For Arts’ Sake

Christianne Hayward - Founder and Instructor, The Lyceum of Literature and Art

christiannehayward.com

by Tara Thorne

photo by Jaime Kowal

A couple-odd millennia ago, the Lyceum was the school in Athens where Aristotle taught philosophy. Nowadays, Vancouver has its very own lyceum. But while students at the original were likely to hear Aristotle’s views on metaphysics, children at Vancouver’s Lyceum of Literature and Art celebrate the power of the arts.

The school’s founder, Christianne Hayward, is a children’s literature specialist and educator of all ages. Christianne’s vision was to create a place where kids could explore the potential of literature and art to “catalyze individual imagination, familial growth, and community change.”

The lyceum celebrates the oral, written, and visual arts, and encourages growth via a “generative” curriculum. That means both teacher and student come together to construct a syllabus.

“This involves having a different image of the children,” says Christianne. “In past times we looked at children as empty vessels, as if there was some kind of magical learning that was going to make them successful in life. We then moved to looking at the child as competent and coming with influences from their background and experiences that they bring to the learning environment.”

Christianne owes some of the impetus behind her creation of the lyceum to one of her former university professors and to her grandfather. Both told her she had the talent and ability to inspire people to do what they don’t think they can. Christianne’s methods include creating a more interactive education via thought-provoking discussions, providing a gateway to instigate change.

“In other educational institutions it’s very difficult to bring about change and to do it quickly,” she says. “But change is the one thing you can always count on.”