Young artists typically
don’t have a lot of
places to show off their work: school bulletin boards,
occasional student art shows, and maybe the refrigerator
at home.
So when University of Iowa education professor David
Bills asked Iowa City high school students to help
illustrate his latest textbook, they jumped at the
chance. As a result, each of the nine chapters that
make up The Sociology of Education at Work features
unique drawings by five students from Iowa City’s
Senior High Alternative Center.
Bills, associate professor in the College of Education’s
Planning, Policy, and Leadership Studies Department,
knew of Hani Elkadi, the lead art, health, and science
teacher at the high school, and about the artwork
of Elkadi’s students. Bills asked Elkadi’s
students to illustrate the themes in his book as
they saw fit.
“Our art program pioneered much of the public
artwork in Iowa City,” Elkadi says. “We
like to promote the idea of students’ connections
to the community—helping with their talents
and their abilities.”
Student artists included in Bills’ textbook
include Riley McCusker, Megan Bishop, Andrew Bennett,
Keyle Bingham, and Melissa Carlson. Bishop says working
with Bills was a great way to get her artwork into
public view. “I loved the experience,” she
says. “This was probably the best thing that
has ever happened to me.”
Bills says he is extremely pleased with the results
of his collaboration with the Iowa City high school
students.
“I described to the students what I wanted
to accomplish with each chapter and was stunned with
the creativity and insight with which they responded,” Bills
says.
by Stephen Pradarelli
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