Children's Learning

Laurie Long:

I noticed some intangible things. From the beginning of the project to the end, it seemed like the children developed more of a visual vocabulary, in the way they saw photographs and how they interpreted them. I think they embraced the idea of the project, to photograph something special and then to write about the image, articulating why their specific selection was special to them.

I think the students viewed the project as an opportunity to document something important in their lives and I believe that they now think of a photograph as much more than just a snapshot, that it - the photograph - is a vehicle for expressing an idea or feeling. I hesitate to regard our collaboration as an art class, it wasn't a practical art class, it was more of a conceptual art class. So when reviewing the process, it's difficult for me to say 'Oh they learned this specific skill,' what I really hoped to impart was something more conceptual.

A lot of people have stereotypical ideas about what an art class is - about learning techniques. This was an opportunity to engage the children's interest in making art. To illustrate to them that you can make art from something in your own life, and that each childs's life is a subject that is valid and worthy. I think it's much more interesting if the children are able to develop an idea and are intrigued by it. The postcard was a medium that was accessible to all of the students. Because they all had varying degrees of familiarity with postcards they were not intimidated by the concept of using it as the media for the project.