Snapshots from the old Photoshop Basics Class

From 2002 to 2006, I had the privilege of teaching for the Adult Continuing Education (ACE) program for my alma mater, Evanston Township High School. I was inspired to do this from a customer who is a public school teacher.

I never thought to make class photos until the last years before the ETHS board outsourced the program to Oakton Community College. There was a lot of protest about this, by the way. Attended the meeting in support of keeping the program in-house. I was in the majority. It was a sad day. To many, education is a profit-making venture. Even if it's a not-for-profit organization, money and prestige are intoxicating substances.

I never could get my head around that plan. There were some great people who led the program such as Anna Nakashima, Liz Aragon and others. They really cared about the teachers and the students. We were always able to work things out. Ever since Oakton Community College was put in charge, I never had another class. This wasn't so bad as it gave me inspiration and time to create a video version of the Photoshop Basics Course.

Anyway, here are some of the class photos. Typical with all classes and conflicts students have with schedules, daily life, or not liking the teacher, folks usually dropped out after the first few weeks. So these are the ones that made it. They all did very well.

Finally, I'd like to mention a student who passed away suddenly from lung cancer on September 11, 2006, Mr. Samir Id Deen.

If you know of anyone in the class that passed away, please post it in the comments sections. Life is short. Also, if you were a student, post a comment. I'd love to hear about what you're up to! To all past students: Please stay in touch by joining the Photo Grafix email newsletter.