Ahh, picture day...what more can I say?
In the ongoing effort to serve the interests of photographers, our school once again held our annual Picture Day, as do all other schools in the western world. But why, I ask? Why can't they all just go to Sears for their photos?
What drives school decision-making? "Literacy," we're told. Unless it's Picture Day. Then, everything goes right out the window, and organizational chaos quickly takes over in the middle school. The day begins with a staff photo, and we're all late getting to the doors when the bell rings. Throughout the day administrators, and sometimes even students man the P.A., interrupting classes repeatedly as they call the next bunch down for pics.
A student shows up at my door, "It's time for your advisor pic. They need you now." Problem- it's 5 minutes before end of class, and there's no adult assigned to replace me. What am I supposed to do? Beam me down to auditorium, Scotty! Ten minutes later, I'm done. The kids in my advisor were supposed to stay in the auditorium, but were told to go back to class. Problem: they are from 3 different classrooms! One of those teachers was expecting the kids to be in the auditorium, but half the class showed up in the classroom, while the rest wandered the halls trying to figure out where to go.
A little planning and forethought would sure go a long way. The photographer should be the one inconvenienced. They should have at least two group locations set up, maybe three. They could rent a camera or two. How about a slightly extended advisor time, so that advisor classes can be brought down by a student runner (no announcements required), lined up and done within 10 minutes. The whole photo thing should be done in half a day with minimal disruptions, or we shouldn't do it at all.
Who serves who in the school photo business?
Now, don't get me going about Helloween...
