Our Youth: A Tribute to Diane - Dear Friend & Educator
In the summer of 1994, Diane, my dear friend and 4th grade teacher, asked me if I would take photos of students in her class for a project she had in mind. She planned to pay me from the small pocket change she received from the State Lottery's contribution to public education. I agreed to the project, though I refused to accept her class money - my gift to public education, I told her...
This turned out to be a wonderful adventure of visiting the class during the first week of school in the fall and taking portraits of each child....Diane then had the children place their pictures in the center of a large star - they filled in each arm of the star with something about themselves, their family, their favorite things, what they dreamed of....the "stars" were posted in the room by Back-to-School Night, mainly for the parents, and remained up for the entire year - each face beaming down on the class as they progressed toward the end of school...
When Diane suddenly and unexpectedly died the day after New Years of 1998, her class and the school family at Marin School in Albany, as well as the greater Albany School District, were thunderstruck, as were our two intertwined families - her death left an enormous hole in the lives of staff and children alike at her school, as well as in the entire city - over the years so many children of families in her community had experienced the generous heart of this fine woman....Diane was a wonderful model for her young charges, self-assured and completely unself-centered in everything she did - always on top of any situation, her energy levels and creativity with the minds of her children amazed seasoned colleagues, and those with any doubts about the viability of our educational system....Every chance occurrence was an opportunity to teach, every incident a gold mine of learning, every child a precious soul to be nurtured and tended....
Diane was the happiest when those inquisitive minds wrapped themselves around even the tiniest of steps forward, or the least common denominator of insights - her young charges never rested on this, though, as Diane's energies were infectious and always seemed to fire their imaginations and their reach was high and their steps were anything but tiny....Every day was an adventure, full of beauty, brimming with the stuff of life, and overflowing with love, that wonderful touch that we humans bring to relationships - and Diane was there with a hand on the shoulder, a soft affirming word, or that connection of the eyes that said, "I understand, I'm right here, and you're going to do just fine..."
I decided to continue this project with the young teacher, Christine, who took over the class and worked with the children through that most difficult of times and on to the end of that year....I have returned to Christine's class each fall since then to continue with her the dream started by Diane, and recently added visiting the third grade class of Diane's daughter, Tracy, for this same purpose when she returned to education at Oceanview Elementary School in the local community - these opportunities continue to be my most rewarding experiences as a photographer...
I would love to share with you a glimpse of a few of the faces of the children who have come through the third grade and fourth grade in recent years at my two adopted schools, but there are complications around releases, and sadly, with the security of children whose images appear on the internet. I understand this, and that is our collective loss, as you would see the faces of the children as Diane saw them and see the innate beauty of our youth - you would see that Diane was right, that our future is very bright...!
A Post-Script ~ Summer 2003:
Dear friends of Diane at Marin School have completed a Wall of Remembrance for her - it consists of hand-painted tiles, creations that came from the hearts of family and friends, colleagues, students who passed through Diane's classes, and some just caught up in the response to set aside a place to remember a beloved member of the Marin School Family... |
