Monday, November 23, 2009

Service Learning 11/21/2009

Service Learning Rut

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it to our groups meeting with the Loyola students this week. Instead, I spent a little time continuing my research on the Milwaukee Council for the Spanish Speaking. I also finished uploading some images and other material to PantherFile regarding our final project. To be completely honest this week was just a rut in our timeline for completing our final project, which means I’ll have to work twice as hard after the break. At any rate, I feel we have a great start and things in general are on track.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Service Learning 11/03/09

Film 150: Service Learning Photobucket...

Final Project Group Blog...

Photobucket/Media Upload

This week my goal was to take a step back and regroup before discussing/picking our group topic. For my hours this week I set up a Photobucket account, posted all my media (as well as on Pantherfile), organized my blog pages, posted my student’s first assignments with appropriate editing, and finished a number of other site related assignments to begin our final project. I also narrowed down a list with my topics of interest for the final project to discuss/decide on with my group. I’ll be meeting with the students later this week to discuss our final project, Photobucket, and a few media editing techniques that will be necessary to complete future initiatives regarding the project. Specifically the students will be given a brief tutorial on making slideshows using Photobucket. I’m excited to collaborate with the students, as it seems this will be the first time they’ll really have a chance to open up, and include their opinions on a larger scale concerning the service learning experience. I’m also excited to make a final decision on our topic so we can get started, and begin investigating for a successful finish.

Service Learning 10/26/09


South Side Tour

This afternoon I went on a tour of some of the south side locations mentioned by my students in class. I started my photographic journey on what could be considered the “borderlines” of the south side, crossing over the 16th street bridge. The main highlights included an assortment of parks, neighborhoods, and of course “El Reys.” One thing that caught me off guard, for one reason or another, was the other prominent ethnicities represented in the area. For instance, in the El Rey shopping center there was also a specialty store concerning products of Mong origins/decent. I also was unaware of the previous Polish history in the area. As well as I feel I represented what the students told me I wish there was more for them to be excited about for me to investigate. I would really like to get a greater understanding of what the students do in their free time, what their options are, and how more can be created.

“Multimedia Essay #2”


Artist Statement

To capture an essence of the Loyola student’s high school and surrounding community I used a digital Canon Rebel XT. Based on discussion with the students, we selected areas of the school they felt personal connections with, as well as examples from a historical perspective on the buildings. My students seemed to have very little to say about their community and destinations for recreation. The majority said they just hung out at home or another friend’s house. I had the pleasure of getting to see where one of my students lived, but other than that their enthusiasm regarding their community remained disappointingly, or maybe sympathetically, vague. Just as interesting as being provided more insight on what they would consider “important destination,” may be the lack of examples expressed. One thing was for sure; if you were skipping school there was a 99% chance you were at “El Reys.”

As I patiently waited while the students struggled to come up with examples, I started thinking about how the lack of recreational possibilities ties into their community. Where is pride brought to a community when there’s “nothing” to take pride in, or “nothing” to do? Where does a child of the south side find positive activity and structure regarding their free time? Why is the only place of excitement, or location indicated with a smile, a small strip mall with nothing but grocery and cell phone stores, where students retreat to skip school? It’s these types of questions from which I pull beneficial meaning concerning our course. It’s these types of experiences that build my understanding of segregation and economic struggles when it comes to the dozens of individual Milwaukee communities.

My essay was constructed in a documentary format. I tried to provide a students perspective of the school, as well as a historical background concerning the buildings origins as a church. I also covered “El Reys” extensively, as it was one of the very few examples provided concerning the community. My goal was to make the ratio of pictures with El Reys slightly outweigh the images of the school. By providing insight on where they retreat from school I was hoping to show the student’s perception of priority and the lack of motivation and recreational joy accessible by the community.