txt=When I began teaching in the Oakland public schools I found myself in a world that was very different from the world I grew up in. I was appalled at the conditions of the schools and the substandard education that the children received. My heart broke every time my students would speak of unsafe neighborhoods, violence, gangs, poverty, dysfunctional family situations, incarceration, not having enough money, and other things that you wish children didn't have to deal with. But that's not all that you find in the Oakland public schools. You find beautiful children from a wide diversity of backgrounds and experiences from all over the world. There is a universality to childhood and adolescence that transcends culture and social conditions. My work celebrates the beauty of these kids and explores the changing cultural landscape of California and the nation, the public school experience, and growing up in Oakland. Looking for Hope is a collaboration between the students and myself. The photographs themselves are collaborations, as both the students and I take part in their creation, and the text component of the work was created by students. I wanted there to be a context for the photographs and who better to speak about the experience of the schools and of their lives than the students themselves? As a society we would be much better off if we were to listen to the voices of these children more often, if we were to pay attention to their needs and desires and make providing them with a decent education and giving all children a fair shake a priority. Instead, our government chooses to shower resources and favor on those who are already well off and to squander the wealth of the nation on war. The title, Looking for Hope, comes from the poem "Help" by Claudia Kelly, who was then an eighth grader at Calvin Simmons Middle School. To me the phrase is pure genius. If a child has to look for hope, it implies that there is no hope, yet the very act of looking for hope is hopeful--optimism even when things appear to be at their worst. The photographs in this project were shot from 1995 to 2003 at four public schools in Oakland where I taught. The website and the project are evolving, more material is being created. I am at work to make Looking For Hope a book. Matt O'Brien | contact