Zoom Into My Life!

"When I say, "I teach," it means more than a job. It is a way of life. Your best days are defined by seemingly small victories - a window of comprehension, a joy in discovery. And your worst days require you to dig in and give more to find a new solution, a new opportunity.

My students live in ..." more»

"When I say, "I teach," it means more than a job. It is a way of life. Your best days are defined by seemingly small victories - a window of comprehension, a joy in discovery. And your worst days require you to dig in and give more to find a new solution, a new opportunity.

My students live in a high poverty area and don't always have a way to express who they really are. As a teacher I feel it is my job to open their eyes to new discoveries and trials and tribulations. I teach a self-contained class of 34 sixth graders, and also direct an art elective that is open to all students grades six through eight. I want to be able to bring these students something that they can't find anywhere else during this time in their life... a photography elective where they are encouraged to view the world and its many forms.

Some students can't afford backpacks, let alone digital cameras. Currently, they are drawing and painting the outside world and what it has to give, but I want them to get the opportunity to zoom into life below the rocks and higher than the trees.

School should be a place for exploration and growing with the times. Being able to take pictures and digitally edit them online, or in a computer program, can open so many doors for students who never thought they had a shot for college.

My students need six digital cameras. Though this isn't enough for all the students, they will learn to work in teams and see the world through someone else's eyes. They need quality equipment that can show their talent and exploration.

You will make it possible for my students to set aside their problems and worries, and pick up a camera where none of their problems will follow them. It's hard to be a teen in this day and age, so wouldn't it be nice to make their transition into the real world just a little bit easier? hide»