Throughout the semester I have been going to Escuela Vieau, a Hispanic elementary school in the Milwaukee area. During my service learning sessions I have come across some great students and staff. Initially, I thought that the Service Learning would be a burden on my schedule but soon after my first visit realized it was enjoyable. My time schedule was on Thursdays from 4:30-6:00 p.m., the time just flew by. After my third visit I told Ms. Montenegro how much I appreciated my time at the school. My photographs from the visits are arranged to visually describe my experiences at Escuela Vieau as I walked through the school my first couple of weeks.
First, I wanted to include the front of the building to give the feeling that those viewing my photographs are walking up to the school and walking into it, just as I had done. The second image that I included was a mural of two students holding a sheet that says “welcome and bienvenidos”. Bienvenidos means welcome in Spanish and I felt that this was my first experience of the Hispanic culture when I walked through the door.
While at Vieau, all of the staff and students are really appreciative of the Service Learning students giving their time to the school. As my third photo I included one of the staff members that I worked with. Jeanette, who is in the picture, and other staff that work through the Boys & Girls Club were extremely open to me being there. Sports and fitness was the title that I received for my contribution through Service Learning and understood that it would be coupled with crafts and game time. At Vieau, most of my time is spent in the cafeteria area learning from the kids and playing games. On separate occasions students have taught me how to speak some Spanish; it is nice learning from the students. Also, one of the games that the students taught me was Mancala. I quickly noticed that when stuck in the cafeteria; Mancala is the game to play.
I have an outside photo included as well because when the weather first started to get nice, every student wanted to get outside. This is when the sports and fitness came into play. Sports and fitness seem to play a large role in the student’s lives in and out of school. Many of the students mentioned that soccer was their favorite sport and that they participate in numerous leagues year round. I have analyzed that students socialize and meet friends through sports and games at Vieau.
This past week, the school held an Easter Bunny Night and I found great opportunities to connect not only with the students but their parents as well. The last few photographs of my slide show are the Easter Bunny Night with the students, parents and I. It was a great way to get a little better understanding about the community talking with adults. The impression that I got from talking with parents was that they are extremely grateful for the Service Learning students to spend time with their children after school. Overall, staff, students, and family members were appreciative and thankful for the efforts I put forth. My last photo of the slide show was a photo that I took at the end of the day while I was leaving Vieau; I felt the picture was an interesting ending.
After using the camera to capture my time at Vieau I became aware of cinematography, mise-en-scene and their elements. Getting a first-hand experience increased my understanding of the elements. Before taking the class I used my camera to take pictures and didn’t really think about how I could manipulate the photos via framing, focus, and the other elements. With the camera I felt that I could create certain images. Use of the camera was the hardest part of the assignment and I cannot wait to see how other students have used the camera to capture their encounters with staff, students, and families at Vieau. Personally, I feel it strange to think that I can create emotions through my subjective view of the lens.
Over the first half of the spring semester I have positive feelings towards the Service Learning portion of the class. It is satisfying to see the excitement the kids have when I show up. Also, the staff and students are always very appreciative of my time. I believe my slide show represents the school and community through interaction with the students and parents. My last thought on the community is that it has been very open to me and words cannot describe how appreciative they are.
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