I’m making the final preparations for the third Design4Kids workshop in Santiago de Atitlan, Guatemala. Leaving in just a week! Eric, Jeff and I have become the core group of instructors there, and we’re really coming together as a team. Naturally it helps that all of us have the same passion – teaching the skills we have to give these kids an opportunity to develop a career path and success for themselves.

The kids come away from the week with much more than new technical skills. They learn how to work with a client and create a project from conception to delivery. They develop abilities that will help them grow in every area of their lives. The creative processes that they learn and develop through photography and graphic design give them insight into creative problem-solving thinking that they’ll use in everything they do.While it’s certainly a good thing to give people something they’re without and will use up right away – food, medicine, and the like – it’s a tremendous feeling to give them knowledge that they will use to become self-sufficient and productive for life. It’s truly “teaching them how to fish” rather than just giving them a fish to feed them for a day.

The more I teach, the more excited I am about teaching becoming a greater part of my life. Both at the workshops, and also in the classes I conduct back here at home, it’s a fantastic feeling to see how much enjoyment and value people receive from what I have to give. I’ve added a parent & kid class in January so that young (11-15 year old) people & a parent can learn some photography basics together. It’s already filling – really popular!

I do intend to post more frequent updates from Guatemala this trip. Keep checking in, and spread the word!