Thursday, August 8, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Student Reviews
So I got feedback from some of the students yesterday. Some of them made me laugh!
"She cold." (apparently this is a compliment)
"She's always smiling. The happiest person I've ever met."
"She always be smilin. If there was a hurricane and everyone else was panicking, she'd be standing there smiling."
"She never get tan. We be out in the sun every day this summer and she still don't have a tan!"
"She always be smiling. She chompin her gum. All I see is gum and gums cuz she be smiling."
"She cold." (apparently this is a compliment)
"She's always smiling. The happiest person I've ever met."
"She always be smilin. If there was a hurricane and everyone else was panicking, she'd be standing there smiling."
"She never get tan. We be out in the sun every day this summer and she still don't have a tan!"
"She always be smiling. She chompin her gum. All I see is gum and gums cuz she be smiling."
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Gun violence
This week is my last week with these guys. I'm pretty sad.
One thing my eyes have been opened to during this summer is how much gun violence is going on in Chicago. If you google Chicago shooting there are news reports of numerous shootings each day. Over 4th of July weekend there were over 74 shootings. A few weeks ago there were 17 shootings from Friday night to early Monday morning. Four of them were fatal. During class on Monday one of my boys got news that one of the fatalities was his brother. It was hard to see him go through that. We sent him home and he was gone almost all week. The day he came back he was the same as always.
I check the shooting news every day to see if any of my boys were victims. It is surprising how many places you can be shot and survive - even the head. The saddest stories are the little kids who get shot. A four year old girl shot in the stomach riding her scooter, a six year old boy riding in the car with his mom, and a dad who was shot six times while putting his toddler in the car and trying to shield him. Apparently that shooting was part of his gang initiation.
The gang war is bad too and a majority of these shootings are gang related. On Thursday we went on a bowling field trip. There were over 130 boys from the different groups in the mother program. A lot of them were rival gang members. Even the group we rode with on the bus were rival members to the guys in our program. I found out on Friday that it could have been really bad. I actually thought the field trip went well. It was chaotic with that many young guys together but I thought they were pretty well behaved. Apparently I was oblivious to the tension.
We have had the leader of a community group across the street come over and complain that when our group of guys stand outside it upsets the gang members who stand on the corner. When they get upset his group has to scatter. He has called the police and now the police park outside our church to watch the corner. One day when I was driving home I turned at the corner and as I was stopping at the red light a guy walked up to my window and made his fingers into guns and "shot" them at me. I just kept driving and he followed me down the street a little. The guys in my class said he was probably messing with me, but the mentor in our group said it was probably a threat. What are you supposed to do when someone points finger guns at you? Awkward!
One thing my eyes have been opened to during this summer is how much gun violence is going on in Chicago. If you google Chicago shooting there are news reports of numerous shootings each day. Over 4th of July weekend there were over 74 shootings. A few weeks ago there were 17 shootings from Friday night to early Monday morning. Four of them were fatal. During class on Monday one of my boys got news that one of the fatalities was his brother. It was hard to see him go through that. We sent him home and he was gone almost all week. The day he came back he was the same as always.
I check the shooting news every day to see if any of my boys were victims. It is surprising how many places you can be shot and survive - even the head. The saddest stories are the little kids who get shot. A four year old girl shot in the stomach riding her scooter, a six year old boy riding in the car with his mom, and a dad who was shot six times while putting his toddler in the car and trying to shield him. Apparently that shooting was part of his gang initiation.
The gang war is bad too and a majority of these shootings are gang related. On Thursday we went on a bowling field trip. There were over 130 boys from the different groups in the mother program. A lot of them were rival gang members. Even the group we rode with on the bus were rival members to the guys in our program. I found out on Friday that it could have been really bad. I actually thought the field trip went well. It was chaotic with that many young guys together but I thought they were pretty well behaved. Apparently I was oblivious to the tension.
We have had the leader of a community group across the street come over and complain that when our group of guys stand outside it upsets the gang members who stand on the corner. When they get upset his group has to scatter. He has called the police and now the police park outside our church to watch the corner. One day when I was driving home I turned at the corner and as I was stopping at the red light a guy walked up to my window and made his fingers into guns and "shot" them at me. I just kept driving and he followed me down the street a little. The guys in my class said he was probably messing with me, but the mentor in our group said it was probably a threat. What are you supposed to do when someone points finger guns at you? Awkward!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Nice White Lady
So I'm in the middle of the third week. Halfway done! My students are doing so well. They are really catching on and some have a lot of talent. We are finishing up all the basics and the next few weeks they will be honing their skills. We are also finally approved to leave campus. We will be renting a bus and driving to different work sites around Chicago to photograph before and afters for the program One Summer Chicago. I'm really hoping it goes well and we don't have any major problems away from campus.
Today I made a rookie teacher mistake. We had half an hour of class left and the boys had pretty much had enough. We were critiquing the photos we had taken that day. One boy would not stop talking. He would argue with other kids to the point they would ask me to stop talking so they could argue. So I told him that if he wanted to talk during my class he could just teach the rest of the class and lead the critique/discussion. Well he took my seat and started talking in a girly voice mocking me. "Oh who took this photo! I just have to know! I just love it! Look at these lines!" etc etc.
At first I laughed out of embarrassment thinking surely I don't sound like that! Ha! But I started asking him to explain some hard concepts and eventually he took it more seriously. He ended up leading until the very end, but I felt like it backfired and none of them were taking it seriously. Next time I think I will just kick him out.
I have one boy in my class who takes it very seriously. He's the one who just graduated and is going to attend college in the Fall. I found out that after the first day of class he went home and Googled the user manual for the camera so he would know how to use it! I couldn't believe it! If he continues to apply himself he will go far in life.
My sister sent this to me.
Today I made a rookie teacher mistake. We had half an hour of class left and the boys had pretty much had enough. We were critiquing the photos we had taken that day. One boy would not stop talking. He would argue with other kids to the point they would ask me to stop talking so they could argue. So I told him that if he wanted to talk during my class he could just teach the rest of the class and lead the critique/discussion. Well he took my seat and started talking in a girly voice mocking me. "Oh who took this photo! I just have to know! I just love it! Look at these lines!" etc etc.
At first I laughed out of embarrassment thinking surely I don't sound like that! Ha! But I started asking him to explain some hard concepts and eventually he took it more seriously. He ended up leading until the very end, but I felt like it backfired and none of them were taking it seriously. Next time I think I will just kick him out.
I have one boy in my class who takes it very seriously. He's the one who just graduated and is going to attend college in the Fall. I found out that after the first day of class he went home and Googled the user manual for the camera so he would know how to use it! I couldn't believe it! If he continues to apply himself he will go far in life.
My sister sent this to me.
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Cops and Gangs
I teach in the basement of a church. Outside it has a grassy courtyard and across the street is a high school. The football field is right there so it is a large open area all around. Next to the church is the parish house and behind it is several rows of public housing.
The boys would like to venture out to photograph other places but they are too afraid to cross gang boundaries. Yesterday when we were shooting in the courtyard the cops kept driving by. They finally stopped and asked to talk to us. The class has a mentor from their restorative justice program so he explained who the boys were and what my class was about. They asked if we have had any problems which we haven't. They were worried because we were out there with cameras.
One of the boys said the gangs have already seen us and our cameras and it is only a matter of time before they try to jump us. That's why they want to shoot at other locations. Since it is a wide open area we can see when someone is walking in the area. As soon as we see someone all of the boys put their cameras down and look at the ground. They stop talking and wait for the people to leave. A lot of times these people are way across the football field so there is no way they could hear them or even see them clearly, but the boys are afraid. Even the little neighborhood boys will suddenly take off on their bikes down the alleys.
The boys all want to be rappers and YouTube stars. The pastor has an Escalade parked at the parish house so they took turns recording their rap videos in front of it. They wanted me to be in the video. Can you imagine this white girl trying to dance and ruin it! Haha!
The boys would like to venture out to photograph other places but they are too afraid to cross gang boundaries. Yesterday when we were shooting in the courtyard the cops kept driving by. They finally stopped and asked to talk to us. The class has a mentor from their restorative justice program so he explained who the boys were and what my class was about. They asked if we have had any problems which we haven't. They were worried because we were out there with cameras.
One of the boys said the gangs have already seen us and our cameras and it is only a matter of time before they try to jump us. That's why they want to shoot at other locations. Since it is a wide open area we can see when someone is walking in the area. As soon as we see someone all of the boys put their cameras down and look at the ground. They stop talking and wait for the people to leave. A lot of times these people are way across the football field so there is no way they could hear them or even see them clearly, but the boys are afraid. Even the little neighborhood boys will suddenly take off on their bikes down the alleys.
The boys all want to be rappers and YouTube stars. The pastor has an Escalade parked at the parish house so they took turns recording their rap videos in front of it. They wanted me to be in the video. Can you imagine this white girl trying to dance and ruin it! Haha!
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
I'm teaching(?)
In June I was hired to teach photography at a non profit org that services at risk youth in Chicago's south side. I spent two weeks preparing my curriculum and lesson plans. I had to write everything from scratch. Yesterday was the first day the kids came.
Yesterday was chaotic. So far the entire program has been unorganized. I'm still not certain our exact schedule because it changes daily, sometimes several times per day. The kids who came yesterday were all from a restorative justice program. They are taking this class or going to jail. They are all boys aged 16-18. There was only one boy who I was hoping wouldn't be in my class. The group was going to be split into my class, photography, and my partners class, graphic design.
Today we split the class based on what the boys wanted to do. I ended up with 7 boys and the other teacher only got 4. Not sure how that happened exactly but I guess I will make it work. The boy I didn't want in my class is, but he's not the worst.
They all want to be rappers, pro football players, pro basketball players, and club owners. There are two boys in my class who have potential. One wants to own his own construction business. The other just graduated from high school and is starting at community college in the fall and plans to transfer to a four year university. He is the most committed to the program and the most respectful.
I had prepared a simple syllabus but none of them could read it. So I started my lectures and they were bored. I don't blame them because history is not always fun, but it's important. After the second hour one boy asked me when I was going to start teaching them something. Ugh! I felt like I wasted hours of planning but I'm not taking it personally.
The only thing that perks these boys up is if you talk about money. I have to keep steering my class back to "well if you do this, you can make money!" I showed them my portfolio. They weren't too impressed, and when I showed them an example of family photography they said "Oh! They UGLY! Where they from?" Haha I had to laugh at that.
I decided that we will learn photography basics and hope to have a portfolio of at least 10 images by the end of the course. I'm also adding a business planning section. We will make a mock business and figure out how much to charge, who our clients are, and how many clients we need to make a profit. I hope they enjoy that part since they can use the business plan when they are done.
The goal of the program is two-fold. One is to teach them a skill they can use to help them make money. The second is to keep them off the streets and safe. If they don't learn anything at all from me, at least I know there were 7 boys off the streets for 6 hours each day.
Tomorrow we are going to attempt to walk to the library. One boy (that one) doesn't want to go because it's in gang territory he doesn't belong in. I'm a little nervous to say the least.
Yesterday was chaotic. So far the entire program has been unorganized. I'm still not certain our exact schedule because it changes daily, sometimes several times per day. The kids who came yesterday were all from a restorative justice program. They are taking this class or going to jail. They are all boys aged 16-18. There was only one boy who I was hoping wouldn't be in my class. The group was going to be split into my class, photography, and my partners class, graphic design.
Today we split the class based on what the boys wanted to do. I ended up with 7 boys and the other teacher only got 4. Not sure how that happened exactly but I guess I will make it work. The boy I didn't want in my class is, but he's not the worst.
They all want to be rappers, pro football players, pro basketball players, and club owners. There are two boys in my class who have potential. One wants to own his own construction business. The other just graduated from high school and is starting at community college in the fall and plans to transfer to a four year university. He is the most committed to the program and the most respectful.
I had prepared a simple syllabus but none of them could read it. So I started my lectures and they were bored. I don't blame them because history is not always fun, but it's important. After the second hour one boy asked me when I was going to start teaching them something. Ugh! I felt like I wasted hours of planning but I'm not taking it personally.
The only thing that perks these boys up is if you talk about money. I have to keep steering my class back to "well if you do this, you can make money!" I showed them my portfolio. They weren't too impressed, and when I showed them an example of family photography they said "Oh! They UGLY! Where they from?" Haha I had to laugh at that.
I decided that we will learn photography basics and hope to have a portfolio of at least 10 images by the end of the course. I'm also adding a business planning section. We will make a mock business and figure out how much to charge, who our clients are, and how many clients we need to make a profit. I hope they enjoy that part since they can use the business plan when they are done.
The goal of the program is two-fold. One is to teach them a skill they can use to help them make money. The second is to keep them off the streets and safe. If they don't learn anything at all from me, at least I know there were 7 boys off the streets for 6 hours each day.
Tomorrow we are going to attempt to walk to the library. One boy (that one) doesn't want to go because it's in gang territory he doesn't belong in. I'm a little nervous to say the least.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Monday, March 4, 2013
Hi!
Just looked at my blog and I haven't written anything since October. 2012 was a slow blogging year too. So I wanted to pop on and say hello.
Hi.
We have had a busy winter. Luckily no one got the Chicago flu, but we have all gotten sick the last month. After hoping that I would get better on my own, but 3 weeks later, I finally went to a doc-in-the-box. The doctor wasn't there so I saw the "virtual doctor"
It was really cool. There was a medical assistant who took my blood pressure, pulse, and temperature. She added those to the computer as well as my symptoms. Then the stethoscope was attached to the computer so she would just hit record and then record my heart sounds. Same with my lung sounds.
The otoscope was also connected to the computer. She would take a picture of my ears and throat and saved them to the computer too. This was really cool because she showed me where my eardrum was and where the fluid was bulging behind it. If I worked there I would check my ears out every day!
Then she submitted it all to the doctor. There were three other locations and whichever had a doctor available first would review it. In less than 5 minutes a doctor in Peoria was skyping me. He asked about my history and said that it looked like I just had an upper resp. infection. He sent in a prescription and waited for it to go through and then signed off.
I paid $39 and was on my way. The future of medicine is seeing a robot doctor. :)
Hi.
We have had a busy winter. Luckily no one got the Chicago flu, but we have all gotten sick the last month. After hoping that I would get better on my own, but 3 weeks later, I finally went to a doc-in-the-box. The doctor wasn't there so I saw the "virtual doctor"
It was really cool. There was a medical assistant who took my blood pressure, pulse, and temperature. She added those to the computer as well as my symptoms. Then the stethoscope was attached to the computer so she would just hit record and then record my heart sounds. Same with my lung sounds.
The otoscope was also connected to the computer. She would take a picture of my ears and throat and saved them to the computer too. This was really cool because she showed me where my eardrum was and where the fluid was bulging behind it. If I worked there I would check my ears out every day!
Then she submitted it all to the doctor. There were three other locations and whichever had a doctor available first would review it. In less than 5 minutes a doctor in Peoria was skyping me. He asked about my history and said that it looked like I just had an upper resp. infection. He sent in a prescription and waited for it to go through and then signed off.
I paid $39 and was on my way. The future of medicine is seeing a robot doctor. :)
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