My students need portable DVD players to exhibit site-specific video projects, for exhibition within our school, in the community, and beyond.
$885 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
These days, our schools are sites of enormous contention, debate, and transformation. Students need opportunities to move out of the classroom to create relevant contemporary artwork that empowers youth voices, and engages them in a critical examination of their surroundings.
I am a Media Arts teacher at one of twelve schools in the International Network of Schools; a national network dedicated to serving recent immigrants.
Our school population is composed entirely of English Language Learners, representing almost 40 different countries and 20 different languages.
Every student comes here with a different story, but one of the most common reasons for their relocation is the opportunity for a better education. They know better than anyone else I know what it means to follow the American Dream.
As educators in this network, we strive not only to provide a quality education, but also to meet the social and emotional needs of our students, whose lives are often very much in flux. We have a consistent attendance rate of 92%, and a graduation rate that averages 65%, more than twice the number of English Language Learners that graduate from a typical American high school.
My Project
Students will identify the five most powerful locations within the school and create collaborative site-specific video installations that address the meanings embedded in the location. Students will engage in a critical examination of the site, whether it's the bathroom mirror or the Principal's office door, and work together to engage viewers in a visual and aural experience that reflects upon, questions, and challenges the habitual practices and common assumptions about the site. They will use the media tools they've learned so far this year, including photography, Super 8 film, video, animation, and sound recordings to create their projects. The work will then be exhibited at those specific sites using the Portable DVD Players and speakers requested. Once the work has been installed in the school itself, we will discuss ways to transfer the work to other locations, such as the street (turning the inside of the school out), and other galleries and institutions throughout the city.
Ironically, in the debate on schools and education, student voices often get lost.
Using the tools of contemporary art and media, this project provides an opportunity for students themselves to critically examine their surroundings, participate in the production of meaning, share their perspectives, question authority, and create a voice for change. Your donations to this project will help turn the classroom inside out!
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Paul and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
