BACKGROUND
While the Zimmer Children’s Museum was creating opportunities for children and their families to learn about "BIG IDEAS," artist Ed Massey was bringing social commentary art into the public eye to elicit discourse about important social issues. At the same time, a UCLA national study of 250,000 college freshmen, found that students were increasingly interested in education as a means for making money rather than as a path to learning, personal development or social change. The study also emphasized the lack of student interest in social issues and their ambivalence about the democratic process.
In 1997, Bernie Massey (President of the Center for American Studies and Culture) and Esther Netter (the Zimmer Museum’s Executive Director), excited by their common focus and the impact of Ed Massey’s art, coupled with their concern about UCLA’s findings, began to explore ideas for developing curriculum using the art of Ed Massey, making new opportunities available to students that foster critical thinking and civic involvement. Together, Massey and Netter developed the initial concepts for youTHink, and piloted the program in several schools. Initial funding came from the Cummings and Astor Foundations.
The response to the program was so enthusiastic that funding was secured to formally launch the youTHink program. Its first director, Shifra Teitelbaum, was hired in the summer of 1999. The Zimmer received funding from the California Arts Council in 1999 and 2000, and from the State Office of the Secretary of Education in 2001, to expand the program throughout California. Since its formal launch in 1999, youTHink has expanded to become a statewide program offering a variety of services annually to more than 3,000 youth. youTHink has also served more than 2,000 educators and community partners throughout the country since the program’s inception.
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