Stories from Fondwa to Fishers

I am an educator and a photographer.  I went to school to learn how to be an teacher and to develop my classroom skills.  I am learning how to be a photographer by watching, doing, failing, and trying again in the ongoing effort to improve this skill.

Fondwa, Haiti

Need a photo studio?  Problem solved!

Recently, I had the opportunity to travel to Fondwa, Haiti, to visit Fatima Orphanage, where for seven days I would be without electricity, running water, or a hospital.  Sounds great, huh?  I thought so, too, so off I went for a wifi-free week, leaving behind my husband and two preschool daughters.     

There were many moments on the trip that I will not forget, but one in particular sticks with me. While at the orphanage, I was bombarded by children incredibly curious about my "machine,” my camera.  They touched and talked about it constantly.  They soon learned that if I took their picture, they could immediately see the results on the digital screen.

After a time of taking pictures and showing them to students, I noticed a crowd begin to gather around my impromptu photo booth.  That's when I saw this shot. Their shoes were dirty, but their socks and uniforms were spotless.

What will be the life stories of these children?
Who will help them tell their stories?

Behind each pair of shoes is a story.  These children traveled many different routes to end up standing right where they were when this image was taken.  They are different ages and genders and have different interests.  They may not be related, yet they all live all together and care for one another as if they are family.  

What makes a family?
This question is especially intriguing when at an orphanage.
 

These children ache to touch, feel, explore, wonder, and learn. These feet belong to a group of children who are curious and capable.  At the time, I wondered about the life stories of these children: “Where will these feet take them?”

The picture of the feet is one of my favorite photographs from my trip, and the one I plan to hang in my office.

Fishers, Indiana

At a meeting this past week, I saw a series of intriguing pictures created by HSE students.  They were beautiful black and white images of hands, eyes, mouths, ears, and feet.  

Georgi Coldren's second graders created this display
based on the book The Best Part of Me.

These pictures came from students at Cumberland Road Elementary.  The class had read The Best Part of Me by award winning photographer Wendy Ewald.  The students discussed the book and turned this activity into a community-building project in order to get to know one another at a deeper level. They all decided to capture the "best part of them" and to write why. That is a story worth telling! 

The cover of Wendy Ewald's book

As I looked at the images of the HSE students, I asked myself the same kind of question I did last summer in Haiti, "What are the stories behind these images?"

Creativity and Telling Stories

Those children in Haiti and those children in CRES are just like my own two at home, and they are just like the thousands who walk through our doors in HSE.  Each student has a story to tell, and teachers can help give them voice.

Fatima's girls at home.
What story will they write?

This past summer at Launching INquiry, I had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Justin Tarte.  He recently posted this:

We live in a world that is changing more rapidly than ever before.  To thrive, children must learn to design innovative solutions to unexpected problems. Their success and satisfaction will be based on their ability to think and act creatively. Knowledge alone is not enough; they must learn how to use their knowledge creatively. 

We can help our student thrive by helping them create and innovate and by helping them tell their stories.  We can document their learning when we capture their stories for display. Our classrooms, our display cases, and our hallways should be packed with student-created images that show authentic inquiry, as well as play and innovation.  

I challenge each of us to go beyond simply capturing the images.  Have students tell the stories behind the images.  And teachers, we need to tell the stories of what is happening in our classrooms and in our schools as well.

Collectively, our walls and halls can tell the story of our HSE²¹ journey.  

Whether they live in Fondwa or Fishers,
our children have stories to tell!

 Respond to Fatima at frich@hse.k12.in.us

We hope you create and tell wonderful stories this week, HSE!

Your HSE Teaching and Learning Team

• Jan Combs, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning
• Stephanie Loane, Director of Elementary Education
• Tom Bell, Director of Special Education
• Jeff Harrison, Director of Educational Technology
• Phil Lederach, Director of Secondary Education

Justin Tarte will be with us on November 8 for our school
wide professional development.  For more about Dr. Tarte,
visit his website:
Life of an Educator