Wendy Ewald's photographic
work with children inspired me long before I became
a teacher. The book, I DREAMED
I HAD A GIRL IN MY POCKET; stories and photographs by the children of
Vichya, India, gripped me. The images captured and
stories written by the children of Vichya, India
provided windows into their dreams, experiences,
thoughts, families and lives. Often these children
felt their experiences were unworthy of photographing.
But the process of documenting their surroundings
and writing about them validated their lives and
made their stories important.
The children I work
with at Edward Smith Elementary School share much
with their counterparts in India. They search for
ways to interpret their world and find a place to
fit into it. They often feel that their stories lack
importance and worth. But, just like in Vichya, India,
when these fifth graders participated in the Literacy
through Photography program it opened windows of
their lives for all of us to see and created a transformation
in the process. As a teacher, I expected the work
of these students to expose an inner life, but the
richness and complexity I found surprised me. As
Ewald says in her book, I WANNA TAKE ME A PICTURE, "Photography can create moments
of authentic collaboration between teachers and students,
moments when a deeper understanding of the lives
of others emerges." And that is exactly what
happened to me. When a child shows you a picture
of his mom studying at the dining room table and
shares that his wish is for her to graduate collage,
the intimacy of that moment and the insight connects
you. When a little girl takes a picture of herself,
arm around her autistic sister, and writes "I
wish my sister would talk one day" you enter
her life and take a part of it with you.
It is the
gift of personal connection to others that the students
and I take from this experience that is so inspiring.
The opportunity for a child to express aspects of
his/ her life and have them heard, seen and validated
by those around him creates an authentic human connection
that all of us, young and old, yearn for.
Mary Lynn Mahan
Art Teacher
Ed Smith Elementary School |
