At some time or another in this blog I will respond to comments on my project, and I will come up with a picture/logo that best summarizes my project, and post it.
A picture says a million words…
In the picture that I have chosen, there are 4 children who seem to be very intrigued by whatever they are looking at, or listening to. They are about 10 or 11 years old, and 3 of them are girls of African ethnicity, while the other child is a boy of Asian ethnicity. I was assuming that they were either watching a video of some sort, or being read to or talked to from someone that is older then them, with something very interesting to say. None of these children seem to be from a family with wealth; actually they seem to be from a family who may be struggling. If you look at the children closely, you will notice features of children of low stature. The first thing that I noticed when I look at this picture was the hair style that the 3 girls have. All of their hair is messed up and looks like it about 3 days old, especially the girl that is all the way to the right in the photo. Then there is the fact that the children have their fingers in their mouths. This suggested to me, and this may not be a good assumption but they seem to be the children who are seeking comfort of some sort. I came up with this analogy by what I have seen from people that I have encountered who suck their thumbs. These were the quiet kids who would isolate themselves, and be bad. I just doesn’t seem like I would see a child that I from a wealthy family sucking their thumb, especially in what seem to be a class like atmosphere. This is why I came up with this assumption. Then my last indication that these children were not of high status is because the girl that is closer in the image and the girls that is furthest to the right, they seem to be lacking sleep. If you look at their eyes, they are a little puffy, and they have rings around their eyes. In most households of low stature parents are not as strict when it comes to bed times and making sure that their children are sleep by a certain time. And all of these reasons are the reasons that I feel that these children are from families of low stature.
Now, all of this relates to my project because these are the type of children that I want to reach. At the same time, because the children look to be indulged in whatever it is that they are looking at, I imagine myself as the person who is just left of the picture. I want to be the person who is talking to the children and have them so intrigued about anything positive. I would either be reading to the children, just telling them a story, or letting them watch a movie. However, what this photo doesn’t show or suggest is that there would be more of a direct interaction between me, and the children. In the photo it seems as if the children are looking up from the floor, as if there person that they are looking at is standing up. In my case, I would like to either sit on the floor with them or we would all sit at the same table. This way it creates a level of friendship that is better, I think. We will want to pose as more of a friend of the children, then as a teacher or an authority figure, because they have negative reputation from a child’s point of view. Also, in the organization that I want to start, I want the children to be able to express themselves more then me just talking to them about the things that I want them to hear. I think that one of the most important things about reaching a child is about knowing the child, and listening to the child so that the child will feel comfortable with you and it also creates some type of trust between you and the child. I want the children to be able to come to me and feel free to talk about the problems, and the good things that are going in their lives. I don’t want to seem as if I am trying to be a Dr. Phil impersonator or anything, but I just want to provide this sort of safe haven for the children so that we, the organization, can provide help and comfort for the children in need. I don’t know how this is going to work exactly, of course, but it will be our duty to fill whatever void the child has.
This paragraph is somewhat of a side note.
I feel as though I am taking some artistic literature, if it even exists, because I am analyzing and critiquing this photo as though I were an art major or something. Maybe I should go on to talk about the lighting of the room, and the importance of the colors the children are wearing or the colors that are in the background. Sorry, to the reader that this blog was not more interesting but when I saw this photo, these were all the thoughts that went through my head in like the first 3 minutes. Then, I think that it is a really good photo by the photographer, as they capture the essence of the expression that the children have on their faces as they gander at whatever it is just off the left side of the page. The photo also does a good job of creating this whole atmosphere, and feeling of being in that room, with just the picture of the 3 girls. But hey that’s enough about that; I’m going to let you go on to reading my next blog, next week…

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 30th, 2005 at 6:56 am and is filed under Project Progress, Week 05: Respond & Logo. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.