Key Partnerships, Americans Who Tell the Truth
Operation Breaking Stereotypes: http://www.operationbreakingstereotypes.org/
An exchange program among students with very distinct backgrounds that uses Americans Who Tell the Truth to assist students with diversity and creating personal statement essays. Most recently OBS is working with AWTTT to create speakers bureau of the individuals in the portrait series most relevant to students of high school/university level study.
YES! Magazine: http://www.yesmagazine.org/for-teachers ,is working with Americans Who Tell the Truth to make use of the portrait subjects who are featured in the magazine articles and post those for teacher use when appropriate. YES magazine also features Americans Who Tell the Truth products, the book and articles by Robert Shetterly about his work. Most recently , we are partnering on an Exemplary Essay project http://www.yesmagazine.org/for-teachers/essay-bank/yes-exemplary-essay-quick-facts for students that asks them to consider a portrait and the issues related to it with writing prompts. Essays will then be shared with Americans Who Tell the Truth, the portrait subject and one will be chosen for publication on the YES magazine website. Yes magazine, education coordinator, Jing Fong.
My Hero Project – http://myhero.com/go/home.asp This organization has a global outreach with thousands of teachers around the world using it in the classroom. Americans Who Tell the Truth has an online gallery on the site as well as related lesson plans. Students can design exhibits related to themes, research the portraits and related issues to share them in the My Hero online area for that purpose.
Southern Poverty Law /Teaching Tolerance-http://www.tolerance.org/a new relationship is being established with this organization related to the portraits, diversity, tolerance and education. This will begin in the coming school year and Americans Who Tell the Truth will be reviewed in the September 2011 issue of Teaching Tolerance.
Barefoot Artists: http://www.barefootartists.org/ Rob Shetterly painted Lily Yeh, founder of Barefoot Artists as one of the earlier portraits. Since that time Americans Who Tell the Truth has worked closely with Barefoot Artists related to the work done in Rwanda. Rob traveled with Lily to work with children in the village to create an artistic vision of their hopes for the future; Michele worked with Lily to create an art “pen pal’ exchange program and exhibit. Currently, Americans Who Tell the Truth is working on a biography of Lily for middle school students.
San Quentin T.R.U.S.T.- http://www.sanquentintrust.org/ This group of San Quentin inmates worked with Americans Who Tell the Truth biography editor, Kathleen Jackson, to create essays in response to the portrait of Wendell Berry. Mr. Berry corresponded with the men and students from a local school also wrote about the nature of freedom related to the portrait study. Students will continue this process in communication with the men in similar activity in the future.
Breckenridge Franklin Elementary/SYNAPSE/Central High School-University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law: For the third year, Americans Who Tell the Truth has been working with students and teachers using the portraits to explore history, use artistic expression to share personal truths about the community .Most recently students ( Breckenridge Franklin Elementary) began working with the Louisville Mayor’s office to improve specific areas of the student’s neighborhoods such as environmental waste, girls and violence/rape, animal control and regulation, restoration of abandoned facilities, criminal activity and homelessness.
University of Southern Maine/Lewiston: http://usm.maine.edu/lac/commoncore/
After numerous Americans Who Tell the Truth exhibits at the campus, the professors worked together to create a new curriculum that reflected the values and hopes for the future for their students. The curriculum was written as a result of what the professors experienced from students in response to the portraits. It is called “How Then Shall We Live?”
Most recently , the Kentucky Community and Technical College System , has been working toward incorporating these same ideas into their courses for students. A core group of professors is partnering with Americans Who Tell the Truth to follow the USM model.
Veterans for Peace: http://www.veteransforpeace.org/ Each year Robert Shetterly speaks at numerous engagements with Vets for Peace and creates a calendar of events related to peace and justice using the portraits. Recently Rob participated in a planned act of resistance to the current wars on 16 December, 2010.
Voices [Education Project]: www.voiceseducation.org
Acknowledging that conflict is inevitable, Voices envisions a world in which nations, communities, and individuals move beyond polarization and destruction, instead viewing conflict as an opportunity to create understanding, empathy and positive change. Through education, the arts, and self-expression, Voices aims to transform how we respond to, engage in, and recover from conflict. By working directly with instructors and students we strive to model pedagogical methods and social processes that challenge and enrich the arts, humanities and social science curricula. An on-line exhibit of Americans Who Tell the Truth can be found on the Voices website along with quotes, biographical statements and curricula.