We\u2019ve known for a long time now that regular arts education for elementary school kids can really spark their creativity. But we also know that it\u2019s often among the first programs to be cut when budgets get tight. But for more than 50 years, a group of volunteer docents at the San Jose Museum of Art have been doing their part \u2014 and probably yours and mine, too \u2014 to keep the arts accessible to classrooms.<\/p>\n
Toby Fernald, a Saratoga resident and former trustee for the Museum of Art, started volunteering in 1986 and says that she and other longtime docents like Rich Karson, Jeff Bordona, Bill Faulkner see it as more than a way to pass the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have remained involved because we love the museum, see its great value in the community and believe in art as an integral part of all human beings which we wish to nurture,\u201d said Fernald, who also taught elementary school in Sunnyvale in the 1970s before her two sons were born.<\/p>\n
![\"Docent](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/SJM-L-PIZARRO-COL-1107-01-1.jpg\")
Docent Tony Misch gives an art presentation to first-graders at Lincoln Elementary School in Cupertino as part of the San Jose Museum of Art\u2019s Let\u2019s Look at Art education program on Feb. 24, 2025. (Courtesy San Jose Museum of Art)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s Look at Art was launched in 1972, just a few years after the museum itself, and docents used art prints to present lessons to fourth- and fifth-graders. The program eventually expanded to include kindergarten through fifth-graders, and in the mid-\u201990s Fernald was part of a group that spearheaded Art in the Dark, using slide projectors to give presentations to middle-school classes. And in the 20th century, the program went digital \u2014 greatly expanding its potential subjects and adding high school classes to the mix.<\/p>\n
In 2023, Fernald and fellow docent Tony Misch were on hand to accept the Cornerstone of the Arts Creative Impact Award from the city of San Jose, noting that the program had reached more than 1 million students in its five decades.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a great record, but there\u2019s always more potential students than volunteers, as some docents retire or move away \u2014 or just can\u2019t do as many presentations thanks to busy schedules. That\u2019s why Fernald hopes there\u2019s a good turnout for \u201cA Day in the Life of a Docent,\u201d a Nov. 14 event at the museum where people can find out how they can get involved in SJMA\u2019s education programs, either in the gallery or in classrooms.<\/p>\n