Photo Journals Expressing the Quarantine Experience
April 17, 2020
Students in the Creative Writing elective having been doing a 7-day photo journal about their experience during quarantine.
The class is taught by veteran English teacher, Mrs. Ana Roman-Gonzalez. She revealed that the inspiration for this project came from a BBC article entitled: “Coronavirus: Words at the window from those in isolation.” This article shows how a photographer went out and asked families to send a message to the world. This has helped spread positivity in these tough time.
This 7-day photo journal includes a Haiku and a limerick about students’ experiences staying safe at home. In addition, they paired them with black and white pictures.
“The goal is to capture, first hand, what we are experiencing at the moment,” explain Mrs. Roman-Gonzalez. She went on to say the project will “create a digital ‘time capsule’ that we may use to show future generations.”
Each photo journal captures the everyday life during the Covid-19 experience. Students are able to express their feelings during these times.
“The purpose of this project was for creative students to write poetry and pair it with a picture to represent the current battle against COVID-19,” said senior Isabella Perea, who is part of the Creative Writing III class.
“It helps express the emotions that come with the pandemic and quarantine. In a time like this, we should all stick together and fight the issue in unity,” said Perea.
Students have shared their poems and pictures with their classmates on padlet, which makes up the photo journal. Here they are able to comment on each other’s work.
The Creative Writing elective at ILS is a popular one and its part of the English department. There are three levels to the class: Creative Writing I, II and III. This is also one of the classes that produces the school’s literary and arts magazine, Inklings. This year, the deadline for Inklings submissions has been extended.
This photo journal project was recently featured on the ILS Instagram account and will keep growing to mid-May. Mrs. Roman-Gonzalez said anyone is welcome to participate!
