Friday, February 11, 2022

Class Picture

Sixth grade. Science. 

It appears that sixth grade classes rotate in a way that hints at what the kiddos will be doing the next year in middle school. On this day I got the science class. 

After lunch and before afternoon recess, they were to go outside to take the "panorama" class picture. It's just a long image of all the students in the grade. 

All "second period" they had been asking me when it would be time to take the picture. I assured them that I was on it. And then about ten minutes before the scheduled time, the next door teacher poked her head in to say the photographer was ready early. So, we got ready and headed out.

With my limited experience in elementary school, I did not anticipate being there to witness the photographing of a bunch of 11-year-olds. They got arranged loosely by height and lined up accordingly. By the time half of them had been placed on the bleacher-like stands, the bell rang to get the youngers out of class for their recess. 

So, with an audience, the sixth graders all got put into position in direct sunlight with the sun in their eyes. They were not happy about this. The other teacher told them to just deal with it as it wouldn't be for long. 

I stood off to the side to watch. The photographer asked the principal if the kiddos had to remain masked. The principal said they did not, that they could remove their masks for the time it took to snap the pictures. When the photographer informed the kiddos they could remove their masks, maybe five of them did. 

They took several shots, and then it was all over. Alas, because we were early, they did not get dismissed to recess. They had just enough time to go back to class... and then they were dismissed to recess. Sigh. 

It's definitely a moment in time, these pictures. I wonder how they'll look back on this picture. (They could purchase their own copy.) The masks will definitely tell a story.

32 comments:

  1. Oh, the times of school pictures! Teaching elem is not for every one. You did it, though!

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    1. I did. I can get through it if I must. If you saw yesterday's post, you know why I dread the youngers.

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  2. SNAP....and its there for everyone to see, becoming history down the line.

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    1. Yup. There may be questions one day about those masks. And they will have stories to tell about it.

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  3. If they're anything like me, they won't want to look back anyway.

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  4. I don't even know where my 6th grade class picture is! Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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    1. We never got those when I was in school. I'm not sure why we didn't do it.

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  5. In our school district, sixth grade is in middle school.
    In the school district where I worked, sixth grade is in elementary school.
    In the district where my kids went to school, sixth grade was in the middle school.
    I remember my sixth grade picture. Dippity-Do, incipient acne, and a double chin. You'll know what I mean by the comment I left you in my post.

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    1. Yeah, 6th grade is all over the place, depending on district. When I went to school, it was elemetary. But my niece was in middle school for 6th. And other neighboring districts have it in middle school.

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    2. I went to a Catholic School which went to 8th grade. Then I had to go to a junior high school for 9th grade (which was for 7th, 8th, and 9th grades). Finally went to high school for 10, 11, and 12.

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    3. By the time I was in school, 9th grade had migrated to high school. But my parents did 9th grade in jr. high.

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  6. It will definitely be a moment in history. When my son got married in the middle of the pandemic they did one wedding party photo with masks just for that reason.

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  7. Back in my day, compare to know on class photo they put student name on photo. When I look at my grade school photo. Lot of people in photo I'm clueless who they are.
    Coffee is on and stay safe

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  8. Sixth grade is Standard Six in our country - we follow the British system.

    Yes, it will certainly be a moment in history.

    Happy Weekending!

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  9. I always purchased the Barbarians school photos - great memories for them in years to come I hope. When they changed schools the photos stopped so not anymore.

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  10. That's kind of good that so few took off their masks. I hated lining up by height, I was taller than all the girls, and most of the boys until well into high school, when boys grow. In 5th we had "sex ed" and a special teacher came, lined the short, tall, fat, thin, etc. up against a wall to photograph to illustrate the difference. Very humiliating. I guess worse for the "fat" ones.

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    1. Same. Although, for me it was worse as I have a fear of heights, and I was always on the back scaffolding at the top point. Not fun to be shaking the entire picture, afraid you're going to fall.

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  11. Sixth grade is middle school here.

    That picture definitely tells a story

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    1. For us, it depends on the district. I can go to a district to the south or the east and find 6th grade in middle school.

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  12. I remember my school pictures in high school, and that was difficult for the teachers and photographers to get us all to behave, haha! I can't imagine the struggles with the younger grades!

    Hope you're having a great weekend. I spent a lot of time this weekend at playgrounds with the kids! :)

    Away From The Blue

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    1. I think they only do those photos for 6th and 12th grades. Although, as I'm not usually covering classes on the days that happens, I can't be certain.

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  13. The mask will indeed tell a story. I'm impressed with the fact that the kids left their masks on, good for them. They seem to have more common sense then the photographer and principle. If they're suppose to be mask, the photographer shouldn't have ask them to remove them. You have so much material...so many stories about kids; some good, some so so, but....enough to write a book about subbing I think.

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    1. More than one book, I'd wager. I toy with the idea. Maybe someday.

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  14. It is a snap in time. That photo took less than a second. Time is relative however. In the vastness of space and time, even are entire lives are kind of like a split second, a photograph in the history of life in the universe. What is wrong with me this morning, lol.

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    1. Very philosophical. Nothing wrong with that, actually.

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    2. I agree. :) The normalcy of masks on kids makes me sad, though. What strange times...

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  15. I was thinking back to my class pictures when reading this. Yes, the masks will tell of the time we got hit with Covid.

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    1. I never did a class picture like this when I was in school. I did band pictures, but not something like this. Interesting how different districts do different things.

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  16. So much about this pandemic feels like waiting to see how things will "end up". Will non-masked group photos come back someday? Will masks just become so common we get really good at recognizing people by their eyes? Growing up with all this is not something I can imagine.

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    1. The masks won't last forever. Too many people won't stand for it. And I have to believe that we'll figure out a way through. Someday.

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