Kids, Your Eyes Are Like Cameras: Take Pictures, Please
Certainly this is the new age of photography. And I always thought the 70’s were the real photography revolution with your Nikons, Canons, and, of course, Paul Simon’s song, “Kodachrome.” Find it with lyrics at https://youtu.be/N4ltLp30KVs before reading any further.
I remember buying Kodachrome slide film and shooting, sparingly, because processing was expensive. Not so today because you can take hundreds of digital images with smart phones, DSLRs, view them on your computer screen, and share the images with the world. I know I do, all the time. What a difference a revolution makes! And don’t forget those “Selfies” we take ad infinitum…
But in my classrooms I would like to take another approach, a creative, contemplative technique and skill you can teach children from grades 4 on up. This requires an imagination and openness. What I’m offering is something kids would appreciate and understand. They haven’t lost their creativity yet, at least on elementary and middle school levels, despite what Common Core throws at them. And as a veteran classroom teacher I’m always looking for ways to improve and expand kids’ concentration. The upcoming lesson is an experiment to enhance students’ ability to focus, concentrate, contemplate, and to be there while navigating the world around them.
So what is this imaginary concept I would like to teach students? “Your eyes are like cameras that take pictures when open.” Huh? What do I mean? Just what the statement says: Introduce and motivate the idea by saying to the class:
“Imagine your real eyes are like cameras taking pictures of what you see. You record and store those images in your mind. Then, you will use your inner eye to re-view the ‘photographs’ you took on the outside. You go from snapping pictures of what you see in front of you with your real eyes to seeing them again inside your mind with the inner eye. Maybe this sounds a little complicated, so let me take you through the process step-by-step”:
...