Boy excluded from school photo?

[fireheart17]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/c...-1226667439279

So at a school in Britain(?), there's a boy with muscular dystrophy in the class. He uses a wheelchair. For their class photo however, the boy was placed in his wheelchair, slightly apart from the class, but still "included" in the shot.

That wasn't good enough for the mother, who demanded (rightly so) that her boy be included as part of the class and not as an "add-on". Photo is reshot with the boy dead centre, but sans wheelchair. Hysterics ensue.

Personally, I don't see why they couldn't have moved the wheelchair just a few inches over so that it looked like he was on the end of one of the rows. Not every single photo needs to be cookie-cutter perfect with equal numbers of children in the rows. That said, the kid looks happy to be part of the photo and at the end of the day, how the kid feels is all that matters.

[anakhouri]

I too would have been upset about the first picture. He definitely looks excluded.

But why on Earth would anyone be upset about the second one?

[Andara Bledin]

I can see why the first pic ended up like it was. He couldn't be any closer to the group because his chair is right up against the end of the bench. If they wanted to do it right with that set up, they should have spread the class out a little more and had the teacher in the same position opposite, which would have balanced it all quite nicely. But somebody in charge of the photo composition is a moron.

However, considering how much the kid is grinning away while the pic is being taken, I'm not sure he'll even care that he's not in the middle of the group. I do think his parents are blowing it a bit out of proportion. Being able to "pick him out" is kind of necessitated by the fact that he uses a wheelchair. She can't protect him from that, and, honestly, it's kind of stupid to even try.

The second picture is more homogenous, however, and a better shot all around. And the people bitching about him not being in the wheelchair are twats. There's no "message" being sent beyond, "these people were part of this group at this time." No more, no less.

[lordlundar]

Personally, I don't see why they couldn't have moved the wheelchair just a few inches over so that it looked like he was on the end of one of the rows.

If you look closely at the first one you'll see the chair is right up against the benches. It couldn't be moved any closer.

That said, personally I would have preferred the benches to be set up to have a gap in the middle of the lower row to accommodate the chair. But then, I like the idea of showing people succeeding despite adversity. The second picture was a very nice alternative (had the article not pointed out where the kid was I would have never found him).

[s_stabeler]

... The reason the kid is out of the wheelchair is that otherwise it's physically impossible to have him in amongst the other kids. The bench on the bottom row is a single bench. It was either hav the kid out of the wheelchair and amongst the rest of the class, or have the kid seperate. (the kid has to be at the front so he can be seen) The kid likes the picture, let it drop.

[Ginger Tea]

However, considering how much the kid is grinning away while the pic is being taken, I'm not sure he'll even care that he's not in the middle of the group. I do think his parents are blowing it a bit out of proportion. Being able to "pick him out" is kind of necessitated by the fact that he uses a wheelchair. She can't protect him from that, and, honestly, it's kind of stupid to even try.

I had to re read the link cos I was sure the parents were seeing him blend in was a good thing.

"You can't pick him out this time," an overjoyed Ms Belanger told local newspaper The Province. "For him, to fit in, this is what it should be."

I looked for the above quote first then thought it was a teacher saying it, but both parents go by different last names (not that there is anything wrong, I just assumed one to be the teacher).

Seeing as he could be safely moved from chair to bench and seemed happy I see no foul, the composition is off in the original and it does bring his wheelchair into the scene, yes it's a part of his life, but I'm guessing it kind of blends out in class as they are used to it, but to an outsider it just points him out for all the wrong reasons.

[crashhelmet]

I can see why the first pic ended up like it was. He couldn't be any closer to the group because his chair is right up against the end of the bench. If they wanted to do it right with that set up, they should have spread the class out a little more and had the teacher in the same position opposite, which would have balanced it all quite nicely. But somebody in charge of the photo composition is a moron.

I agree. I understand the impact the wheelchair has in the picture, but it's the way he has to lean in to be a part of the group that irks me. They should've moved all of the children over to the side closest to him instead of trying to center them on the benches/bleachers.

The second picture is more homogenous, however, and a better shot all around. And the people bitching about him not being in the wheelchair are twats. There's no "message" being sent beyond, "these people were part of this group at this time." No more, no less.

Agreed again. I see the picture of him being out of the wheelchair focusing on him as a kid and as a student, no different from the others. As the equal he is.

[bainsidhe]

Another article I read made a point of saying that the school and the photographer were very responsive to the family's concerns and worked with them to find a solution. Personally, I wish they'd make that the point of these articles. The parents posted the original photo on their FB to raise awareness of an issue that able-bodied folks may not realize. And I'll be honest, I first saw the original photo and wondered what was wrong. Then I realized how sucky it must be to always be "that kid" on the outskirts, because you weren't just like everyone else. I understand why the first photo happened, and I'm glad that everyone worked together on a successful compromise. The family is happy. The kids are happy. Kudos to the school and photographer on handling this with class.

[Panacea]

I too would have been upset about the first picture. He definitely looks excluded.

But why on Earth would anyone be upset about the second one?

Beats me. It's a great picture.

If you look closely at the first one you'll see the chair is right up against the benches. It couldn't be moved any closer.

That said, personally I would have preferred the benches to be set up to have a gap in the middle of the lower row to accommodate the chair. .

That was my thought. They could have had the kid in front of the row of benches, then had kids crouching around him.

Though the way they did the second pic is much better.

[fireheart17]

That was my thought. They could have had the kid in front of the row of benches, then had kids crouching around him.

Though the way they did the second pic is much better.

I keep thinking of forced perspective....

[Pixilated]

I wondered why, in the initial photo, the boy and his chair weren't placed to the right of the other kids, directly in front of the teacher (I assume that's the adult). I think he would've made him look more "included" in the class.

The second photo is great, and I'm glad the parents were pleased with it; however, I had to rather wonder about the parent's perspective (I think it was the mom) that without the chair he "fits in." The fact is, the boy needs the wheelchair. His "fitting in" shouldn't be measured by whether he's in or out of the chair.

I too would have been upset about the first picture. He definitely looks excluded.

But why on Earth would anyone be upset about the second one?

Apparently the fact he is out of his wheelchair in the second photo caused much loud yapping among some people rabblerabblerabbleargleblargle ...

[HYHYBT]

The first one reminds me of when, 20-25 years ago, Family Feud sometimes had wheelchair-bound contestants. They had to take the fifth place and sit out beyond the end of the podium, and they didn't fit into the standard opening; instead, the *rest* of the family would pose without them up in the picture frame, with the camera zoomed out further than usual so you could see the other team member down in the corner.

Which is still better than the way they handle it now: they "fix" the problem at the contestant selection stage.

[Ginger Tea]

The second photo is great, and I'm glad the parents were pleased with it; however, I had to rather wonder about the parent's perspective (I think it was the mom) that without the chair he "fits in." The fact is, the boy needs the wheelchair. His "fitting in" shouldn't be measured by whether he's in or out of the chair.

He needs the chair for mobility not for reading and writing, what the first picture does is force you to see a boy in a wheelchair, but do you see the boy beyond the chair?

[Andara Bledin]

It doesn't force me to see anything. Actually, the first thing I noticed is that the photographer was kind of a dunce and screwed the composition of the first pic by not including the chair in planning his layout. He could have put the chair and teacher on the same side and kept the balance just fine. But it's painfully obvious that he balanced the photo around the other kids and just kind of threw the last one in. All it speaks of is poor planning, really.

[Fire_on_High]

Andara is right, IMO. Photog isn't that skilled and did a piss poor job with photo composition, being more concerned about keeping the different classes' group shots homogenous than with the subjects he was photographing. If he actively wanted the kid out there were a lot of more subtle tricks he could have used.

Society trying to turn everything into a howl about bigotry or insensitivity is how you end up with folks like me who stop giving a crap because of the perception "can't win, don't try". Crying wolf over someone not thinking is a bad thing in the long term, even if it succeeds in silencing what they don't like short term.