should schools go to ALL digital?

[lepaske]

I am a high school photography teacher and my dept. chair wants to do away with our traditional photography program and go all digital. I'm trying to come up with as many ways as i can to show him that it's a bad idea. We do have digital classes, but i think we should have both.

Can you help me come up with some more ideas to prove my view.

Thanks,

Lynne

 

[Big Mike]

Welcome to the forum.

From an administrative standpoint, I can see why many schools are going digital. A 'digital darkroom' is just a computer lab and can be used for just about anything. An actual darkroom has a very specific use and takes up space and supplies that can not be used for anything else.

How about a question for you? What reasons do you have, for keeping film in the curriculum? The more I think about it, the fewer reasons I can think of, in favor of film. Sure, there is the nostalgic aspect of it and B&W film can do things that digital still can't do, in terms of exposure latitude. Digital, on the other hand, offers instant feed back, which is a very good learning tool

From a students point of view, why would they want to learn about film when there is a strong likelihood that most of them will never use film? If they do decide to pursue photography as a career, they will most certainly be using digital.

I am comparing this to my own post secondary education. I took 'Design and Drafting' and when I started, it was primarily manual drafting with only one or two CAD classes. While this did give us a good base of knowledge, it didn't really do much in terms of preparing us for what we would encounter in the professional world. We fought for more CAD and a few years later, the manual drafting has been all but eliminated.

I guess the moral of the story is that we need to keep up with the times...or else we get left behind.

 

[terri]

If this is only about saving money for your school, then the dept. head is more than likely to follow through with this.

This is an issue that has many facets and it will be impossible to weigh in on them all.

You're the teacher and you know what your particular school is facing - do your research! Many darkrooms have closed in campuses across the country; many have remained open, and some have even been updated - and expanded. Classes and workshops in film-based "alternative" photographic processes are available throughout the country. Check online companies like Photographer's Formulary, Bostick & Sullivan, and even Freestyle Photographic for evidence of film's continuing importance.

It won't be hard for you to google this type of information, and you will have more than enough ammunition to show your side, based on real-life stories - as opposed to people's opinions on a photo forum.

In this forum, a question like this will only lead into a film vs digital debate, which is not tolerated well. I hope this helps get you started. Good luck.