Membatik Masuk Kurikulum Sekolah di Chicago

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NEW YORK - Pelajaran membatik akan masuk dalam kurikulum sekolah-sekolah dasar dan menengah umum di Chicago, yaitu kota terbesar di negara bagian Illinois, Amerika Serikat, yang juga merupakan kota tempat kediaman pribadi Presiden AS Barack Obama berada.

Menurut keterangan yang diterima ANTARA dari Konsulat Jenderal RI di Chicago, pelajaran membatik akan mulai dimasukkan ke dalam kurikulum sekolah dasar dan menengah Chicago Public School mulai tahun ajaran 2012.

Tidak hanya di sekolah-sekolah, pelajaran membatik juga akan diberikan kepada masyarakat umum Chicago Park District and Community Center.

Seperti yang diungkapkan Konsul Penerangan dan Sosial Budaya KJRI Chicago, Shirley Malinton, kepada ANTARA, untuk mempersiapkan dimasukkannya pelajaran membatik ke dalam kurikulum sekolah umum Chicago tahun 2012 nanti,maka KJRI Chicago akan memberikan pelatihan bagi guru-guru seni sekolah umum.

Pelatihan diselenggarakan atas kerja sama dengan Peace School dan Chicago Public School dan akan dilaksanakan pada 19 November mendatang. Pelatihan "Batik Workshop for Art Educators" itu akan berlangsung di Douglas Park Cultural dan Community Center, Chicago, dan akan dipandu oleh Avy Loftus.

Salah seorang seniman dan pendidik asal Indonesia,Avy Loftus juga merupakan Pendiri dan Ketua Peace, Love and Hope Project, yaitu organisasi nirlaba yang berlokasi di Montreal Kanada. Selain oleh Avy, pelatihan juga akan diberikan oleh Dyah Kasir, pegawai setempat KJRI Chicago.

Menurut Sherly Malinton, pelatihan membatik pada 19 November nanti akan diikuti oleh 80 peserta yang terdiri atas guru-guru seni di sekolah-sekolah dasar dan menengah (Grade 1-9) Chicago.

Setelah menjalani pelatihan, para guru akan mengajarkan cara membatik dan membuat batik perca kepada murid-murid mereka --yang berusia 5-15 tahun-- sebagai bagian dari kurikulum pelajaran kesenian yang dikaitkan dengan misi perdamaian.

One

A year ago today, after some contemplation, I started off on this little experiment of a music blog. One year later, 425 posts and a total of 121,433 and 143,160 page visits (somewhat less unique visitors - this number is low, because I added on tracking a couple months after I started.) I'd say this is a success. The site has really grown over the past couple of months, and I've tried a number of features, such as the Cover and Original, Acoustic and Original, Live and Original, Artist Evolution, 80 Bands Around the World, Artist Comparison and a couple others. Some of those I haven't kept up with, but it's been a fun ride thus far.

The name Carry You Away came from a couple of songs, most notably Cary Brother's song Who You Are and Rilo Kiley's The Angels Hung Around. The idea was that music carries one away while listening. I liked the idea when I heard Who You Are, and it stuck.

From The Angels Hung Around:

"...'Till the angels hung around
as they carried me away."

From Who You Are:

"...You try to, but you can't move
As the windows crash around you
No one there to carry you away"

My main mission here is to highlight music that I like. Over the past year or so, my tastes have grown considerably, and I've found that there's a lot of stuff out there that I like. I've become a more competent reviewer and writer, partially because of the amount of writing that I've had to do for this site, and my tastes in music is more refined. I've met artists, taken tons of pictures, and found hundreds of new artists and songs that I never would have come across otherwise.

So, thank you to everyone for making the site a success, and for hearing what I've got to say about things.

Beginnings - Chicago
Thirty One Today - Aimee Man
One Week - Barenaked Ladies
One (Blake's Got a New Face) - Vampire Weekend
One Good Year - Slaid Cleaves

Who You Are - Cary Brothers
The Angels Hung Around - Rilo Kiley

Hype - Buy - Look