My Big Thoughts: I just wanted to revisit my Photovoice paper because I recently read an article in the The Providence Journal, Tuesday February 4th edition that was relevant to a question I posed in my project. One of my pictures was of my daughter being read to and I asked myself (because the picture wasn't responding), what happens when this stage of literacy is missed in a child's development? The article" Getting the word out" by Alisha A. Pina addresses this very question in an interesting way. Providence school system was awarded a $5 million grant to developed a program designed to improve low-income children's vocabulary. Children wear a vest containing a device that monitors the number of words they hear daily using computer software that is then downloaded for analysis. It is like a "word pedometer" that encourages parents/caregivers to engage their child in conversation so that he/she can reach the estimated 21,000 word daily allowance needed for their vocabulary to develop at the appropriate pace. Coaches visit the volunteer households to show parents/caregivers how to use the device and also model how to read to children, ask questions, describe pictures and encourage repetition etc. Based on this article, I can infer (note application of literacy skills here), that the answer to my question is "A GAP". If the goal of this program is to "ensure that more of our young children enter Providence kindergarten classroom ready for success", then there must be a ginormous amount of studies out there that suggest READING and TALKING to your child is crucial for cognitive development or Bloomberg would not have given $5 million to support the initial grant proposal. I hope the program proves successful and it reaches its goal of 500 families. And may I end with a plug for FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN as well? This is Tamara, checking out.
I also noticed a connection to Photovoice this week while I was reading an article on PBS’s website that discussed how food stamps recipients took photos to document their struggles to obtain nutritional, affordable food via a project called “Hunger Through My Lens.” The article is well worth the read and I was very moved by the photos, some of which can be found in the link to the article here: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/picturing-hunger-in-america/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=pbsofficial&utm_campaign=newshour
I didn’t realize when first reading the subject matter of the article that the “Hunger Through My Lens” project is actually based on the Photovoice project model. I learned this when I decided to browse further on their home site here: http://www.hungerfreecolorado.org/news/hunger-through-my-lens.html
While I was looking at some of the photos, the importance of a strong caption really struck me. I struggled when I had to caption my own photos of literacy in my community. In hindsight, I think part of why I struggled was that my photos were actually very positive. With an obvious lack of conflict or tension in the photo, I found that even when following the Photovoice protocol, the final result of the caption was somewhat lackluster. It doesn’t necessarily move the viewer emotionally in the same way to see a grandmother reading to her granddaughter as it might to see a baby in a room with no books.
The “Hunger Through My Lens” project is very engaging and made me think about all of the students in are in our collective care as educators who may come to our classroom hungry. What would their photos look like if we asked them to document the presence or lack of food in their lives? Would there be photos of empty kitchen cabinets? All organic products? A quarter, nickel and dime on a table showing how much they pay for school lunch? A backpack filled with food given by their school that is supposed to last the weekend? A value meal from McDonald’s or snacks on chips and soda? Reading this article and seeing some of the photo projects has reminded me just how complex it is to teach the whole child as their backgrounds and needs may vary so greatly.
After my post on February 12, I was listening to NPR radio on February 18 that was discussing the project Marissa commented on and I also immediately connected it to the photovoice project. It was very interesting listening to the power of the project as the participants described their pictures and the stories they captured. Later, I went on the posted link to view the pictures. My reaction was very different, to see hunger in America is so much more powerful than hearing it. The stories on the radio move you emotionally, but the pictures speak so forcibly without saying a word. Another connection to our class introduction of photovoice is the feminist reading of this Colorado project. The video cameras were all given to women --something further to think about if you click on the link Marissa gave and view the images. As for using this in my classroom, my students have to write a research paper on a current world topic 4th quarter. World Hunger has been at the forefront of some of the current events my student's have been bringing in to discuss throughout the year, viewing this gallery of photos taken by women in America would make them realize more than my words or any article, hunger is not just a Third World epidemic. Photovoice has captured my attention and I know I will be creating an assignment that asks students to research their world through a different lens.
Not to be annoying and completely self-promote, but I am super proud that I participated in a program that was somewhat similar... I used to work for Inspiring Minds AmeriCorps (two years ago... that was before I came to Quest Montessori). I worked with Tier 3 Math and Literacy interventions at Sackett Elementary... we did a lot of data analysis to provide direct instruction and hopefully help bridge the gaps the students had in school. However, Inspiring Minds also has a really fantastic PreK program to bridge the gaps students have before entering Kindergarten (even that pesky skill of sitting still in a seat in order to learn). They work on letter names and sounds, numbers, colors, shapes, phonemic awareness, calendar skills, and more. The data is so impressive when you see the progress they make in that short span of time before entering K. Check out the link below to see what this amazing nonprofit is doing with our neediest kids =)
Thank you for the link Corinne, I definitely want to write about where Photovoice has taken me in my final paper for this class and the information your link provides will add to my thoughts. My sister is in an Early Education Program at RIC right now to gain another certification in education and the conversations we have been having about the "gap" beginning so early in a child's development may take me in a new direction as I figure out where I want to go with my continuing education.
My Big Thoughts:
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to revisit my Photovoice paper because I recently read an article in the The Providence Journal, Tuesday February 4th edition that was relevant to a question I posed in my project. One of my pictures was of my daughter being read to and I asked myself (because the picture wasn't responding), what happens when this stage of literacy is missed in a child's development? The article" Getting the word out" by Alisha A. Pina addresses this very question in an interesting way. Providence school system was awarded a $5 million grant to developed a program designed to improve low-income children's vocabulary. Children wear a vest containing a device that monitors the number of words they hear daily using computer software that is then downloaded for analysis. It is like a "word pedometer" that encourages parents/caregivers to engage their child in conversation so that he/she can reach the estimated 21,000 word daily allowance needed for their vocabulary to develop at the appropriate pace. Coaches visit the volunteer households to show parents/caregivers how to use the device and also model how to read to children, ask questions, describe pictures and encourage repetition etc. Based on this article, I can infer (note application of literacy skills here), that the answer to my question is "A GAP". If the goal of this program is to "ensure that more of our young children enter Providence kindergarten classroom ready for success", then there must be a ginormous amount of studies out there that suggest READING and TALKING to your child is crucial for cognitive development or Bloomberg would not have given $5 million to support the initial grant proposal. I hope the program proves successful and it reaches its goal of 500 families. And may I end with a plug for FULL DAY KINDERGARTEN as well? This is Tamara, checking out.
I also noticed a connection to Photovoice this week while I was reading an article on PBS’s website that discussed how food stamps recipients took photos to document their struggles to obtain nutritional, affordable food via a project called “Hunger Through My Lens.” The article is well worth the read and I was very moved by the photos, some of which can be found in the link to the article here:
Deletehttp://www.pbs.org/newshour/art/picturing-hunger-in-america/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=pbsofficial&utm_campaign=newshour
I didn’t realize when first reading the subject matter of the article that the “Hunger Through My Lens” project is actually based on the Photovoice project model. I learned this when I decided to browse further on their home site here:
http://www.hungerfreecolorado.org/news/hunger-through-my-lens.html
While I was looking at some of the photos, the importance of a strong caption really struck me. I struggled when I had to caption my own photos of literacy in my community. In hindsight, I think part of why I struggled was that my photos were actually very positive. With an obvious lack of conflict or tension in the photo, I found that even when following the Photovoice protocol, the final result of the caption was somewhat lackluster. It doesn’t necessarily move the viewer emotionally in the same way to see a grandmother reading to her granddaughter as it might to see a baby in a room with no books.
The “Hunger Through My Lens” project is very engaging and made me think about all of the students in are in our collective care as educators who may come to our classroom hungry. What would their photos look like if we asked them to document the presence or lack of food in their lives? Would there be photos of empty kitchen cabinets? All organic products? A quarter, nickel and dime on a table showing how much they pay for school lunch? A backpack filled with food given by their school that is supposed to last the weekend? A value meal from McDonald’s or snacks on chips and soda? Reading this article and seeing some of the photo projects has reminded me just how complex it is to teach the whole child as their backgrounds and needs may vary so greatly.
After my post on February 12, I was listening to NPR radio on February 18 that was discussing the project Marissa commented on and I also immediately connected it to the photovoice project. It was very interesting listening to the power of the project as the participants described their pictures and the stories they captured. Later, I went on the posted link to view the pictures. My reaction was very different, to see hunger in America is so much more powerful than hearing it. The stories on the radio move you emotionally, but the pictures speak so forcibly without saying a word. Another connection to our class introduction of photovoice is the feminist reading of this Colorado project. The video cameras were all given to women --something further to think about if you click on the link Marissa gave and view the images. As for using this in my classroom, my students have to write a research paper on a current world topic 4th quarter. World Hunger has been at the forefront of some of the current events my student's have been bringing in to discuss throughout the year, viewing this gallery of photos taken by women in America would make them realize more than my words or any article, hunger is not just a Third World epidemic. Photovoice has captured my attention and I know I will be creating an assignment that asks students to research their world through a different lens.
DeleteNot to be annoying and completely self-promote, but I am super proud that I participated in a program that was somewhat similar... I used to work for Inspiring Minds AmeriCorps (two years ago... that was before I came to Quest Montessori). I worked with Tier 3 Math and Literacy interventions at Sackett Elementary... we did a lot of data analysis to provide direct instruction and hopefully help bridge the gaps the students had in school. However, Inspiring Minds also has a really fantastic PreK program to bridge the gaps students have before entering Kindergarten (even that pesky skill of sitting still in a seat in order to learn). They work on letter names and sounds, numbers, colors, shapes, phonemic awareness, calendar skills, and more. The data is so impressive when you see the progress they make in that short span of time before entering K. Check out the link below to see what this amazing nonprofit is doing with our neediest kids =)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.inspiringmindsri.org/matriarch/default.asp
Thank you for the link Corinne, I definitely want to write about where Photovoice has taken me in my final paper for this class and the information your link provides will add to my thoughts. My sister is in an Early Education Program at RIC right now to gain another certification in education and the conversations we have been having about the "gap" beginning so early in a child's development may take me in a new direction as I figure out where I want to go with my continuing education.
ReplyDelete