April 25, 2008 08:08 am
—
By MICHELLE MILLER
Staff Writer
People come to visit Cooperstown from
near and afar for many reasons, but what
about the children who live in the village all
year long? What parts of Cooperstown are
most familiar to them, and what places do
they consider most important?
Twelve Cooperstown Central School sixthgraders
were selected to reveal the answers
to these questions when chosen to participate
in the making of the exhibit “My Hometown:
A Children’s Eye View of Cooperstown.”
The Fenimore Art Museum hosted a
reception for the opening of the exhibit Monday
night where the students’
work will be on display until
Aug. 10.
Each student was given
three 35 mm disposable cameras
to go out and take photos
of their hometown. The
students were told to think
about things in the village
they might be familiar with
that would not be so noticeable to the thousands
of tourists that come to visit the village.
The final component of the project was
having the kids select three of their favorite
photos and write an essay to complement
their work.
According to Kevin Gray, school programs
coordinator at the Fenimore Art Museum,
this was the second time the museum collaborated
with Diana Garcia, the sixth-grade
English language arts teacher, to present a
series of photos and essays that reflect the
students’ impressions of Cooperstown.
``It worked so well the first time (which he
said was about two years ago) that we pretty
much kept the model we used the first time
around,’’ said Gray.
Garcia, who has been teaching at CCS for
10 years, said she had a hard
time choosing just 12 students
out of a class of 69 to
participate in the project.
``I would have loved to give
more kids the chance,’’ she
said.
Garcia said the middle
school is part of the Expeditionary
Learning Outward
Bound (ELS) program, which combines rigorous academic content and
real world projects — learning
expeditions — with active
teaching and community
service. The ELS design focuses
on teaching in an engaging
way.
``One thing that is nice
about this project is it is so
authentic,’’ said Garcia. ``It
means something. It’s relevant
and that means so much
in education because the outcome
means more, so the
students will put more into
it. This is something I would
like to do all the time.’’
According to Garcia, the
students spent a lot of time
outside of school to work on
the project, so it not only took
hard work from the kids, but
also required cooperation
from the parents.
She said the project took
about four months to complete.
``The kids are excited and
that’s what you want — to
light that fire,’’ said Garcia.
Gray said he didn’t think
the kids thought taking the
photos was the hardest part
of the project. Instead, he
said choosing just three from
those taken was probably
most problematic.
Sixth-grader Maggie Hall
said she picked her top five
photos then started paring
down from there.
However, she said the
hardest task for her was
picking a photo to have enlarged.
She said she eventually
chose the picture she
took of a sap bucket at the
Clark Scholarship office on
Route 28.
``Collecting sap is something
that has been seen
through many generations in
Cooperstown,’’ said Hall. ``I
also thought the background
of the picture was nice because
there are no cars driving
by.’’
Hall said she selected a
photo she took of a stone
bridge on Lake Street to be
displayed in the exhibit because
it’s a landmark she
never knew existed.
Hall said when she took
the photo of the bridge she
immediately noticed how old
and beautiful it was. She
said she could not imagine
how long it took for someone
to build it.
The third photo Hall chose
was one of Council Rock in
Otsego Lake.
Hall said she took the picture
because she feels the
lake and the history of Cooperstown
is what is most important
about the beautiful
village.
Hall said she was excited
when she was asked to participate
in the project and
looks forward to taking many
more pictures in the future.
She said she believes Cooperstown
should not just be
known for the Baseball Hall
of Fame, and that she thinks
there are a lot more things
tourists should spend time
on.
Sixth-grader Angela
Pacherille said she was happy
when selected to take part
in the project.
Pacherille said although
she had to spend quite a bit
of time outside of school taking
photos, she thought it
was fun. She said her dad
was a big help because he
drove her around and gave
her suggestions on photo selections.
Pacherille chose to exhibit
a photo of her dog Moose in
her backyard.
``When I think of Cooperstown
I think of my dog,’’
said Pacherille. ``There are
many large fields in Cooperstown
where my dog runs
and plays.’’
Pacherille said she does
not know what she would do
without her best friend.
She said her dog is a loyal
companion and when friends
and family are not around,
she can visit with the dog.
Pacherille also chose to a
photo of a permit parking
sign in Cooper Park. She said
the sign reminds her of the
summers when her family
can’t find a place to park.
Pacherille said Cooper Park
is important to her because
she loves the trees and the
all the green.
``It’s so nice just to sit
there and have a picnic,’’ said
Pacherille. ``I could never live
without Cooper Park.’’
Pacherille said when she
thinks of Cooperstown she
also thinks of the many
churches, so she chose to exhibit
a photo of St. Mary’s
Roman Catholic Church.
Pacherille said she has many
memories of St. Mary’s, from
funerals to Sunday masses.
She said nobody can miss the
church because it is a big red
building.
Pacherille said she feels
she learned a lot by taking
photos of Cooperstown and
she said she was also able to
see the village in a ``whole
new way.’’
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