Picture Day!

First, a little math:

2 - the number of times my school picture was taken this year.
3 - the number of photographers present for picture day this year.
7 - the number of schools where I have had school pictures taken.
14 - the number of school IDs I have that show my school picture.
5 - how old I was when I had my first school picture taken in kindergarten.
37 - how old I was for this year's school picture.
32 - the number of years in a row I've had school pictures taken.

You could say I'm a perpetual student.  I mean, I've been in school continuously since kindergarten.   Public school for 12 years.  College for 6.5 years (don't ask.  That's a whole different post.) And now, 14 years on the other side of the desk in the classroom.  That's a LOT of pictures.

I actually was thinking about this the other day, as this year's school picture was taken this week.  I think it would be really kind of neat if I had copies of every year's school picture.  Lining up all 32 pictures and watching the progression?  Well.... maybe it's not such a great idea!

Pictures capture moments in time.  They provide triggers for memories long forgotten.  They provide smiles, laughter, sadness, and tears.  They make for special mementos of experiences long past.  I'm someone who has spent a lot of time behind the camera.  I got my first camera when I was quite young, maybe 7 or 8 years old.  It was the blue Fisher Price camera that used 110m film and a flash stick.  The pictures never turned out clear, they always had that foggy feature (the one people seem to love on Instagram!)  But seeing the world through a camera lens was always something that I loved.  It gives you a whole different perspective on things.

I spend a LOT of time at school taking pictures.  I always have.  As I figured out more and more strategies to create more community in my classroom, I even had student photographers taking pictures, too.  The kids used these pictures for different projects, from scrapbooks to portfolios.  Every once in a while, I'll find myself revisiting old pictures in moments of nostalgia.

Pictures taken at Hillel capture a whole different perspective of learning, that's for sure!