TEACHING+PHOTOVOICE+TO+URBAN+YOUTH



__Picturing a Writing Process: Photovoice and Teaching Writing to Urban Youth __ by Kristen Zenkov and James Harmon  Kristen Zenkov and James Harmon are veteran English teachers who work in an urban district. They were troubled by the lack of interest and value students in their school placed on getting an education. School and home life were so different that students were not able to relate to the curriculum. " Our goal was to help students develop richer connections to the constructive potential of their English class tasks by illustrating the tasks' larger relationships to school." (Harmon, Zenkov, 2009, p.575) "Through Students Eyes" (TSE) was a program that used photovoice method to allow secondary students who lived in poverty and were of diverse backgrounds the opportunity to use photographs and reflections to explain what they believed was the purpose of school and the successes and failures of their school achievement. One hundred middle and high school students of Caucasian, African American, Asian American, and Latino/a descent participated in this program. Most students were on the track to graduating from high school, although the majority of their parents were high school dropouts. The school was the home base for the English as a Second Language program and there were over 200 ethnicities represented. Many ninth grade students in this school performed on the fifth grade level for reading. (Zenkov, 2009, p.577) Students were given a point and click or digital camera and were told to take pictures for four months to a year, keeping in mind the following questions:

1. What are the purposes of school? 2. What helps you succed in school? 3. What gets in the way of your school sucess? (Zenkov, 2009, p.577)

The goal of this project was to promote understanding among teachers, administration, and the community of the points of view of urban youth.The students pieces were given to school administration and teachers, to members of the community and posted in public areas. Students met on Saturdays with mentors who looked at the pictures and discussed the contents with the student. The student would then write for 15 -20 minutes and then conference again with a mentor. Students wrote about out of school activities, gangs, responsibilities to their families and their jobs. Through their research, the authors found that teachers often ignored opportunities to connect writing to the students' everyday lives. " While many teachers may believe that we are helping youth by not engaging with these real-world issues as writing topics, these young people are already considering these on a minute-by-minute basis." (Zenkov, 2009, p.579) Researchers also found that students want to be able to use their writing in the community, specifically for your children they are often responsible for watching. Due to family dynamics, these students are often caretakers for your siblings and relatives and they expressed a hope that these children would be more successful in school. "...these young adults shared a resignation about their inabilities to engage with school literacy activities. But they expressed a hope they could serve as mentors for their young family members, interrupting the cycle of school failure." (Zenkov, 2009, p.581) Lastly, researchers found that the writing process cannot be completed in 40 minutes. These students need to revise and reword pieces several times. Group editing and conferencing also seemed to be beneficial and helped cement comprehension. Students from urban areas can become proficient writers if teachers take the time needed to guide them through the writing process. One on one mentoring, group work, appropriate time for revisions and an understanding of the students's situation by the teacher are all tools that can be used to bridge the gap between home and school life and to give meaning to the tasks at school.