Painting class and other people's disorganization

[lilaenne]

What's the whole teacher/student relationship dynamic, in that class and in the school in general? I went to a university with an "education of the whole person" focus, so you could basically throw yourself into any subject that interested you (leaving the rest of that class far behind, if needed) and the teachers would support you. On the other hand, if the school's philosophy is "we turn out employable management drones," the prof may be in a position where he can't allow you to deviate from the plan without getting himself in trouble.  (The fact that you do both Clarinet performance and visual arts implies it's more the former kind of school than the latter, but just in case, it's something to consider.)

So, unless it looks like Pablo has an easily bruised ego and would take poorly (i.e. vengefully) to your request, by all means go ahead and make the request. My best and most useful semester in college included three teachers who pretty much left me to my own devices.

[Cydrius]

Apparently, for the people who didn't finish all their paintings, Pablo isn't going to penalize them, but rather, just make the paintings they DID finish worth more, so someone who only did two or three out of the four assignments could end up with a better mark than me, and I did all four......and again, we were supposed to do five.  But anyway, by marking that way, Pablo is effectively telling people that it's okay not to finish all their work.

Whoa. That, I find very unfair.

This whole dicussion reminds me of an incident in art class, two years ago. We had to sketch a well known art piece of our choice. While I had done mine with all the effort I could gather, a friend of mine, who frankly didn't care about art class, spend no more than thirty seconds on his. he submitted a sketch of the Mona Lisa that most probably didn't feature more than a dozen pencil lines.

His grade was far above mine, despite his work getting various negative comments, and mine none.

When HE, out of disbelief, went and asked the teacher, she replied:

"Oh, well you and CP aren't evaluated on the same standards."


I mean, honestly? What the heck?

[Alida]

"Oh, well you and CP aren't evaluated on the same standards."


I mean, honestly? What the heck?

That's wrong.  Very wrong.  Obviously, 12 lines is not a lot of effort, regardless of the standards!

[MadMadge43]

I don't agree with that either.....you may think you "won," but so will the people who didn't do their work and got A's anyway, and that'll just teach them that they can get something for nothing.  I know that that doesn't directly affect you in the short run, but for me, I think Pablo's grading system just perpetuates the worst qualities of Bishop's, i.e. the idea that taking responsibility for one's life and obligations is optional.

Let them think they've won. It doesn't matter in the slightest to me.

There are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, you get out of life what you put into it. And if you go around comparing what others have and what others have done to deserve this you will never be happy. Life is not fair.

You can choose to be upset and taint your entire experience with this art class over this, or you can choose to realize that you found a new love and continue doing it, for your own personal reason or really buckle down and decide to go pro. What other people do that doesn't effect you should have no bearing on your life.

If you were being compared against their work, which I don't think you will be, then I would have a problem. But for now it was a great adventure for you, not a competition.

I would still however be upset that I didn't get to learn something new because of their behaviors

[freakyfemme]

Hey all,

Change of plans, I'm not going home until Wednesday or Thursday, because I was supposed to write my last exam today, but I was sick, so I'm writing it on Tuesday, so the picking up the paintings thing isn't an issue anymore......but I'm planning to take Painting II next semester, and Pablo's teaching that class, so it might be more of the same if I don't speak up.  I guess maybe I could either talk to him next semester before the class starts, or just say something if it happens again.  It's not all bad, though, I bought five canvasses thinking I'd use them all this semester, but now I have an extra one, so I can start painting right away next semester.

[freakyfemme]

Hey all, time for an update.

I went by the art building today after practicing again, with the intention of speaking with Pablo and picking up my paintings.  Since I'm going to still be here tomorrow (I got my last exam deferred because I was sick), I asked him if it'd be better for me to pick them up today or tomorrow, and he told me tomorrow.  Also, when I asked, he said that he'd try to accommodate my request to continue on to the next assigned painting if I finish before the rest of the class, although he said it's a bit more difficult for him, to have 20 people in the same class, but some working on different projects than others, but he said that since I "work harder than the others" (his words), then he thinks I should be allowed to work ahead if I want to.  He said he'd sent me an e-mail, and I should go home and read it, so I did, and in the e-mail, he apologized for not having my work marked sooner, and that I'd actually done reasonably well in the class.....my final mark will be between 77 and 81, which, according to Pablo, is a great success for someone who's never taken a Fine Arts course before.  So, I'm pretty happy with the way things turned out, and I'm looking forward to continuing with painting next semester.  I think I might take a drawing course too, to improve my painting skills.