Grundy Photo: Photography as a Tool for Building Resiliency and Literacy Skills in Children in Grundy County, TN

Photography is a powerful tool for teaching and building literacy and resiliency skills in children. By holding a camera and taking a picture a child is able to show others the world as they see it, share their experiences,... [ view full abstract ]

Photography is a powerful tool for teaching and building literacy and resiliency skills in children. By holding a camera and taking a picture a child is able to show others the world as they see it, share their experiences, and tell their stories. Photography is uniquely suited for storytelling because of the inherent narrative structure that is created in the frozen moment of a photograph. By freezing time a photograph forces the viewer to ask what happened before and what happened after the singular moment they see. We teach children how to recognize and utilize visual elements, which allows them to read images. Visual literacy is a critical skill that is often overlooked in the traditional education system. It allows one to interpret and understand the world around them, and in the case of photography, to take what they see and experience and translate it into a dimensional object that can be shared with others. Particularly for children who struggle with written or verbal communication, learning how to be visually literate provides them with another way of sharing their experiences.