Lowell Teachers Learn Cambodian Art & Culture Online with MCC

Middlesex Community College – an award-winning leader of online education – is a fixture in the communities the college serves in Bedford and Lowell. For the past seven years, Middlesex has collaborated with Lowell Public Schools to offer teachers an opportunity to learn Cambodian art and culture sponsored by a National Endowment for the Arts and MCC. This summer, the class made a successful transition to an online format.

Yary Livan is a Cambodian master ceramist who works as an adjunct professor for MCC’s Art department. His work is part of a permanent collection at the Smithsonian Institution’s Sackler/Freer Gallery in Washington, D.C. When he needed to transition his classes to online formats in the Spring 2020 semester, he was hesitant but knew he had to keep going.

“It’s so important for me because I love to be around people,” he said. “I want to keep teaching all of my skills. I had to do something, not just stay home. I am practicing how to teach online. Before I wasn’t sure how, but when we started online, they worked with me how to continue teaching. I figured out how to get everybody to understand.”

MCC’s Facilities and Security departments distributed packages of clay and other tools Livan provided for students to pick-up at the college’s Cowan Center. For the class, Livan also pre-recorded demonstrations of each step-by-step process. Using a projector and Google Meet-Up, he watched his students work in real-time and was available to answer questions.

Margaret Rack, MCC’s Art Chair, worked with Jacqueline Miller, a Lowell fine arts teacher, to develop the class for Lowell public school teachers that is now offered as a three-credit graduate course through Fitchburg State University. Miller and Livan co-teach the course.

“Yary Livan is a priceless Master Artist and resource to Cambodian culture and art,” Miller said. “This course offering would not have been possible even in the slightest without MCC’s support, council, resources and determination. Myself and all who have had the honor to work with Yary realize the importance of keeping the Cambodian art community alive, while providing much needed education to those who serve this community.”

After taking a trip to Cambodia in 2010 to try and build a kiln, MCC’s Rack wanted to help introduce Cambodian ceramics, arts, culture and history to Lowell teachers for them to bring back to their classrooms and develop a curriculum.

“The whole idea of the kiln project was not just to have it benefit Middlesex students,” she said. “But something that existed at the time as a Fine Arts Pathway envisioning a coordinated path from kindergarten to university to study the arts within Lowell.”

Many of the teachers who took the class this summer were interested in earning credit towards their graduate degrees, but they also appreciated learning more about the history and culture of Cambodia so they could relate more to their students and their families.

Brittany Brennan, an art teacher, found the lessons to be helpful and is excited to incorporate what she learned into her teaching, while Sean Glasheen, a science teacher, feels he can now relate more to the Cambodian students who play on the volleyball team he coaches.

Kindergarten teacher Christine Sweeney was interested in taking the class because of Livan’s influence in Lowell, having heard of a sculpture he created that is featured downtown.

“I didn’t know when else I’d get an opportunity like this,” she said. “It seemed like the perfect way to expand my knowledge and stretch myself as a creative person.

Stephen Gervais, a world languages teacher, was inspired learning how important art is to culture. He also credits Livan’s patience in his teaching for the effectiveness of the class.

“I’m not very good at art and I know it’s something that I need more knowledge of and that was important for me to work through,” he said. “I did have moments of frustration with how my product was looking, but I also realized the whole process was important. It gave me the perspective of the students who might be in a class that they are not very comfortable with and they have to keep trying. Yary was extremely supportive.”

K-1 teacher Alison Gervais believes Livan created a safe environment for his students to practice their art by encouraging them to work at their own pace.

“Yary did an awesome job of modeling things for us,” she said. “We started out with a drawing of a chan flower and he had it up on the board showing us step-by-step how to do it. We met with him twice a week and it was during those times we worked with him on the clay and for those who finished their tile a little faster, he gave us extra clay so we could work on another project.”

Hope Eacrett, a first-grade teacher, also appreciates the modifications Livan added to his lessons.

“Not only did he differentiate for people who were faster or slower, he also made accommodations for my visual impairment,” she said. “He did things at the beginning for me that probably no one knew he was doing for me. I can’t read black on white – I’m legally blind – so he put one corner of his chan flower in color so I was able to differentiate.”

Moving to an online format is just one of the ways Livan has proven he is good at improvising. Much of what he uses to create art involves tools he has built from old credit cards and pencils.

“He came up with some really great ideas for us,” Gervais said. “If we didn’t have a compass, we could make it with a piece of paper and two pencils.”

To finish up the projects with glazes in the kiln, Livan plans to do it himself or come up with a safe way for students to come in one or two at a time in the fall.

Even throughout the pandemic, Livan believes meaningful and effective learning can – and should – continue.

“To the students who signed up for online classes, you can do the same things as in-person,” he said. “I have the experience – this summer, the class for the Lowell teachers worked really well.

Everybody was happy. If you want to learn about clay, please sign up. It’s really fun.”

To help keep students on track with their goals, MCC offers personalized financial aid counseling, payment plans, flexible course formats and a supportive community.

MCC is offering 50 percent off the cost of one course to students who were laid-off due to COVID-19. In celebration of the college’s 50th anniversary, Middlesex is also offering 50 percent off one course to new students. For students who have completed 45 credits at MCC but have not taken classes recently, there is a completion scholarship available. Qualifying students must register by September 10.

Visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/save for participation rules on all financial savings.

To register for Fall classes, visit www.middlesex.mass.edu/registration/ or call 1-800-818-3434.

Discover your path at Middlesex Community College. As one of the largest, most comprehensive community colleges in Massachusetts, MCC has been a proven leader in online education for more than 20 years. We educate, engage and empower a diverse community of learners, offering more than 80 degree and certificate programs – plus hundreds of noncredit courses. Middlesex Community College: Student success starts here!