Monday, May 2, 2011

Photography & Reform



















That has to be the best photograph of Lauren Bacall ever.

I've been looking at a lot of photos lately. I'm heading into the darkroom one of these days soon to print up some stuff from my Italy trip as well as a few other things I've shot over the last year. Seems like I'm always bouncing from one thing to another, no surprise if you've read this blog for anytime at all, but photography and motorcycles are the ones I always return to. I want to enter a couple of photos in the county fair this year. The black and white stuff was mostly garbage last year. Plus, I'll hopefully end up with a couple of nice photos to hang on the wall. A couple from Italy and a couple of artsy-fartsy ones.

In keeping with my goal to finish some things up, however, I'm not starting on my new pinhole camera for a while. I want to make one that uses the same 4x5 film I use in my big cameras. I'm working on a design but it'll have to simmer a bit. I have been making a little progress around the shack. Put a new battery and new blades on the mower and have kept up with the mowing in between the raindrops and the pumping. I got a little of the garden turned over prior to heading out for opening day of T-Ball season on Sunday. Hope to have that finished up by the weekend so I can start planting. Baby chicks will be here on Friday - looking forward to that. I've got a couple of things to finish up for their nursery. Paint it pink, hang a little mobile overhead - those kind of things.

The governor signed the merit pay bill for teachers, so his reform agenda has been fully implemented. The total package was tamed down some but it's going to be real interesting to see how all of this reform shakes out over the next few years. Real reform would have changed the delivery model. I don't know where the politicians got their information that led them down this path, but I'll be they didn't talk to too many "old school" shop teachers or young teachers who left the classroom within the first five years of their career, as so many do. I do have to admire the nerve of people who have never taught anyone a day in their life deciding what's best for education. Especially when they cut the funding. I haven't yet seen how they are going to reward those of us who don't directly prepare students for the graduation exams or how they are going to compensate those they force to get additional education in order to renew their teaching license. Yep, it's going to be interesting.

The sun's supposed to be out for a few days early in the week. Let's all get outside and work on our melanomas.


2 comments:

Rusty Phoenix Motors said...

And I'm just at the start... Hope to make it past the 5 years you talk about. Thought this was an interesting view: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/opinion/01eggers.html

Shop Teacher Bob said...

dorkpunch: If you're just starting, don't get discouraged by what I've been saying lately. I've been doing this for 35 years and I would have quit a long time ago if it wasn't worth it. Because I've been doing it for 35 years is why I'm so upset with the changes that are being wrought by the politicians. There needs to be changes made but I firmly believe they are taking things in the wrong direction. The New York Times editorial points out one of the directions true reform should have taken - invest heavily in good people and pay them accordingly. The other direction would be to take the advice of the Wisdom of the Hands blog writer, Doug Stowe. Engage the hands in meaningful projects while teaching a subject. There are plenty of successful models of education to follow but for some reason they never become mainstream. The pendulum will swing back in a few years and hopefully common sense will prevail.

I hope you have a long and rewarding career. Thanks for stopping by.