On the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 30, English teacher Mr. Bellini was seen wearing a suit and tie; this is because he traveled with his English 11 Honors students to the Carnegie Museum of Art.
This was the eighth year Bellini took his Honors English 11 class after taking his Creative Writing class the first year he taught at BPHS.
The main reason students go on this trip is to practice the Visual Thinking Strategy, which is the process of analyzing and interpreting different elements of art and literature in order to understand them correctly. Mr. Bellini also wants students to use art as inspiration and gain a cultural experience by going to the museum and lunch somewhere in Oakland.
He said, “I almost feel like the University of Pittsburgh should pay for the trip because people write every year now I want to go to Pitt because it’s such an interesting area.”
Students were assigned a project which consisted of choosing a poet and learning their style. They also had to choose a painting in the museum, analyze it and write a poem about it. They also had to write an essay on how their painting connected with their topic.
At the museum, students were split up into groups and led by guides who gave them a tour and also educated them on the history of the paintings they were shown and about art in general. Following the tour, students were then able to choose a painting to analyze and do their project on.
Mr. Bellini wants students to take home from their time at the museum the ability to correctly analyze art and to get a sense of culture by going to the museum and being around the artwork.
Usually, the trip has a very good impact on students because they realize how much is involved in art, and that it is not all about profits and advertising.