
Recently, the parent of an incoming senior emailed us to ask about the weekend. Some of the questions voiced in her email eloquently echoed things we have heard from many, many parents across the years:
“I’m really looking forward to this learning experience, since for the last 3 years that [my child] studied at RISD, we didn’t really know what a ‘studio class from 8 in the morning till 6 at night’ was like. We didn’t understand the meaning, ‘At RISD you can choose 2 of the 3 things: work, sleep, or play.’ I get this feeling that most of the kids choose work and play. I’m not an artist or designer, so I want to understand the thinking process, and again, what do they do in studio classes from 8 to 6. I’m also very interested in learning about the ‘critiques’ in class. [My daughter] told me, ‘….the worst critique is when no one says a thing….’ Any way, as you can tell, I really don’t know much about what has been going on from Freshman to Junior year. And, now, I’m finding my daughter soon to be graduated! This will be a wonderful experience for us to understand what [she] does in school.
Well, we agree. And there are lots of options tailored to parents, from those of incoming freshman to seasoned senior students. Starting Friday, with the three part “Especially for Parents” piece of programming (where you’ll hear from the Provost, Deans and Career Center) and set of Open Classrooms, to an early Saturday coffee and pastries mixer for parents, followed by President Maeda’s panel discussion with faculty and students, and then Open Studio tours, where students will show you around (almost) every academic major department on campus. There are also special Saturday sessions with the Dean of Foundation Studies, discussing Foundation year, Res Life presentation about on campus housing options, followed by an all campus open house, and Student Life discussions with staff and students in Carr Haus, where OSL is housed. Hopefully when you’re done, you’ll understand a little better what goes on in those marathon studio sessions and crits!