I hope to inspire my students to interact with their world in powerful ways by documenting experiences, people and places that move them and then reflecting on what that means for their lives. I work in a school with k - 8th grade students who represent a wide range of income levels from very impoverished to privileged and everything in between.
As the school social worker at our school, I work with students who sometimes struggle to get their basic needs met at home (not enough food, little or no transportation, inconsistent family stability and emotional support, no money for clothes or school supplies) yet come to school and face many peers who enjoy technological and other privileges. All of the students I work with struggle, in some way, with their interactions with others and/or school.
My students will benefit in numerous ways from having access to a digital camera to do projects (of their choosing) at school. For example, they can use it as a tool to capture images, such as their own faces expressing various emotions so they can understand better how they may come across to others, to capture the faces of important people in their lives for a 'memory book' when it's time to move on, or - for students who struggle with transition, we can take pictures of their new classroom, teachers, etc., to share with them before the beginning of the year to help support them with the upcoming change. The great thing is that we have the technology here at school to support the archiving, printing and completing of projects that start with photos taken with a digital camera.
Your help will make it possible for my students to interact with their school/community/world, through technology, in lasting and powerful ways that will foster connections with the people and environment around them as well as support their emotional well being.
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