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April 21, 2006
Practising art of giving
Students help youngsters and mentally disabled.
WENDY ELLIMAN ISRAEL PRESS SERVICE
If the term "arts student" only says to you: funky and
self-absorbed, it's time to think again. Over the past three years,
more than 100 arts students in Jerusalem (76 this year alone) have
received scholarships of around $1,000, each in exchange for service
in the community, and have themselves undergone a radical change
of image.
Shelly ben Shachar, 25, for example, is a major hit with sixth graders
in a south Jerusalem school, who crowd into her film classes. A
second-year student in creative production at the Sam Spiegel School
of Film and Television in Jerusalem, ben Shachar is teaching the
12-year-olds a 40-hour course she has designed herself.
"I want to open youngsters up to film and make them more curious
about it," she said. "This way, they develop an appetite
to learn more."
Fellow student 26-year-old Elad Kidan, who studies film in the general
sector at the Spiegel School, is teaching creative writing at a
Jerusalem junior high.
"The teens I'm teaching have most enjoyed keeping a diary,"
he said, "though we've worked on a range of other writing formats,
from comics to journalism. Their most recent project is writing
a script for a story that takes place in the classroom, which we'll
be acting out and filming."
Moran Zilber, 28, is a graduate of the Jerusalem Academy of Music
and Dance. During her final year, she taught movement to mentally
challenged adults.
"We would stand on chairs or lay on mattresses," she said.
"And either they'd find a movement or I'd show them one that
we could all do together. We'd work on specific muscles, on smiles
and on hugs. This not only got them to move, but also to feel and
to touch, to express emotions through movement, from hate through
to love."
Zilber, Kidan and ben Shachar are just three of many dozens of Jerusalem
arts students receiving scholarships through a fund created by the
Jerusalem Foundation.
"By connecting art students to the city and involving them
in the community," said Jerusalem Foundation president Ruth
Cheshin, "we transform them from visitors to active members
of the community. When they complete their studies, we hope they'll
remain to leave their mark here."
Although a city of barely half a million, Jerusalem boasts nine
arts colleges. In addition to the Sam Spiegel School and the Academy
of Music and Dance, there is a school of photography, a school for
visual theatre, the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio, the Ma'aleh Film
School, the Hadassah College, the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
and the Centre for Middle Eastern Music and Dance. Students from
all these are eligible for Edelstein scholarships.
"Each institution tends to specialize in a certain kind of
community outreach," said Keren Fania, who administers the
Edelstein Fund for the Jerusalem Foundation. "Those from the
Sam Spiegel School, for example, teach film writing and production
in Jerusalem schools. Students from the Music and Dance Academy
hold dance workshops for those with behavioral difficulties. Students
from the Centre for Middle Eastern Music and Dance play and perform
for autistic children. Others run after-school programs in film,
photography and theatre for the mentally disabled, in creative writing
in underprivileged neighborhoods and in creating neighborhood Internet
sites."
"I feel the time I've put into my sixth grade class, both in
the classroom and in preparation, has been really worthwhile,"
said ben Shachar. "The kids have definitely gone through a
process in the short time we've spent together. They see things
differently now than at the beginning and this means I can do much
more with them and expect much more of them.
"I think I've gone through a process as well. The classes were
built on screening 15-minute films focusing on a theme like sound
or heroes, made by students from our school; films that were generally
considered to be successful. Kids, however, see things differently.
They're honest and objective and have helped me see things in different
ways."
Kidan also feels he's gained from what he's given.
"I've enjoyed every minute of my teaching," he said. "In
fact, it's been a highlight of the course. I've found working with
youngsters and seeing their point of view fascinating and, while
I've given them the energy and enthusiasm to explore further, I've
learned a great deal myself."
For newly graduated Zilber, her community work has led her directly
into her career and she is now working full time as a counsellor
in a hostel for mentally disabled adults.
"I simply fell in love with the people here," she said.
"Now that I have the training to help them express their emotions,
I can't imagine working anywhere else."
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