A Creative Spark: The Learning About Learning Educational Foundation Exhibit
Written by Abra Schnur, University Archivist
For the past three years, the University Archives in Special Collections and Archives has been working with donors to archive the papers and materials of the The Learning About Learning Education Foundation (LAL).
Jearnine Wagner, 1960s, Director of Learning About Learning.
LAL was based out of Trinity University from 1971–1986. Programming and curriculum was developed from Trinity University’s theater director Paul Baker’s philosophy and instructional course, The Integration of Abilities. The basis of this concept focused on the development of the creative potential of children through integrated arts.The program was led by faculty member Jearnine Wagner and several Trinity graduates. It started as a series of grant projects under the name Unlimited Potential and had its early beginnings in the Baylor Children’s Theater program before Baker and faculty moved to Trinity in 1963.
LAL had joint academic support from the Education Department and Speech and Drama Department and partnered with the San Antonio Independent School District to explore practical applications of this approach in schools.
Over its 15 years, LAL operated a research lab school, created a community center, and developed a series of educational training, activities, and products for children, teachers, and parents that focused on fostering creativity, problem solving, and communication skills.
A physical exhibit of many of the donated materials is now on display in Coates Library. This exhibit is a celebration of their work, and a hope for a continuation of their concepts and principles. A digital exhibit created in 2023 with the support of Trinity’s Public History Class can be viewed here:
A digital exhibit created in 2023 with the support of Trinity’s Public History Class can be viewed here:
View the digital exhibit
Hall of Issues
As part of programming around the exhibit, the library will be hosting a “Hall of Issues,” a concept taken directly from Hemisfair’s Project Y youth pavilion that many of the LAL instructors staffed in 1968.Led by Trinity alum Israel Anderson, the original Hall of Issues was a space where young people could process their emotions from matters of the day (think Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy) through theatrical demonstrations, small group discussions, and a large wall for youth to share their thoughts.
Alum Israel Anderson as a student in the late 1960s.
Taking inspiration from this idea, the library atrium will be transformed into a Hall of Issues from April 13th–19th. Students are invited to write on the hall’s walls about matters of our day.
There will be a LAL celebration and reflection on April 18th–19th with guided tours, story recordings, a reception, and more. Mr. Anderson will reflect on the importance of the Hall of Issues, then and now, on April 18th.