Photo Drop Outs

     I posted the grades for my Black and White 1 PHO class the other day. Out of 11 registered students, I only had to give grades to 4, because the others quit coming to class early in the semester. Needless to say, I handed out 7 Fs. 

     I don't understand the mentality of students who sign up for class, pay the tuition, but not show up. I get that quite a few students at a community college sign up for a basic photography class thinking they're going to have "fun." It takes about 3 weeks into the semester for most of the dropouts to realize it's more work and math than they bargained for. The B&W classes at Owens are not about simply learning how to set cameras on auto and point and shoot. Students learn the fundamentals of photography; shutter speed, aperture, ISO, reciprocity, composition, lighting, etc. And they get to process and print in a traditional darkroom. How cool is that?

     In today's economy, students should be making the most out of their college experience. If they don't want to complete the class, why don't they drop out and save their money and GPA? It's a competitive world out there, and Fs don't look good to employers. 

     In the end, giving grades to four out of 11 students was easy workflow, but hard for me to understand.