Through the Lens

Today was the first photography class for the DHS students that I teach once a month. They live in a group home because for various reasons, the state now has custody of them instead of their families. I teach them geography once a month. We "travel" to places like Africa, South America, Asia and learn how people live in other cultures. We finished the semester with a field trip to the River Parks, and then a walk up the Council Oak Park to see the famous Council Oak Tree (where the Creek Indians settled Tulsa). We studied Oklahoma today, but more importantly, we took photos. I gave every kid a camera, and away they went. It was amazing to watch. In the classroom setting, they had been terrible...mouthing off, impatient, bored, listless, angry. But as soon as we got out and put a camera in their hands, they were transformed. Suddenly they were seeing life through the lens and expressing themselves. They had a purpose. They had a new way of looking at things. They had art on the brain. They say music can soothe the savage soul. Perhaps a camera can calm the heart of a lost teenager.