My youngest is a senior at our local High School. He is gaga for photography! Who wouldn’t be with an amazing teacher like Amber Fox, who actually moonlights as a professional photographer. In between her busy hours of writing lesson plans, teaching photography, inspiring students and planning cool field trips, she takes incredible pictures.

High School Teachers, you must connect with her! You can find her here: Amber Fox.

This inspiring teacher and a great bunch of kids went on a field trip, and I went with them.  I know, I know. Field Trip! Apt to evoke themes of lost children, boring venues and hot bus rides. This was a special kind of field trip, though. Yes, we still boarded a bus, but wow, what excitement! It was a tremendous opportunity for 50 students; my son included, to take a walking field trip through the streets of Downtown Los Angeles, cameras in hand!  Now I’ve lived in the LA area all my life, but I have to tell you, I’ve never taken a walk in Downtown, until now. This walk, with 50 high school kids in tow, would lead us to The Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Los Angeles Public Library, The Bonaventure Hotel, The Museum of Contemporary Art and lunch at Grand Central Market.

This is our group waiting oh, so, patiently for the bus to arrive. Oh look! That’s our principal! He’s front and center. (Beige pants, black jacket.) He’s coming along too? Oh, goody! Can’t wait to see how much fun this is going to be…Not!

OK, just kidding Dr. P!

Here’s my “gaga for photo” son with his teacher, our amazing Mrs. Fox. She’s the one checking her camera, of course. He’s the one nervously scratching his neck, embarrassed that Mom’s taking a photo!

Ah…Our bus arrives! Bring back any memories?

We arrive all in one piece in LA! First stop: The Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Our teacher directs us to “look up and shoot, shoot, shoot!”  And so we do.

What an interesting angle.

Wow! I can see myself! Love it!

Amazing twists and turns!

Hey, is that our principal over there? We better get moving! Keep shooting!

Just love the gentle feel of the leaves against the backdrop of hard, shiny metal walls.

“Look up! Keep shooting!” Love the feel that this photo evokes.  Arms reaching up to the sky’s of LA…

Incredible design!

OK!  Time for a group shot!  SMILE everyone! And SMILE, they do!

Can’t you just feel their joy? I’ll tell you, it’s wonderful! What’s even more wonderful is the way they respond, with such eagerness, to their teacher. This is what inspired high school kids should look like!

This is what an inspiring teacher does!

And off we go again! Stay together, but keep shooting!

Get the feeling LA is crazy for REDCAT? What’s REDCAT you say? Hey, Google it and find out!

Great shot from above Highway 101! On our way to The Bonaventure Hotel, it’s in the background, upper left.

But first, we stop at a beauty from days gone by: The Biltmore Hotel.

Mrs. Fox tell us, “Look up, look up, keep looking up!” And so we do. Gorgeous.

Amazing and Beautiful.

Wow!

OK, Ms. Fox….my neck is hurting.

Hey, can we have our prom here? Mrs. Fox says, “Wouldn’t that be nice? This is where I had my prom.”

As a matter of fact, come to think of it, mine was here too! Enough with the nostalgia, already. Let’s get going!

Off we go…The Los Angeles Public Library. Such an amazing resource.

The famous Los Angeles City Hall.

The Bonaventure Hotel!

And then…we arrive at MOCA. The Museum of Contemporary Art. An incredible collection of paintings, photography, sculpture, drawings and more. We aren’t allowed to take photos inside but our young photographers are enthralled by the images they see and experience. Mrs. Fox has arranged for a team of dedicated MOCA educators, Curriculum Art Start (CAS) to meet with small groups of our students. They will guide them with discussions via Socratic Seminar (great strategy) to be engaged and fully experience the art. Then as we leave, Mrs. Fox has arranged for each student to receive a free MOCA entrance pass for a year! By doing so, our kids, can bring their families, friends and younger siblings back to share in the same experience.

What a wonderful, inspired idea!  (Here is the link: MOCA and the CAS Program.)

All too soon, our trip is coming to a close, but it’s time for lunch! Location:Grand Central Market.

An amazing collection of fabulous food, smells, visual delights and lots of hungry people!

Our teacher instructs us to get busy and get something to eat. “Keep shooting! Get some of the signs. Try something new!” she says. And some of us do.

Mrs. Fox tells me, that she chose this place for lunch, to give her kids a teachable moment. The opportunity to experience and enjoy real LA diversity. Something that is missing in most of their lives and in our small LA suburb. She truly wants them to grow beyond their model of living in a small town in Southern California. To see people of many cultures, meeting together. Sharing food, talking, laughing! Everyone enjoying a common act: eating.

Which brings me back to this….This is who Mrs. Fox works every day to teach. This is who she strives to inspire.

And she does, indeed, Inspire!

Just an aside…my son took these great photo’s and he’s just a beginner. Our Mrs. Fox and her teaching, is his inspiration! Stay tuned for more of Mrs. Fox, sharing her classroom experience.