This essay came together from the enthusiasm of the students over a common interest. The first day I volunteered was the day after a big soccer game the boys had played. It was all they could talk about. I became more inquisitive on the amount of kids playing soccer in this group. It turned out that 11 out of 12 of the boys were in a soccer league outside of school. This gave me the idea to do some research on the Escuela Vieau students’ participation in soccer. After 10 hours of volunteering, I documented the amount of kids with whom I work and the amount that play soccer. I then separated the groups into girls and boys, since there seemed to be a significant disparity between them. The girls ratio of playing soccer was 1:3, and the boys was 7:8.
The part that I was most interested in was where the kids play and was it through the school. The kids told me that they play through a private league, because the school does not offer a soccer program due to lack of funds and space. I played a few games of soccer with the kids as part of my volunteering, and I was amazed at the excitement these young students displayed over the sport. They preferred it over the others that were offered such as basketball or dodgeball. The pictures fell into place, using the gym’s murals, the small playground to represent lack of space, and the Ricky Martin song that all the kids liked to play as a way to pump them up during the games we played.
The neighborhood of Escuela Vieau is predominantly Latino, but most students and faculty speak both Spanish and English. In Latino cultures, soccer is often a favorite sport.
The camera as an investigatory device without using faces for my essay proved to be challenging. Using some creativity, I was able to gather some images to explain my story without using people, or too many words. The inanimate parts of Escuela Vieau tell enough of a story on their own.
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