Humans of New York

Example:

She got here, but she got here the hard way. If shed listened to me in the first place, shed have gotten here the easy way.

Photo Essay

Heres one from the New York Times Magazine:

It is a late-summer rite: A convoy of shambling family vehicles descends on clean-scrubbed, iron-gated villages whose sole recent inhabitants, it would seem, have been lawn mowers and paintbrushes. The cars have license plates from distant places, clattering bike racks and the occasional cumbersome item (lacrosse stick? longboard?) secured to the roof with straps. Their interior contents are more disorderly still: typically a pair of adults well past the age of footloose road trips and a veteran teenager on the slippery cusp of a new world. The previous few years of test-taking, application-filing and hand-wringing have been aimed at learning the name and address of the site where this rift would occur. In short order the travelers will part ways; its a long-awaited, inescapable and horrible fact and if all goes well, it will be more or less permanent. But fortunately, with so many families going through this drama at once, the ensuing chaos has a way of tempering emotions at least initially.

Sierra Carrel, an incoming freshman at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., was photographed on move-in day in August. She coped by channeling her nervous energy into taming her dorm room. It was a Better Homes and Gardens thing, she said. I wanted to make it perfect. Michael Carvlin, her stepfather, said he was deeply moved by the spectacle of change he saw repeating itself around him all day. He was also thinking ahead to the long return trip to St. Louis (they ended up making good time). Sierra and her mother, Raquel Carvlin, braced themselves for saying goodbye, then finally gave in. It was, like, waterworks, Sierra said. Ive been in constant contact with her, trying to make her feel better.

Humans of Liberty

Purpose: to explore and authentically capture the complexities of the larger Liberty community while strengthening our understanding of the conversations were exploring in class.

Assignment

You will submit a photo with a caption (50-150 words) as a Word document to Turnitin.com. Your caption can include quotes from the subject, but you may also choose to write in the caption as well. The goal is to share that persons story in relation to the assigned topic. We will complete about eight of these throughout the year.

Grading

Submitting a photo with a caption (50-150 words) that is on topic is half the battle. The other half of your score is based on your narratives ability to explore the topic through someone elses story with clear, error-free writing, of course.

The Requirements

All photos must be respectful toward those who are in the photo. Our purpose is to explore, question and celebrate; it is never to mock.

All photos must be your own. Turning in a photo that you did not take, whether it was taken by another student or by someone who posted something online, will be considered plagiarism, and you will earn no credit.

If the photo includes a person, the photo must be taken with that persons permission. You can crop out a persons face if the person wishes to remain anonymous. Photos of crowds are okay.

Photos may be taken in a classroom ONLY if you have the teachers permission and the permission of those in the photo.

Under no circumstance is a photo to be taken in the locker rooms, bathrooms or other places where a persons privacy has the potential to be violated. Doing so would violate the student code of conduct and may result in suspension. It might also be illegal.

Do not take photos that compromise the integrity of other students. Obviously this includes any photos that include illegal substances or activities. Doing so forces me to turn photos over to administrators and/or police.

Please remember that these photos are public and serve an educational purpose. Youll store these photos in a place separate from your personal photos.

Taking the Photos

You need to have digital access to your photos. You may take your photos with a digital camera or your phone. Once you have taken the photos, save them to your computer hard drive.

Hint: While photos may need to be staged, avoid phoniness (cheesiness, obvious posing, mugging, fake action shots, etc.). Your duty is to capture, not create.

For our first HOL, explore the following topic through one person (not yourself):

Rebellion Due to Turnitin.com before class begins on October 18. Avoid pontificating about rebellion. Instead, interview someone you consider a rebel in some way, or a person whose perspective on the topic would be interesting. I suggest you use the following questions, as well as any others you come up with. Record the interview so you can quote it in your caption.

Tell me of a time you chose to rebel.

What compelled you to rebel?

What was the outcome?

Would you do it again?

What is a rebel?

Do you consider yourself a rebel? Why or why not?