PhotoVoice Curriculum Part 2. Second meeting with students: Review albums and provide feedback to improve pictures

Transcription

1 PhotoVoice Curriculum Part 2. Second meeting with students: Review albums and provide feedback to improve pictures We invited and welcomed young researchers to this second meeting also some of their parents. Parents involvement in the project is extremely valuable, both because it keeps the youth interested in the project and because as we work toward involvement of Latinos in the local food system, both youth and parents should be included. Having the parents active in the PhotoVoice process encourages dialogue about the interrelationship among their family, food, cultural traditions and the sources of those traditions. The venue should have internet access and computers should be available at least one for every two students. A projector should also be available. Libraries are ideal venues. Training being led by Claudia Prado-Meza at Council Bluffs Public Library (Photo: Diego Thompson) 2.- Presentation of key question to think about it. 1.- Presentation of community capitals and different parts of the food value chain For each of the communities, we started the presentation with a description about why it is important for the young researchers to know about the different characteristics of the food value chain. Incorporating the community capitals framework into the presentation was key in assisting the students in linking production, marketing, processing and transportation as part of the food value chain. After showing to the students and their parents some of the main concepts related with the Community Capitals Framework and the food value chain we asked What do you want to show with your pictures to people who do not know the Latino cultures? As a way to raise awareness of how important is for them to give a profound message to any viewer of their work, we reinforced the importance of a good quality picture but also the need for an expressive clear description of the meaning of the picture to them. Some participants were concerned that their descriptions match our expectations, so to reduce their anxiety and to ensure a meaningful product we incorporated specific questions as a guide for them. Your pictures should address most of these points (be sure to respond to one or more question in each group): 1

2 1) Descriptive/context a) When was this picture taken? b) What were you doing when this picture was taken? (Context) c) What s happening in this picture? d) Did you set-up this picture and why? 2) Subjective/emotional a) What do you see in this picture beyond the obvious? b) How does this picture make you feel? 3) Evaluative a) Why did you take this picture? b) What was special about this picture? c) What does this picture mean to you? d) What does the picture symbolize? e) What is missing from this picture and why? 4) Future orientation/larger meaning a) How does this picture relate to the life of your family? Of your community? b) Does the picture in some way suggest how you would like to get your food in the future? c) What can you, your family, or your community do to bring about such a future? (Modified from Shaffer, 1983). Even though this battery of questions is extensive and may appear repetitive, it is suggestive and serves as a good point of reference for the youth as they review the pictures they have taken. 3.- What s the best work that you have? Select 3 or 4 pictures. Dialogue about pictures. (20-30 minutes) We asked the students to work individually on their selected albums and choose 3 or 4 pictures that were most meaningful to them and allowed them to answer many of the questions in an integrated fashion. Pan con Leche!! this could be the all time most common way to start a day. Just by different cultures the milk is substituted by coffee, juice, or any other drink. The bread as well could be cookies, toast, a bagel, anything to accompany your drink appropriately. Cristián Manuel Trinidad 2

3 Parents were then invited to dialogue with their student about the meaning of the pictures to them, particularly in relation to the family s cultural heritage, how particular dishes are prepared, where and how the ingredients were obtained in their country of origin and in the U.S., etc. During the process in which the students selected their pictures, facilitators also circulated among the students and gave feedback to the students about pictures quality and some characteristics that they should be looking for in their work, so that when facilitators integrate all pictures in the final poster, we can guarantee good quality for people who is going to observe them in the final exposition. Some of the students had really good pictures but without captions so facilitators also encouraged them to think about 3 or 4 sentences to include on their pictures. and the next step was to talk about descriptions and captions in general. In some cases in which the subject matter and the caption were quite good, but the photo was of poor quality, the student was encouraged to retake the picture. 4.- Describe your pictures. After the participants select their more interesting pictures, individually the facilitators sit with the students to discuss the description of their pictures. If the student already had written a caption, the facilitator reviews it for grammar and style, and asks clarifying questions about the picture. La Tapatía has a lot of fresh fruit and veggies of all the stores you can name. That is why the Tapatía is the number one store in town. There is la tapatia #1 -- that is the one in this picture -- and then there are # 2 and #3, but this one is the biggest one. La Tapatía is a Mexican store but you can find all kind of products in this store from all other Hispanic places. Miguel Chávez If the student had not already written a caption, the facilitator asks questions about the picture and the student is encouraged to develop a caption on the spot. length, approach, grammar, etc.. 3

4 Most of the students, while talking with the facilitators, realized that were omitting a lot of details and information on their descriptions that could explain a little bit more their thoughts on selected pictures. Thus, we let them work alone for another minutes in order that they can add more writing to their captions or rephrase the wording to make more sense for a broader audience. To be able to give them some more feedback about their work we use a computer and a projector to let the students present their selected pictures and give a short talk to the people in the room. It was a really interesting experience because many of the students were really excited about their pictures and presentations. At this point, the facilitator team was satisfied with the hard work they have been doing over the summer. 6.- Explanation of the community meeting and how the pictures will be presented. Finally, the facilitator team explain to the parents and students that all their collective work will be presented in community meeting where people from the school system, local institutions and leaders from their communities will learn from their experience with PhotoVoice and the research done. Information from other projects using PhotoVoice techniques could be found at: International projects: Since 1999 PhotoVoice has pioneered the use of participatory photography as a tool for communication, self expression and advocacy. We have worked in the UK and across the globe with marginalised and vulnerable communities whose human rights are being undermined. Our organisational partners have included Amnesty International, World Vision, UNICEF, Save the Children, The International HIV/AIDS Alliance and United Response. (PhotoVoice Website, 2011) US Initiatives: Youth-In-Action. The Latino Health Access policy team has tried to increase activity and hearty nutrition. As part of this effort, youth leaders have advocated for more safe open spaces and worked with Healthy Eating Active Communities (HEAC) partners like the OC Health Care Agency to produce a walkability audit, emphasizing the need for wider sidewalks, grass, and trees in essence, safer streets for the youth and their families so that they may walk and exercise more. The Youth-in-Action group has also produced a photo voice project and videos for the MO project, documenting lack of safe streets, dilapidated infrastructure, and lack of open spaces (Latino Health Access website, 2011) 4

5 Miguel Guerrero s finished product Photo and caption This is a picture of my mom cooking milanesa de pollo (chicken fried chicken). This picture is the next step after the first. It shows the preparation of the food after being grown. This picture is important to me because in almost all Latino families the mom cooks the food. My mom is important to my family because she cooks all the meals. She cooks once every day after I get out of school, and only on the weekend does she cook 2 or 3 times. My mom makes all the food we eat delicious, that s why I prefer to stay home and eat rather than go out. I think that home cooked meals taste better and are healthier than going out to eat. Miguel Guerrero 5