perception,
entertaining him and allowing him to engage in creative
effort. We do not try to turn the whole session into a
game, but we bring elements of play into our study,
aiming these at the child’s imagination, suggesting
that he picture himself in different roles and
costumes, as a fairy-tale personage, a hero of
mythology or participant in important events. The child
is asked to find analogies, to look for familiar
attributes and subjects, and to answer the questions:
‘What does this resemble? Where have we already seen
this?’ Play activates the child’s imagination, helping
him to form associative ideas.
Introduction to the Hermitage begins with its
architecture, applied and decorative arts. Spatial
design is the art form most intimately connected to
human life. In portraying the former inhabitants of the
palace, the owners of its contents, their choice of
ornamentation, customs and mode of behaviour, their use
of interiors and why, we take the children into an
environment created by preceding generations. As he
explores this environment the child absorbs
socio-historical experience, which deepens his
knowledge about those who lived in the past. In this
process we neither adhere to a strict chronology nor go
into great historical detail, but reference should be
made to Peter the Great, founder of St Petersburg,
whose name is already well known to the children. the
importance of the 1812 war in Russian history should
also be outlined. In the state rooms the children’s
attention is drawn to architectural symbols of
government which embody the concepts of wise rule,
national prosperity and Russian military victory. This
gives the children an impression of the official
atmosphere of life in the Tsar’s residence.
All this is related to the task of developing the
child’s aesthetic capacity to perceive the architecture
and artistic style of the main hall. The spatial
arrangement of the front enfilade of state rooms is
designed to give an impression of movement; they are
decorated on the principle of contrast. The children
are asked to observe and compare the principal elements
of dimension and style of decor. In doing so, they
answer the question: ‘By what means were the
architects, in conjunction with other artists, able to
create such distinctly beautiful interiors?’ In doing
so we do not go into too much depth about problems of
changes in style as these would be too abstract for the
children.
The art of sculpture opens up the poetic world of myth
to the children, creating a vision of ancient peoples,
an understanding of nature, humanity, divinity and
moral values.
At first glance the sculpture of antiquity may seem to
the children to be too uniform: marble statuary of a
basic white colour, ‘identical poses’,‘similar’ faces,
no dramatism, no clear expression of emotion.
Study sessions in the halls of antiquities should be
preceded by reading myths at school or at home, with
the intention that the children themselves should be
able to retell them. They should convey an image of the
country where the mythological figures lived, their
natural environment and beliefs. In the museum the
children see how ancient people conceived their gods
and how these conceptions were embodied in works of
art. The children then identify the gods according to
their physical attributes. Together with their guides
they recall scenes from myths. As the ancients endowed
their gods with human characteristics and behaviour
which reflected relations within human society, so each
God possesses his own face. Consequently, antique
sculpture loses its uniformness in the eyes of the
child; each personage takes on his or her own specific
human type and character. Children perceive the means
by which sculptors rendered the power and strength of
Zeus, the grave beauty of Athena, the femininity and
grace of Aphrodite. We use the poetic language of myth,
its epithets and metaphors to view the sculpture, to
enable it to ‘speak’, and to bring its form to life.
At the same time the children learn about sculpture’s
different forms and materials, the means of working on
the surface of stone, the creation of texture, states
of repose and of movement. The Hermitage exhibition of
classical art is displayed in a way that makes it
possible to envisage the spatial environment for which
they were originally intended (temple, palace, or
atrium).
The myths of antiquity lead us naturally to painting,
as we demonstrate the significance of mythology in the
development of art of Western Europe. In an age when
ancient states had long since disappeared and people’s
world view had changed, mythology still exerted its
influence on minds and inspired artists, thanks to its
humanity, wisdom and beauty. However, those very gods
and heroes of antiquity were created in different
images, as each age endows something of its own to the
concept of personal beauty.
We demonstrate how painting offers more widely
expressive possibilities than sculpture: it may
represent not only a central figure, but a whole group
of personages, thus opening up the subject in more
narrative and detail.
The basis of painting is colour. It is used to express
the world in all its beauty and many forms, and to
express different moods. However, at our first
encounter we should introduce only some elements of the
language of painting, avoiding the use of specialised
terminology.
The formation of perception skills at a young age
facilitates the development of interest in the world of
art and prepares the way for further more complex
themed tours. Many of our colleagues have noticed that
over time the children become attentive, absorbed and
active participants in their tours.
The Hermitage collection allows one to look at art and
peoples from different epochs - from the ancient past
to modern times. This presents a panorama of unusual
and differently formed imaginations and customs. Art
reflects eternal moral problems, highlighting human
relations to the darker, negative side of life - the
constant struggle for survival, cruelty and the cult of
power. However, throughout the course of time good has
striven to overcome the bad. Human appreciation of
higher moral qualities in art would seem to oppose
modern tendencies which value economic prosperity above
all and ruthlessness as a means of attaining it.
When working with children with unstable minds and
without sensitive moral understanding the selection of
information about the past is very important, as is the
point of view from which it will be examined. Such
children sometimes have a particularly morbid outlook
on the world. They experience frequent feelings of
fear, defencelessness and lack of self-confidence. They
may even cry (for example, over a too-detailed
description of the rites of embalming a mummy). It is
vital therefore, to concentrate on optimistic ideas,
emphasising goodness and justice. We must not create a
gloomy atmosphere when showing the art of Egyptian
funeral cults. In revealing the meaning of the rite we
must portray the ancients’ belief in the eternal and
happy life of the human soul. In mythology we do not
mention practices or beliefs which might appear to be
cruel or immoral in our time. We draw attention to
benevolent gods who bring good to human beings. When we
introduce the display of knightly weapons, to take
another example, we should not limit ourselves to a
vivid description of warlike qualities and the
propensities of offensive weaponry for this could
promote aggression in the children. We recommend
instead that exercises are devised in which the child
discovers the noble ideals of the code of honour and
the rules of courtly life. These make a strong
impression on the child and can play a positive role in
his character formation.
For the sick child the authority of the Museum’s art
and of his ‘Hermitage teacher’ is very great. He
perceives artistic forms that exemplify high moral
qualities. These have a profound effect upon his
emotions and his soul, and help him to relate to the
world in a spirit of love for mankind.
L. Ya. Shostak
THE ART GALLERY AND PROBLEMS OF SPECIAL
EDUCATION
T.O.
Oderisheva
From
their early years children with developmental problems
require special medical, social and educational
treatment.
Today’s crisis in the Russian system of education in
mental health is directly related to the need for
change in governmental and social attitudes to the sick
and disabled, to be precise, to the granting of full
civil rights to the disabled and the recognition of the
unfair division between the fully-valued majority and
the undervalued minority (Malofeyev 1997).
In Western Europe a fundamental reexamination of
special education took place in the 1970s; in Russia it
occured twenty years later. Over there, changes in the
system of special education came about in the context
of a struggle against all types of discrimination; in
Russia the humanisation of attitudes towards the
invalid is taking place against a background of a sharp
drop in living standards for many sections of society.
Are standard Russian schools ready to accept children
with developmental problems? Today in the West the
number of specialised schools, which once reached 15%
of the total, has been sharply reduced, while at the
same time the number of special classes in normal
schools has increased (in comparison, according to 1998
statistics there are 49 special educational
institutions in St Petersburg, or 8% of the total
number of schools).
Here, the Russian Educational Academy supports
integration through treatment in early childhood, which
should begin in the first months of the child’s life,
and which should promote his future health and ability
to realise his potential. There is a choice between
integration and separate special education. Mental
health experts from other countries insist on the
earlier integration of special children into society.
As far as educational content is concerned there is a
tendency today toward the amalgation of studies for all
children, without providing for meaningful development
of the child’s personality and his preparation for
independent adult life.
In these difficult times the correlation between the
child’s educational achievements and his successful
acquisition of life skills is coming under
reexamination.
We offer a new course: ‘The inner world as a subject
for study in special schools’ (Goncharova, Kukushkina
1998). This course examines not only the existential
side of life, but is directed toward self-knowledge,
feelings, wishes and actions.
The programme encourages children to absorb material by
observing their own behaviour and that of other people,
and by introducing them to works of art. Ideas and
impressions ‘inscribe’ themselves onto the child’s
concept of the world, as he mediates them verbally and
then through the exploration of various forms of
expressive activity.
The art gallery is ideally suited to the latest
concepts in special education (which aims to teach
self-control and successful social cooperation), for it
represents and preserves the highest standards of human
spiritual achievement. The role of the museum as an
independent educational institution is expanding as new
organisational structures emerge in Russia and abroad:
museum-teaching centres, where school and museum
boundaries merge. Schoolteachers prepare children for
their museum visit and assign work; the museum helps
them in this by providing recommendations on the form
and content of the study sessions, illustrative
material (slides, video film, reproductions), and
literature on art, history and pedagogy. A guide
accompanies the children on tours.
A similar scheme for cooperation between museums and
schools for mentally retarded children is even more
effective. As these children’s cognitive activities
tend to be passive, they need a considered system of
teaching and guidance.
The Hermitage has been working with specialists in city
schools for seven years. Our cooperative efforts have
produced a cycle of active study sessions which entails
close contact between teachers and parents. ‘Attention
and support’ are key words of gratitude that parents
have expressed towards the Hermitage.
Older children who have completed cycles of study
sessions at the Hermitage express interest in the
museum, positive memories of their visits, and the
desire to visit it independently. Teaching methods that
use art to enliven the inner world of mentally retarded
children are becoming subjects of discussion in
pedagogical conferences in the city. This spreads word
of our work and attracts more schools to the Hermitage.
Doctors working at special schools note that among
other positive effects, museum study sessions can
soothe children’s emotions. Teachers report that joint
trips to the museum serve to unify the class, improve
relations between the children, promote considerate
behaviour and help to develop the children’s aesthetic
appreciation of the world around them. Mentally
retarded children are easily suggestible and prone to
imitation. These qualities serve the children well in
this instance, for the museum provides them with a
beneficial environment.
Our research concentrated on the study of speech as an
integral characteristic of mental development. An
educational experiment was conducted with the third
class of School number 34 in the 1994/95 academic year.
By means of practical work (discussions about the tour
in school), creative work (essays in class and at home
on themes related to the museum visit), and active
vocabulary work we were able to measure the growth of
speech activity, lexical improvement and the overcoming
of grammatical faults.
In concluding, we note that children from special
schools who have followed a course of study at the
Hermitage remember it for years, not only as a
collection of exhilbits (in this case, of decorative
and applied art), but as a place where their own
personality and achievements are recognised and valued.
We hear the question: ‘Are our drawings still hanging
in the Hermitage?’ (meaning the exhibition of
children’s framed work celebrating ‘Our Hermitage’).
Raising the self-esteem of the mentally-impaired is an
extremely important form of rehabilitative work.
Cooperation between the Hermitage and special schools
has proven to be an effective means of integration of
sick children into society.
T.O.
Oderisheva
Source :
Mrs Helena Abram
from the Galatea Trust in London
Send
by e-mail to the Janusz Korczak Newsletter N° 20,
2006 october.