Thinking outside the box - gone wrong? - GoFuckYourself.com

SilentKnight · 02-08-2009, 07:58 AM

Long read - but true story. Fellow photogs might get a kick outta this.

We've all heard the expression "think outside the box", right?

Generally its considered a good thing to come up with innovative and original solutions for a problem that isn't easily solved through conventional wisdom.

Not always.

Years ago while on a 2-year college photography course, our lab class had the unfortunate situation of enduring an instructor who was hired by the college Dean because she was a personal friend of the Dean - not because of her teaching qualifications or experience.

Midway through the course, the instructor gave us a still-life assignment to be shot in black-and-white - with no flash to be used. Basically the concept was to make use of available light only.

After giving the assignment some thought - I decided to use a large mirror (20" x 48") to bounce sunlight on to a still-life scene I'd set up in the backyard (an old wooden rainbarrel partially covered with a drop cloth, old western cowboy boots and a straw hat).

I shot two rolls of 36-exposure B&W film, had the shots processed and was very pleased with the final results. The pics were vivid, crisp, well-lit and the interaction between light and shadow on the prop textures was terrific.

I submitted the slides for the assignment.

A week later we had a slideshow in lab class featuring everyone's work. When my first shot appeared on screen - the instructor fixed an angry look on her face and said to the class - "Okay...what was the one key restriction about this assignment?"

Someone replied, "No using flash."

She turns to me and says, "Why did you use flash for your photos?"

"I didn't," I responded. "There was no flash used."

The instructor looks at the photo again, turns to the class and says, "Okay, who thinks flash was used on this photo?"

A few people spoke up in agreement. I just sat there with a slight smile.

So the instructor turns back to me and says, "Everyone thinks you used flash for this shot. Why not just admit you did?"

"I didn't use flash," I repeated.

Anyways, we went back and forth for a good solid five minutes or more like two third-graders arguing in a sandbox - before I finally said, "I used a mirror to bounce sunlight onto the scene."

The instructor looked at the photo again without saying a word. Then she clicked to another pic in the set, and then a third.

"They were all shot using a mirror in various positions," I added.

Clearly the instructor was embarrassed with her earlier tirade and finally said, "Well...they're very cliche - like calendar photos."

"Really?" I replied. "Photographers who shoot for calendars often make a fair bit of money, right?"

She snorted.

Later after class several classmates came up to me in the cafeteria and we all had a good chuckle at the instructor's expense.

As it turned out - she failed me on the assignment. No valid reason or explanation. When I questioned her about it, she simply said that I hadn't followed the criteria laid out for the assignment.

So much for thinking outside the box in that instance.

quantum-x · 02-08-2009, 08:04 AM

You can't fuck with the education system. It's full of people who have spent their life in the system, and hate it being challenged.

I hated every moment I was at university.

alias · 02-08-2009, 08:09 AM

I used to love fucking with the art teacher adjuncts in college.

One time for a bathroom still life I painted a glorious pink toilet on hideous blue and canary bg.. .

Or the time I snapped a shot of a bum in NYC who was so pissed at the picture he dropped a crumpled wad of singles on the concrete to point at me. [He chased me also.]

This was for a self portrait. I reasoned that any photo showing my interaction with the world at large was a self portrait. She resisted.

The next class said adjunct had apparently shown my portrait to her own professor and he had agreed with my argument & enlightened her. Big apologies all around and an A on the project.

Ethersync · 02-08-2009, 08:10 AM

The problem here was not thinking outside the box. The problem is the teacher is a cunt.

SilentKnight · 02-08-2009, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quantum-x

You can't fuck with the education system. It's full of people who have spent their life in the system, and hate it being challenged.

I hated every moment I was at university.

Except this woman was new to teaching - it was her first year.

Her apparent 'qualifications' were she once worked as a receptionist in a swanky art studio downtown (or so she told us).

Perhaps I'd gotten off on the wrong foot from the beginning with her.

On day one of class, we were talking about lenses - so I asked her about the differences between a 35mm lens and a camcorder lens. I was genuinely curious and didn't know the answer myself at the time.

She replied, "What's a camcorder?"

alias · 02-08-2009, 08:24 AM

What about really great teachers? This guy was a badass: http://www.jaywholley.com/

Jay took us to a sculpture symposium, we had a full remote studio open 24/7 with our own access. Cast iron and bronze. Learned to weld and cut metal.

alias · 02-08-2009, 08:28 AM

Another great art teacher I had was:

Pat Nemchock is a Master Teacher who has mentored hundreds of the nation’s most outstanding high school art students to receive regional and national recognition. Her reputation as a leader in her field is recognized nationally and in her own state. Her approach to teaching drawing and painting and curricular innovation is unique and effective. She especially likes to teach art teachers because they impact the life of so many young artists.

http://www.kcai.edu/spce/GradLevelSpringClasses2009.php

SilentKnight · 02-08-2009, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alias

Another great art teacher I had was:

Pat Nemchock is a Master Teacher who has mentored hundreds of the nation’s most outstanding high school art students to receive regional and national recognition. Her reputation as a leader in her field is recognized nationally and in her own state. Her approach to teaching drawing and painting and curricular innovation is unique and effective. She especially likes to teach art teachers because they impact the life of so many young artists.

http://www.kcai.edu/spce/GradLevelSpringClasses2009.php

I'm not denyin' there's a lot of excellent teachers out there - I had quite a number of great instructors back in the college days.

Its just rather depressing when you pay bigtime tuition, a fortune for textbooks and all the other assorted costs involved - and end up with a former receptionist who doesn't know her arse from a hole in the ground.

I have to wonder how many people she dissuaded from photography with her narrow-minded thinking and lack of people skills.

alias · 02-08-2009, 08:36 AM

Yeah man I had an advertising teacher that sucked really bad. Some in house large agency NYC designer twat.

SilentKnight · 02-08-2009, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alias

Yeah man I had an advertising teacher that sucked really bad. Some in house large agency NYC designer twat.

Sometimes there's truth to the old adage - "Those who can't do........teach."

Emphasis on sometimes.

John-ACWM · 02-08-2009, 10:24 AM

Man I hate stupid teachers and we all had them. You did great

SilentKnight · 02-08-2009, 08:37 PM

As a final chapter to this little anecdote - the photography instructor didn't return for a second year of teaching at the campus.

Turns out - she graded all the students on the two-semester course so abysmally low that we formed a student committee and filed a formal grievance with the Dean.

Subsequently the Dean had to review all marks and re-adjust them 'on a curve' so that a larger percentage of students were awarded their earned credits.

$5 submissions · 02-08-2009, 11:50 PM

Man, sounds like she had some serious issues. Teaching is not for everyone. Not by a long shot.

02-08-2009, 07:58 AM	#1
SilentKnight Megan Fox's fluffer Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: shooting pool in Elysium Posts: 24,818	Thinking outside the box - gone wrong? Long read - but true story. Fellow photogs might get a kick outta this. We've all heard the expression "think outside the box", right? Generally its considered a good thing to come up with innovative and original solutions for a problem that isn't easily solved through conventional wisdom. Not always. Years ago while on a 2-year college photography course, our lab class had the unfortunate situation of enduring an instructor who was hired by the college Dean because she was a personal friend of the Dean - not because of her teaching qualifications or experience. Midway through the course, the instructor gave us a still-life assignment to be shot in black-and-white - with no flash to be used. Basically the concept was to make use of available light only. After giving the assignment some thought - I decided to use a large mirror (20" x 48") to bounce sunlight on to a still-life scene I'd set up in the backyard (an old wooden rainbarrel partially covered with a drop cloth, old western cowboy boots and a straw hat). I shot two rolls of 36-exposure B&W film, had the shots processed and was very pleased with the final results. The pics were vivid, crisp, well-lit and the interaction between light and shadow on the prop textures was terrific. I submitted the slides for the assignment. A week later we had a slideshow in lab class featuring everyone's work. When my first shot appeared on screen - the instructor fixed an angry look on her face and said to the class - "Okay...what was the one key restriction about this assignment?" Someone replied, "No using flash." She turns to me and says, "Why did you use flash for your photos?" "I didn't," I responded. "There was no flash used." The instructor looks at the photo again, turns to the class and says, "Okay, who thinks flash was used on this photo?" A few people spoke up in agreement. I just sat there with a slight smile. So the instructor turns back to me and says, "Everyone thinks you used flash for this shot. Why not just admit you did?" "I didn't use flash," I repeated. Anyways, we went back and forth for a good solid five minutes or more like two third-graders arguing in a sandbox - before I finally said, "I used a mirror to bounce sunlight onto the scene." The instructor looked at the photo again without saying a word. Then she clicked to another pic in the set, and then a third. "They were all shot using a mirror in various positions," I added. Clearly the instructor was embarrassed with her earlier tirade and finally said, "Well...they're very cliche - like calendar photos." "Really?" I replied. "Photographers who shoot for calendars often make a fair bit of money, right?" She snorted. Later after class several classmates came up to me in the cafeteria and we all had a good chuckle at the instructor's expense. As it turned out - she failed me on the assignment. No valid reason or explanation. When I questioned her about it, she simply said that I hadn't followed the criteria laid out for the assignment. So much for thinking outside the box in that instance.

02-08-2009, 08:04 AM	#2
quantum-x Confirmed User Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: ICQ: 251425 Fr/Au/Ca Posts: 6,863	You can't fuck with the education system. It's full of people who have spent their life in the system, and hate it being challenged. I hated every moment I was at university. __________________ PrettyInCash.com - BoozedGFs.com - TeenGFs.com - JizzGFs.com- MilfUploads.com -

02-08-2009, 08:09 AM	#3
alias aliasx Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 19,010	I used to love fucking with the art teacher adjuncts in college. One time for a bathroom still life I painted a glorious pink toilet on hideous blue and canary bg.. . Or the time I snapped a shot of a bum in NYC who was so pissed at the picture he dropped a crumpled wad of singles on the concrete to point at me. [He chased me also.] This was for a self portrait. I reasoned that any photo showing my interaction with the world at large was a self portrait. She resisted. The next class said adjunct had apparently shown my portrait to her own professor and he had agreed with my argument & enlightened her. Big apologies all around and an A on the project. __________________ https://porncorporation.com

02-08-2009, 08:24 AM	#6
alias aliasx Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 19,010	What about really great teachers? This guy was a badass: http://www.jaywholley.com/ Jay took us to a sculpture symposium, we had a full remote studio open 24/7 with our own access. Cast iron and bronze. Learned to weld and cut metal. __________________ https://porncorporation.com

02-08-2009, 08:28 AM	#7
alias aliasx Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 19,010	Another great art teacher I had was: Pat Nemchock is a Master Teacher who has mentored hundreds of the nation’s most outstanding high school art students to receive regional and national recognition. Her reputation as a leader in her field is recognized nationally and in her own state. Her approach to teaching drawing and painting and curricular innovation is unique and effective. She especially likes to teach art teachers because they impact the life of so many young artists. http://www.kcai.edu/spce/GradLevelSpringClasses2009.php __________________ https://porncorporation.com

02-08-2009, 08:10 AM	#4
Ethersync Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: London, Saint-Tropez, Bermuda, Moscow Posts: 5,289	The problem here was not thinking outside the box. The problem is the teacher is a cunt.

02-08-2009, 08:36 AM	#9
alias aliasx Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 19,010	Yeah man I had an advertising teacher that sucked really bad. Some in house large agency NYC designer twat. __________________ https://porncorporation.com

02-08-2009, 10:24 AM	#11
John-ACWM Work Work Work Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: EU Posts: 20,060	Man I hate stupid teachers and we all had them. You did great __________________ Video Chat Forum

02-08-2009, 08:37 PM	#12
SilentKnight Megan Fox's fluffer Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: shooting pool in Elysium Posts: 24,818	As a final chapter to this little anecdote - the photography instructor didn't return for a second year of teaching at the campus. Turns out - she graded all the students on the two-semester course so abysmally low that we formed a student committee and filed a formal grievance with the Dean. Subsequently the Dean had to review all marks and re-adjust them 'on a curve' so that a larger percentage of students were awarded their earned credits.

02-08-2009, 11:50 PM	#13
$5 submissions I help you SUCCEED Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The Pearl of the Orient Seas Posts: 32,115	Man, sounds like she had some serious issues. Teaching is not for everyone. Not by a long shot. __________________ Need To Backup Your ADULT Income? Let me build you complete ADSENSE sites! For Hire: $3/hour or $400 per month Marketing Specialist Virtual Assistants