Ouzo & Baklava

No, you didn’t mistakenly find a recipe website, you’re at the right place.

Today is Wootness™ Wednesday, so I must talk about something that brings Wootness™ to my life.

So, I’ve decided to talk about teaching, And my students. And how sometimes they crack me up, sometimes I smile because they have learned the lessons I have taught, and sometimes I worry about them.

My students make me smile, laugh and cry. I get to know each of them on a personal level. Maybe that’s just a fancy way of saying I’m nosy, or not shy about asking questions. All I know is that I’ve hugged every one of my students. Some of them multiple times.

Teaching isn’t for everyone. I spent 10 years pre-photographer working in a facility teaching work skills to adults with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. I went through specialized training on how to teach skills to people with issues with learning issues. It prepped me well for the future. Later, I spent 5 years teaching a series of art classes to adults.They required an Ohio Teaching Certificate, so I went through the process to get that. In the past year and a half I’ve been working on the PPA Craftsman Degree requirements and have done a number of speaking engagements in Ohio and Pennsylvania. I find it enjoyable and inspiring. I even discussed the “12 elements of Wootness™” as part of my presentation last month to the Professional Photographers of SouthWest Ohio. How cool is that?

I have found that I enjoy the small studio classes I teach the most. I see the students over a 4-6 week time period and I really get the opportunity to see them apply the knowledge I have shared with them.

Right now I’m teaching a Photography 102 class at the studio, which is composed of several students who went through the 4 week Intro class and a new student who already had the basics under her belt.

Part of the homework for this class is to read the daily articles on Wootness™.

It was evident last week that the Gear Hound article had made an impression.

One of my students has a friend that recently acquired a Canon 5D Mark II. She relayed to the class a conversation she had with this friend in which the friend said she was trying to learn to shoot in manual. The outrage my student displayed over a $3200 camera being used to shoot in Auto was absolutely priceless. A true Wootness™ princess in the making!

To further add to the enjoyment, my princess, using the lesson she learned in the Gear Hound article, questioned her friend about some purchases and asked “Why did you buy this? Why do you need this?” and then with horror in her voice, she said “…and she had NO CLUE!” I laughed until I cried.

Recently my students taught *me* a lesson. In the very first Photography 102 we went through a very complex lesson on shooting in manual and adjusting camera settings in full stops. All of you out there who have mastered the full and partial stops know how tough this can be in the beginning. Well, after a three-hour lesson on these concepts, I sent my students off for a week to do some homework assignments.

At the next class it was obvious that I had not presented the lesson as well as I could have – every single student was confused on precisely the same point in the lesson. OK – in my world, when every single student doesn’t understand the lesson, it’s the instructor’s fault. So, we spent some time reviewing and I explained things a little bit more in English and we were able to achieve understanding.

During the course of evaluating what went wrong, I told my students that I was pretty much teaching them something in a foreign language and they only caught hold of a few of the concepts and the rest went out of the window. Sort of like teaching you how to order from a Greek menu. We went though all the words in Greek for different foods, but when it came time to order, you only ordered one or two items that you remembered…to which one student replied “So, we got lots of Ouzo and Baklava!”

Exactly.

Sometimes I worry about my students. I like to help them learn to shoot better and I watch their progress and take much pride in their skill improvements. Sometimes I see a student try a new project that I didn’t give them guidance in, or perhaps I did, but they’re not doing things how *I* would. I worry that I have adequately prepared them for future steps. I guess I need to learn to let go – kind of like a mom.

Sometimes my students challenge me. I have a student that has noticed that I have not done much creative work lately. In July, she challenged me to take a specific portrait. I have yet to do it. But I will. Soon. Seriously – it’s a good idea and I have a competition coming up in 3 weeks, so I’ll use it for that if my plan works out.

Another student is a high school art teacher who is taking the knowledge she is learning in class to help her teach her own students. That’s pretty cool, too.

So, this is kind of becoming an article about me – but the subject is, after all “Wootness™ Wednesday.” And these are things that bring Wootness™ to my life.

Drop me a line and tell me what brings you Wootness™. I’ll do some interviews and feature some Wootness™ readers in future articles. Use the “contact us” in the red bar at the bottom of the screen, or send an email to christine@wootness.net.