Welcome!

We are so pleased that you have visited our website. The National Docent Symposium Council is in the process of making it even more helpful for you. Very soon we will be adding a biannual and perhaps later, a quarterly newsletter for you to read.

The new newsletter will be full of interesting articles and helpful hints for docents. If you have any suggestions for topics that you would like to see addressed, please e-mail us at webmaster@docents.net.

The information in each newsletter will always be available to you! As we replace our newsletters, we will archive the old ones, so you can see past newsletters as well. So visit our site often and tell friends about us. We want to be here for you!

Another new idea we are considering is having a NDSC listserv. A NDSC listserv would enable you to ask questions and have discussions with docents all over the country and beyond. If this interests you, please e-mail us at webmaster@docents.net and let us know. We would greatly appreciate your feedback!

Again, thank you for visiting our website. While you are waiting for this new newsletter, I have included some of the articles I have written for the NDSC column in the American Association for Museum Volunteers Newsletter. Visit us often and enjoy reading the articles below!

Sincerely,

Gin Wachter

NDSC President

Giving The “Right” Tour

There are many different styles of touring. The key to a good tour is to match the style of touring to your audience. Docents need to know their audience in order to make tours meaningful and effective. You would not want to give the same tour to University Students who are studying a specific culture as you would Elementary Students who are visiting the Museum for the first time. The more that you know about your audience, the better you are able to match the tour to their interests, needs and abilities.

When working with school groups, the Docent needs to know what the students are familiar with and what they are looking for. Whenever possible, call the teacher before the tour.

The following are questions that the NDSC recommends you ask the teacher when you call, (taken from the NDSC’s Docent Handbook):

How have you prepared the students for this tour?
Have you talked about specific objects they will see?
Have you told the students to look for specific information? Will they be taking notes?
Do you have any suggestions for making this group attentive or responsive?
Have you advised the students of Museum etiquette?
What learning experiences do you expect?

No matter if they are visiting the Museum for the first time or they are frequent visitors, you want to make your audience comfortable. Little learning will take place if your group is not comfortable. Make the visit fun, show them how much you enjoy being at the Museum. Enthusiasm is contagious. Teach them how to enjoy the Museum on their own and encourage them to come back. You know you have been a success when they want to return with their families.

How do you make them comfortable? The Docent Handbook suggests that you should consider the following points before your tour, especially with young children:

How will they feel about an imposing museum building?
Will a large room, visitor traffic flow, noise or different levels of lighting affect their ability to concentrate?
Are exits, restrooms and water fountains clearly marked?
Do they feel uncomfortable facing a wall while there is a lot of activity going on in another part of the gallery?
Are students that have special needs participating?

When giving the “right” tour, one must also keep in mind that there are vast developmental differences. There are many excellent sources which will familiarize you with these differences. The Docent Handbook is one such source. It gives you ideas to consider for each age category from pre-school to the older adult, as well as visitors with special needs.

Yes, if you want to give the “Right” Tour – you must first know your audience!

The Docent Handbook is an excellent resource for docents, guide and interpreters at all levels of expertise and active in every type of museum. This publication addresses current concerns and material pertinent to issues now being explored in Museums. To order the Docent Handbook please click here.

Working with All

As docents, we want to create an atmosphere where all visitors feel comfortable and respected. We all know and practice our best etiquette. We mean well, but sometimes we do not know what the proper etiquette is when we have people with disabilities on our tour. Here are some basic guidelines for “disABILITY” etiquette:

Make reference to the person first then the disability. Say “a person with a disability” rather than “a disabled person.”

The term “handicapped” comes from the image of a person standing on the corner with a cap in hand, begging for money. People with disabilities do not want to be recipients of charity or pity. They want to participate equally with the rest of the community. Do not use this term in reference to a person.

If the disability is not germane to the story or conversation, don’t mention it.

Use words with dignity. Cripple, handicapped, invalid, deaf and dumb, crazy and insane are not acceptable. Use phrases like, person with disability, emotional disorder, psychiatric disability etc.

A person is not a condition, so avoid describing a person as such. Don’t present someone as “an epileptic” or “a post polio’. Instead, say “a person with epilepsy” or “a person who has had polio”

There are also some common courtesies docents (or anyone) should consider when people with disabilities are touring. Don’t feel obligated to act as a caregiver to people with disabilities. Offer assistance, but wait until your offer is accepted before you help. Listen to any instructions the person may give. Leaning on a person’s wheelchair is similar to leaning or hanging on a person. It is considered annoying and rude. The chair is part of the person’s body space. Don’t hang on it!

Share the same social courtesies with people with disabilities that you would with anyone else. If you shake hands with other people before or after your tour, offer your hand to everyone you meet, regardless of disability. If a person is unable to shake your hand, he or she will tell you.

When offering assistance to a person with a visual impairment, allow that person to take your arm. This will enable you to guide, rather then propel or lead the person. Use specific directions, such as “left one-hundred feet” or “right two yards,” when directing a person with a visual impairment.

If you are advised ahead of time that there will be people with disabilities on your tour, consider their needs before you choose the location or route you will take. You never want to go to a place that is not accessible to all.

When talking to a person who has a physical disability, speak directly to that person, not through a companion. For people who communicate through sign language, speak to them, not to the interpreter. When talking to a person in a wheelchair for more than a few minutes, place yourself at eye level with that person, if at all possible. (This will also help you to see what they can and cannot see from their vantage point)

To get the attention of a person who has hearing loss, tap them on the shoulder or wave. Look directly at the person and speak clearly, slowly and expressively to establish if they read lips. Not all people with hearing loss can read lips. Those that do, rely on facial expressions and body language for understanding. Stay in the light and keep your hands from your face. Always face your audience. Speak up, but shouting will not help.

When you have a person with severe loss of vision on your tour, always identify who you are speaking to and indicate when the conversation is over. Speak in a normal tone of voice and let them know when you move from one place to another.

Most important of all, relax. Do your very best to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable and enjoy their visit. I hope these few tips are helpful and you will better enjoy, working with all.

And, an article about our last Symposium:

OVER 500 DELEGATES WERE BREWING INNOVATION IN BOSTON

The 2005 National Docent Symposium in Boston started with exciting pre‑symposium tours of many of the city’s outstanding places of interest. The official opening of the Symposium, however, was kicked off by Howard Gardner, Harvard Graduate School of Education, speaking on “Education in the Arts – Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”. Dr. Gardner is best known for his theory of multiple intelligences that can be assessed by standard psychometric instruments. During the past two decades, he and colleagues at Project Zero have been working on the design of performance-based assessments; education for understanding; the use of multiple intelligences to achieve more personalized curriculum, instruction and assessment; and the nature of interdisciplinary efforts in education. Two other distinguished speakers, Barbara Martin, Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Christine Reich, Museum of Science, Boston responded to his remarks.

There were 20 workshops offered. Everyone learned so much and wished that they could attend them all! The presenters did a wonderful job! We were so fortunate to have such wonderful presenters as Rika Burnham, Judy Murray and so many others. Docents and Staff from all over the country presented these outstanding workshops.

Off-site visits were made to eleven different locations where we also enjoyed lunch.

The evenings were unbelievable! The MFA docents put out the red carpet for us. A Gala reception at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston was held on Thursday evening. Malcolm Rogers, Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, warmly welcomed us. We enjoyed a wonderful Reception, Buffet Dinner and Gallery Tours, led by MFA Associates Guides and MFA Senior Associate Guides. Of course, the gift shop and time to explore this wonderful institution on our own was also enjoyed!

Friday evening we were treated to another wonderful Reception, Dinner Buffet and Gallery Visits at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. The Peabody Essex Museum Docents even hand crafted porcelain pins which they designed, cut and glazed for all the 500+ attendees.

Our Closing Reception and Banquet was beautiful. The food was delicious and our tables were adorned with beautiful flower arrangements. Delegates absolutely loved our guest speaker, Benjamin Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and author of “The Art of Possibility”. He was so engaging and inspiring!

The Banquet and 2005 Symposium finished with an invitation from the Docents of the Phoenix Art Museum to attend the 2007 National Docent Symposium, April 22-25th.

Boston was wonderful, but every Symposium is different. Each location makes a unique contribution to docents everywhere. The Host Institutions for our Symposia spend years preparing for these events. Not only does a lot of time and careful planning go into preparing for the Symposia, but a lot of fund raising too! You get much more than you pay for when you attend a National Docent Symposium. So thank you MFA Docents! Carolyn Creasey, Barbara Muldoon, Sarah Smith and all Boston Docents – you are the best! Thanks.

See you in Phoenix!

Gin!

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