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.
For the last nine years I have had the privilege of teaching Social Studies to terrific kids at a public middle school in New York City. I work with 120 students each day. Over 70% of my students are Hispanic. Recent national statistics show that this group has the nation’s highest high school drop-out rate among all groups in America. It is of great importance that I make my class interesting and relevant to them. I need to immerse them in history and find projects that make them enjoy school.
We are housed in an old building. In less than two years it will be 100 years old! While our building has been serving the community’s educational needs for nearly a century, the community around it has grown and changed. One of the ways to understand this change and our community’s history is the examination of images. We have started to collect photographs of the neighborhood and school from library, newspaper, and personal collections. The students can recognize many of the places, while they look at other images and are incredulous!
In developing their understanding of community and how it changes to meet its members’ needs, my students need to compare what was with what is. They will return to the site of the original photograph and document what exists there today by creating their own image.
As photographer Eudora Welty said, “A good snapshot stops a moment from running away.” Our community has seen many moments- why just read about them in a textbook? What can the comparisons and contrasts we find tell us? Taking photographs will deepen my students’ understanding of history and allow them to be observant and creative.
My students will love using a digital camera. Your donation will allow them to interact with history.
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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