Final Artist's Statement

The way I initially thought of “family” at Escuela Vieau stayed the same but in some ways I found that I could expand on my initial thoughts. I said that there were many different definitions of family and that all of them could be seen at Escuela Vieau. This is still true in my eyes and in fact I am seeing it a lot more as I continue my Service Learning. Throughout my Service Learning experiences I’ve seen a lot of children but a select few I have grown accustomed to seeing; I know their names on a personal level and know a little about them. Some of these kids have groups of friends; some of them even say that they have known each other since they were very little. To me this perfectly represents family within groups of students. The students have to get to know each other as well not just the teachers and students. Although the teacher student relationship if very important for academic advancement the student to student relationship is also important. These kids are practically siblings and I’ve noticed that they are all very comfortable around one another. As mentioned before the teacher student relationship is also important. The teacher has to get to know the children to help them to better succeed. Without this personal involvement I feel like there wouldn’t be so much drive on the student’s part to do well. Another aspect that is important is the parent involvement. Parents at Escuela Vieau seem to show interest in being a part of their children’s academic life. Some parents come down to pick up their child which to me is a true sign of interest in what their child is doing. Another is what I saw at the social events. There were a lot of families and parents that attended such events. This made me feel good that there still are parents involved. All of these aspects were represented through images in my presentation as well as my take on what I thought best portrayed each image. Whether those takes would be the student groups or the teacher student relationships or even the parent involvement. All of these factors are important in maintaining a solid school, something that even the principle has strived to do.

Family at Escuela Vieau

Journal Entry 4

The Service Learning is coming to a close now and I'd have to say that I am going to miss the kids and doing all of the arts and crafts. The last time that I went was a Tuesday and I don't normally go on Tuesdays so there was a different group of kids that I had to help. The first group was 3rd graders and then the second group was a group of five kids and they were older. I was helping them make Mother's Day cards with glitter and crayons. It was a lot of fun and a different craft other than paper mache. I really enjoyed doing this project because I got to make my mom a mother's day card for my own mother which was nice. I think that my last two Service Learnings will also be fun but sad because I know I'll never be returning and seeing the students again. For my it was a very good experience and I'm glad I stuck with it.

Media Essay Proposal

For my Film 150 Project I would like to portray family in at Escuela Vieau which is located in a diverse neighborhood. For the first part of my Film project I also focused on family and I would like to stick with that theme because I feel like I have the correct pictures and knowledge for the topic. I need to add more pictures as well as add sound and possibly a video but I feel that with the correct resources I can do that. I am excited to show my final presentation in hopes that family will be correctly displayed.

Journal Entry 3

As I wrap up my Service Learning hours at Escuela Vieau it makes me a little sad that I won't be seeing the school or the kids again. I truly have enjoyed volunteering at the school and getting to know the kids and teachers. I was hesitant to begin working there but after a couple visits I felt more comfortable with everything. Throughout the time I have met so many different kids and sometimes I wouldn’t see that student until a couple of times later but they all seem to remember who I am and what I was there for. There are some kids in particular that I know I will always remember. They truly are sweet children even though sometimes they can get a little rowdy but they all have a sense of discipline when it comes to learning and doing what they are supposed to do. Also throughout this time I have grown to see what Escuela Vieau stands for and how they demonstrate it. The Easter Event was something that I attended and enjoyed very much. I got to see the students not only interacting with their fellow classmates and teachers but their families too. This is what I based my project on with the hopes to create a project that truly reflected their great sense of family.

Representation around Escuela Vieau