How Do I Prepare for Fall Semester?
In this brand new series Highly Qualified, we invite a professional in their respective field to school us on a topic in their wheelhouse. Given that the school year is starting all across the world whether we like it or not, we were curious to hear how a professor is preparing for the Fall 2020 semester with all of its thorny unknowns.
For our first edition, we spoke with Rizzhel Javier, adjunct professor of photography at San Diego City College, about how she is preparing for the upcoming semester mentally and operatively. What we received from her is a teaching philosophy guide that should be read by all teachers and professors (and while we’re at it, managers)—regardless if we’re in a pandemic or not. From her outlook on prioritizing students’ social and emotional health to fostering an environment where active participation is comfortable and desirable, this piece is a wealth of information on how to move forward in your classrooms and even your workplaces with a strong emphasis on the significance of emotional intelligence. For context, we asked her the question below in pink. The rest is written entirely by Javier, a brilliant and thoughtful photographer and educator.
Schools, educators and parents are all facing an incredibly precarious time. Some schools are opened, some only virtual, some doing a few days a week. What is your approach to the upcoming semester? How are you feeling about moving forward in all the uncertainty?
I believe that the process of education should be centered around the needs of humanity. Behind the disguise of catalog topics and subjects, education is about helping each other and using our knowledge to make life more comfortable for everyone. As I move into the Fall semester, I have been asking myself this question: What do people need to feel right now?
COMFORT
My approach to the upcoming school year is to pay attention to the needs of my students. All my classes are virtual this semester and because of this distance, it's become essential to establish good working relationships with each and every student. I do this through your standard avenues of emails, online discussions and videos but what I think is important is that those experiences are genuine. When I speak with students, instead of jumping right into work, I might ask them how their day is going. In my online class, we created a community.
I want to align to share ideas about how to keep the class conversations safe and inclusive. Not only am I trying to support my students, but I am trying to model situations where I feel that they can be advocates for the kind of education they need. Now is the perfect time to do that.
LEADERSHIP
The last two semesters have been the most important semesters of my professional career. A true testament to my love for learning and dedication to my students. The pandemic has required me to push my creativity and innovative ideas in ways that I haven't done before to create and manage a classroom experience that is informational and engaging. Virtual learning is about an experience; a blend of information, but also a skill in delivering the information in ways where students can apply knowledge to their personal life. In order to do this, I had to talk to my community, students, parents, youth, teachers and administrators. I had to learn about their fears, concerns and how to create a virtual environment that builds the kind of comfort, that helps reduce their worry and anxiety.
COMPASSION
When my students talk to me I listen. If they are having challenges in class, I think about what I can do to present my content in different ways, and do my best to create an environment that is inclusive. We are in new territory, which means there are a lot of unanswered questions, and I think it's important to include the students in those discussions. This semester I choose to center my classes around the social and emotional health of my students. I believe that if the basics of our personal needs are not met, that it can be very challenging to focus or dedicate time to anything else. In all this uncertainty, I actually feel in a lot of ways, I have been able to make virtual instruction more personal than classes that were face-to-face. We do a check-in at the beginning of class that does take a significant amount of time, but it makes the learning process more personal, impactful and productive.
HONESTY
I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I know that photography is important and that it taught me a lot about truth. My students always come to the class to learn about photography, but I tell them that there is a lot more to photography than just pictures. There are a lot of people that are not okay right now, our country feels unsafe and I understand if people are experiencing stress due to financial, housing, health and more. I feel it's important to bring these topics to the classroom and it is almost impossible not to see images of what is happening via media and news. So what do I do? I encourage my students to use the class to exercise the same kind of language. I ask them what kind of pictures they are seeing right now and more importantly what kinds of pictures they are not seeing. This will require a certain amount of trust, that will directly be included by the words and ways you engage with your class.
I thought about this a lot when I emailed my students this semester on the first day of class, this is what I wrote:
My name is Rizzhel Javier, you can call me RIZZ, and I will be your Instructor this Fall 2020 for Beginning Digital Photography. Thank you for virtually joining me for this class, I hope this message finds you well, and that you are feeling safe and respected today. This is a historical semester, as we return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic, and I would like to just say ahead of time that I appreciate the time and energy you are using to read these words right now. It is not an easy time for learning (or unlearning) and I would just like to recognize you for being present in this moment. I would like to acknowledge the efforts you are taking to be here right now, to do something for yourself, and thank you for sharing your time with me.
I believe the most beautiful thing about photography is that it allows us to experience the world, even if for just a brief moment, through the eyes of a different person. The reason why I am here right now, is because I need you, the world needs to see what is happening right now and I am asking you for help. For ten years, I have been teaching photography across the San Diego region, and my biggest take away from this experience is that if I want to learn about something the best resource is community. This could be where you live, in reference to culture or about a group of people that have something in common. I teach photography because I have hope, as an Asian-American who grew up without her culture represented in the media, that it's people like you that can help me transform the use of media today and build a new virtual world that reflects us.
Photography is power. I believe that photographers play an essential role in society today. Photographers are essential workers, people who actively archive humanity, photographers give a chance for people to learn about things that would otherwise go invisible. Their images carry the historical record of our culture and society. It is through photography, and other media, that people learn about who we are and where we come from. I believe, in a world drowning in images, that it is becoming increasingly important for all photographers to ask questions about the photos they create, the photos they look at and the photos that they don't see. I believe these critical observations are what transforms photography into something far more than an image, each photo is proof that photography has the power to create a more empathetic and compassionate society.
You are important. There is no one in the world exactly like you and I look forward to learning about the world through your eyes. As you learn about photography, and start to create your work, pay attention to what you pay attention to. Those are the hints and clues that are telling you what you care about. If you are comfortable, this is what I hope we can all share together in this class, that knowledge is what will make our learning experience fun, engaging and unique. As I mentioned earlier, there is no one in the world like you, which means every class is different because of you. Thank you again for joining me on this journey. I look forward to meeting you.
To all the teachers struggling with the fear of teaching this Fall, especially in the virtual environment, my advice is create a space where your students are active participants in their learning. You will never have to worry about how interested they are; if they are participating, they will be learning in whatever way they need to absorb the information. It is our goal to get to know our students well enough and to understand how to apply the information in ways that are relevant to their life. The easiest way to do that is to think of them as people—not just students—and that can go a long way. One of my students messaged me this week to tell me, “I’ve been in school pretty continually since elementary and neither my K-12 nor my college and vocational syllabi have ever tended to or made me feel seen as a human being.”
I don’t know exactly how the Fall semester will play out, but I do know that I care about my job, I care about my students and I care about my class. Photography is a tool that can be used for expression and during this time where so many stories are invisible, I feel confident that the images my students create this semester will bring them some comfort, challenge them and give them some insight on how to stay afloat in all the uncertainty.