Worth a Thousand Words

"A picture is worth a thousand words."

We are coming to a even better understanding of the power of images and pictures with this 12th exchange.

Our team in Ghana is working hard to organize the materials they have received, to schedule time on each campus, and to report back to us about the time they are spending with students in the classrooms.  We are, as such, trying to build stories from what we can see in the photographs and brief emails we receive (when the Internet in Ghana is working).  We are learning to trust our eyes and to speak about what stands out to us from across the ocean.

Our team visited E.P. Primary School with projects from the 3rd Grade students at Summit Charter School.  The U.S. teachers - Mrs. Kapity, Mrs. LaFontaine, and Ms. Odom - explained that students wanted to draw and paint pictures to express why they believe they are citizens of the world and/or to advocate what others can do to be better, more active, citizens of the world.   They used watercolors to create beautiful pictures that emphasized the joy of gardening and protecting the earth, as well as the importance of taking care of animals, including those which are endangered.  Caroline shared, in her brightly coloured picture, that "Helping others is helping the world.”

We see in the photographs, students from Beauty's 3B class beaming brightly while they hold projects from their friends and smiling excitedly as they pose - with their own pictures in hand - for the camera.  We see joy and excitement.  We see pride and contentment.  We see artwork that speaks to what each child understands about his/her role as a citizen of the world.

We see students with their fingers clasped around carefully selected pencil crayons and markers.  We see groups of young Ghanaian students working with their heads down and their noses hovering mere inches from blank pages. We see students who are focused and attentive to the task at hand.  They show us footballs, trees, houses, and flags.  They show us with their drawings what is important to them.  We are grateful to see it.

We feel, just by looking at the photographs, the warmth of the sun and a warming in our hearts.   We know that the students and teachers involved in this exchange will benefit from  seeing these pictures themselves.  We are excited to hear the stories they tell when they reconnect a few weeks from now.