Artist's Statement

While working at Escuela Vieau through the Boys and Girls Club I instantly became aware of the tight knit “family” at the school. Family has a lot of definitions and you can find pretty much any sort of family at the school. The student’s biological families being one of them. It is very difficult for a student to perform well at school without the help of a good stable support group at home to guide and direct them in the right path. Now I helped out with arts and crafts as a part of the afterschool enrichment program. The kids always have fun and seem to enjoy what they are doing. When it is time for the student to leave some parents will physically come down to where the child is and pick them up. In my opinion this is a great sign that parental care is alive and well at Escuela Vieau. Sometimes the parents will talk to the teachers, another sign that the teachers are involved and doing their job at the school. Another aspect I noticed was the teachers. A school wouldn’t be a school without the teachers. These teachers do a fantastic job at what they do. They make sure every student is accounted for and doing the task at hand as well as keep them under control. Students are at school for long amounts of time during the week, the teachers become the parents in sense. The students get to know the teachers and the teachers get to know the students. I noticed that the teachers know all the kids names as well as their personalities. This is an evident sign of what a “family” is all about. I’ve also noticed that the teachers take great responsibility in what they do on a daily basis. Everything is extremely organized and put together. The teachers know what they are supposed to do and how to get it done. This helps the students to understand what they are doing and in turn helps the students to have fun and develop a family atmosphere. Another that is quite clear is all the posters and signs hanging up in the hallways. One sign just plainly says family therefore Escuela Vieau is aware that family is an important aspect of growing up and developing into young adults. This to me is very important because you should never forget your family or where you came from.