This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at rka-learnwithus.com. It has been three months since we pledged our commitment to anti-racist practices. We at RK&A, individually and collectively, pledge our commitment to being anti-racist—which we recognize as an ongoing pursuit through our everyday actions. To hold ourselves accountable, we want to document […]
If we cannot define “museums,” how do museums survive?
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at rka-learnwithus.com. Last year, my colleagues and I chatted about the work of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) to propose a new definition of museums. We listened to the MuseoPunks podcast, which featured different speakers talking about their perspectives on the definition process. At […]
Caution: Laying Off Museum Educators May Burn Bridges to the Communities Museums Serve
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at rka-learnwithus.com. I started this blog about a month ago in frustration about the layoffs of museum educators (and other front-of-house staff although I am going to speak specifically about my experiences with museum educators). I wrote it in a fury one night, and each […]
Will they say yes (pre-pandemic and now)?
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at rka-learnwithus.com. Upon commencing a study that requires intercepting visitors on the museum floor, we are often asked by staff (sometimes nervously), “Will people say yes to participating in a survey, interview, etc.?” Our answer is always yes, and we often state that you would […]
Social and Emotional Learning is Imperative and in Museum Educators’ Wheelhouse: Part 2
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at rka-learnwithus.com. Shortly after posting my last blog on social and emotional learning being imperative and in museum educators’ wheelhouse, some conversations with clients, colleagues, and research participants further drove this point home for me. In my first post, I wrote about how important question-posing […]
Social and Emotional Learning is Imperative and in Museum Educators’ Wheelhouse
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at rka-learnwithus.com. Just months ago (but what feels like an eternity ago), I was in an art museum observing museum educators lead a group of fifth-grade students on a museum visit. One work of art they viewed highlighted inequities in the world by zooming in […]
The Virus Makes the Timeline
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at rka-learnwithus.com. A few weeks ago, we heard from Dr. Anthony Fauci: “You’ve got to understand that you don’t make the timeline, the virus makes the timeline.” Fauci’s words ring ever-more true to me today than when he first spoke them. Today marks the one-month […]
Who should participate in Museums Advocacy?
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at rka-learnwithus.com. I wrote this blog post two weeks ago before coronavirus had changed our world so drastically. Museums Advocacy is more essential now than ever. Please consider how you can be an effective museum advocate, and see AAM’s resources here: https://www.aam-us.org/2020/03/19/urge-congress-to-support-museum-community-economic-relief/ “What are […]
Being Launched from the Comfort Zone
This is an Eval Central archive copy, find the original at rka-learnwithus.com. The last week has been a wild ride for many of us in the United States and abroad. A wrench was thrown into my normal (although never regular) schedule of museum visits, research design, and conference attendance. All of a sudden, I became […]