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Every educator has to have a discernible relationship with their students. Not deep, just something recognizable. It could be as basic as looking up from lecture notes to scan the class and acknowledge to oneself that the 50 or 150 people in the seats each have their own lives and some motivation for being in the class (even if required).
But the complement to this is that students have to make the effort too. If a university professor has scheduled hours to see students, or has expressed availability, then use it, or corner them (nicely) after class to ask a question or add a comment.
It was in California sometime in the 90s that I photographed a Jewish Studies teacher - a rebbe - taking a walk with his students on the beach. We "staged" it on one of the three days I was there photographing for a new school brochure, but it was a real occurrence, something they did. Walk and talk. A relationship not of peers, but of a community - small but solid and conducive to growth, and I presume not just the students'.
We walked a bit along the beach, close to Westminster where the school was located. I followed them, and in this shot, I stood to the side. In some of the photos seen on the contact sheet, they were beyond the water line, as small waves swept up lapping at their legs. The strength of this photo is the cohesiveness, the clear mentor relationship (it's at least obvious that one of the individuals is different than the others, in dress and age), the progression as they walk along at a reasonable pace, and the bare feet. That's one of my favorite parts. It says a lot, a comfortability with the natural environs and also with each other.
Judah S. Harris P h o t o g r a p h y + F i l m
E-mail:
judah@judahsharris.com
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/13/2018 08:03PM by mlb.
