Since the first meeting was already on the next day, their was nothing left to do but to start, although the actual goal – the installation – seemed to be in question.

Every day, two students wrote a “journal”.
During the first encounter in the computer room, the children told each other what they liked a lot: favourite colour, day of the week, food, number, city, country and movie. Following that I explained the cameras to them and we head out of the school. Everyone is to keep their eyes open for things which he/she likes or doesn’t like and photograph them.
Immediately there are problems with the boys – despite the previously arranged upon rules and the agreement to stay together – they are difficult to discipline, and fight over the cameras. Again and again they have to be called to order, as they run in every direction. The teacher wants to quickly finish something in the school, and will join us later. I am alone with the accompanying researcher; to the best of our abilities we try to keep the children together. Above all, on of the boys is totally out of control, and requires full attention.
In order to collect all the children together in one place, I allow them to buy an ice cream. G, one of the girls, breaks into tears because she can’t afford an ice cream, and H had allegedly made fun of her because of it. Now the teacher is there and after a strong appeal we continue on. A few great photos actually emerge. But U is still not subdued, fights with his classmates and disappears in a mobile telephone store. The teacher bawls him out, and he begins to cry from anger, feeling that he is being dealt with unjustly.
We head back to the school.
The next day begins with reading the journal aloud. Once again we discuss the experiences from the previous day, the boys promise “improvements”. The children have brought an object that they love, and one that they ate. M comes late and has forgotten his object. He is sent back home and brings his alarm clock as his “hate object”. Everyone laughs – a relaxed moment. I exhale, the children are concentrated on their work this morning, and listen well to each other. Each of them talks about their experience with their favourite doll, goalie gloves, soccer ball…
The location of the installation is still unclear – the school principle suggests the inner courtyard. I find it difficult to imagine the fragile objects in this high space, and think about a solution. The objects would have to be more compactly hung, maybe in a mobile. Another conversation with the principle regarding the fire safety regulations, he also doesn’t let himself be persuaded away from the argument that the objects have to be hung out of reach.
In this situation, I want to offer the children – and perhaps also myself – a result and therefore decide to produce a PowerPoint animation.

PowerPoint - screen-shots

Shortly after beginning the work, the teacher discovers that one of the students has lice, and is busy the rest of the morning with calling the parents and sending the girl home.
There are again difficulties with the discipline – two of the students are immediately finished with their assignment. Refusing to do more than necessary they surf the Internet, which distracts the others. I ask them to help those who are not so far, but they don’t accept. As soon as I am occupied with one child alone, there is progress, but then the others create disturbance. There is the same problem when photographing the objects.




After a difficult, chaotic morning with the children in the new school, I arrange with the teacher to divide the group. During the next session, she will work with one part of the group, and I will work with the other.
Due to a tragic misfortune however, she doesn’t come again – another teacher cannot be hired for the project. I cannot leave the school alone with the children, thus the idea with interviewing the people passing by falls flat.
I arrange with Theo Sarkatis that we guide the groups separately. This works well. In a near-by room he makes video interviews with them about the topic, while I work with the others in the computer room. In the small groups, discussions and concentrated work are finally possible.




Per email I learn that the interior space planned for the installation would not be finished by the school opening, therefore we are not allowed to hang the objects there. In the hallway, which was designated at the beginning, an exhibition about the history of the school would be hung.



table with the laminated objects

In the meantime I am quite unnerved by the eternal back and forth, and feel that I have been left alone to deal with the problem. Later I learn that the reservations against the KuBiM project already had a long history. Apparently I got between the fronts, no one seems to really feel responsible anymore.
The project administration discussed whether or not to cancel the project and decided not to. It would have also been difficult to convey this to the students.
After a discussion between the project administration and the school principle the green light was given for the laminated transparencies. We could hang the objects in a closed-off section of the hallway.