Shooting Beauty Consuelo Kirk, Ashley George, & John Bonnacorso

On Location Park Avenue Christian Academy was kind enough to let us host our service learning project at their school. Many thanks to Conni Kirk, an art teacher at the school, for organizing this amongst her administrators and others involved. Park Avenue Christian Academy is located at Park Avenue Baptist Church, and spans from pre-school to eighth grade with approximately 300 students. The vision of the school is “Park Avenue Christian Academy endeavors to educate young people to know God, understand themselves, and transform their community for Christ’s glory.”

Engaging the Students We decided that it was important for students without special needs to realize that those with special needs are just like them. They share the same triumphs and tribulations. As a group, we decided to show a brief 20 minute clip from “Shooting Beauty” to demonstrate this. Many hours of planning were put into this as a group, from the pre-event hours, the single day activity, as well as the after effects.

Participant Demographics In our showing of “Shooting Beauty,” we reached out to the middle school students of PACA. There were about 75 students present, all from varying ethnic backgrounds, age ranges, and exceptionalities. We also chose to incorporate a guest family into our presentation. This family has adopted as well as raised 8 children, most with special needs. This presented the middle school students with an opportunity to ask questions to the family regarding children with disabilities.

The Students

Service in Action

Service in Action So many students had so many questions for us and the Cornish family. Questions ranged from “Why do some of your kids wear glasses?” to more in depth questions considering cures for disabilities, and why the family chose to adopt the children internationally.

Perceptions of Differences Reflecting back on our showing of “Shooting Beauty,” as a group we collectively decided that it was a blessing to work alongside the students and families involved. Meeting the Cornish family as well as briefly watching their children interact made us think differently about how small children with special needs are. Going into this project, we thought that it was a great opportunity to let adolescent age students see that we are all equal, we just have “quirks,” as Mr. Cornish put it.

Impact of the Project While showing “Shooting Beauty,” it seemed as if the most impactful scene was when Tom, a member of the project that the documentary shared, passed away from an infection. This seemed to touch many members of the audience. We believe that it really drove the point home that people with disabilities are just like us: they develop friendships, and experience losses and tragedies.

Connections to the Courses We were all enrolled in various EEX sections. One of the most important factors that we better understand is the effects of socialization and inclusion between those with and without special needs. The students were actually able to connect to a face to face with all the members of the family and through the questions they were able to understand that a disability is lifelong and like themselves, they saw the joys of accomplishment through photos and the grief of a loss.

Civic Engagement The documentary “Shooting Beauty,” was all a project based on revealing a common misconception in society through a non-profit group. This drove the concept of volunteerism home to us as well as the audience that it is important to stand up and help out whenever you possibly can. Whenever those disabilities have an opportunity to work alongside somebody without disabilities, it is truly a special moment, as they are able to demonstrate their talents which may go wasted.

Civic Engagement By watching the audience be so moved by the video, it inspired us to be more involved whenever we can regarding volunteerism and community involvement. We absolutely encourage students and teachers to become involved throughout their community, not only for the good feeling, but for the chance to look at the world through another’s eyes.

Final Thoughts & Reflections Around our small town, there are more opportunities than one may think to get involved. Working at the Children’s Center or even hosting a discussion and viewing at a local library gives students the chance to work with their community and those who are different than them. Teachers truly are paramount to the “greater good” of society. Opening the gateway to learning helps students to realize that there is more to the world than reading, writing, and arithmetic.