Chris Clyburn on sat 22 nov 03
Ok I need to vent. I've mentioned before that my old ceramics professor
retired. Well they rplaced him at the beginning of summer with a guy who
while having been in eramics (supposedly) for 20 years, has absolutely no
clue what he is doing, yet is condescending towards students who try and fix
his screw ups. I'll give you an example:
We have a 20 year old gas kiln that is in sad shape. It doesn't reduce
properly anymore, has very uneven firing (bottom hits cone 11 while the top
cone 9 is still standing perfectly straight.) Anyway, our main workstudy who
fired the kiln graduated and the two we have now are undertrained and a bit
spacey so their gonna mess up when firing the kiln. Well they have repeated
overfired the kiln it seems at this new professors instructions. They don't
shut off the kiln until the middle shelf reaches cone 10, but by the time
this happens, the bottom cone 11 guard cone has been laying flat a while. No
telling what cone the kiln has actually been hitting.
Anyway the obvious happens after consistently overfiring a kiln, our
insulation breaks down, and our chimney cracks, setting the roof on fire. It
was a minor fire and was put out soon enough but the kiln has to be fixed.
So, to give you an example of what were having to deal with, the "professor"
decides to replace the insulation (good idea) with Kaowool only rated to
2300F, because it's cheaper by half, so that can begin firing to cone 10
again (Oh that's brilliant, lets see, insulation-2300, cone 10 2350, oh yeah
that will work marvelessly if you like kilns made from glass that is. So
after a week of arguing and showing info, he finallly decides that maybe
2400 rating is better, bearing in mind they always over fire. So another
week of telling him he is going to mess up the kiln and he _)finally_ orders
2600 insulation _after_ I have a talk with the department head. So,
insulation problem solved, now how to fix the chimney.
Our department head thought we should hire a mason trained in kiln chimneys
to fix the kiln. Thank the gods right? WRONG! Our brilliant _experienced_
professor convinces the department head he can save the school money by
repairing the chimney which is cracked all over the place. His solution,
place _aluminum_ band around the chimney at 1 foot intervals to hold it
together and contain the heat. He claims he was told that the aluminum would
not melt until 2900F regardless of the fact that aluminum melts at 1220F and
is an _excellent_ conductor of heat.Now I know the external temp of the
chimney would not possible reach 1220F, or our rafters would ignite
regularly, butthe aluminum is banded around cracks and their could be cracks
resulting in localized melts. But the guy will not bend on this, he swears
thathe was told this wouyld not melt, and it must be a different kind of
aluminum (it's not an alloy I checked). He claims that this is a better fix
than paying a mason, becasue brick (firebrick) chimneys are "merely cosmetic"
Now my question is, is it justifiable homicide to strangle this guy? Surely
their is some provision for cases such as these (just kidding). Seriously,
This guy is driving me nuts. On top of all this, he doesn't know some of the
most rudementary aspects of throwing. He was going to give his advanced
class demos on off the hump and sectional throwing, and he had to look it up
in the book because he'd never done it before and didn't know how.
Fortunately I'm passed the stage where I have lessons so I'm not worrried
abbout that part for my sake, but all the incoming students are being
cheated of a goog education by this charlaton.
And I can't complain to anybody on campus for three reasons. One, he is a
friend of most of the faculty and they believe he doing his job and I'm
overreacting. Two, it'll get back to him, and my grades are subjective at
this stage and I _need_ to be able to get into grad school. And three, They
can't hire anyone else because we are in a hiring freeze, and they would
have to shut the program down, losing the school its right to grant BFAs,
and keeping me from finishing my degree.
So, I'm venting, sorry for the rant, but I'm going nuts. I can't transfer
because my wife and I are only one year from finishing and can't afford to
move now and then again when we got to grad school (hopfully I will get in
to Syracuse University _hopefully_)
Anyone have any productive ideas besides proffessorcide?
Thanks,
Chris Clyburn
Dewitt on sat 22 nov 03
At 06:11 PM 11/22/2003, Wally wrote:
>Chris,
>It happened before that professors climbed into a kiln to inspect
>the rear wall, and someone accidently closed the door and started up
>a bisque fire... Ending up with a nice bunch of ingredients to
>start experiments with ash glazes....
>You asked for a "productive" idea, right ?
>Wally.
Will a bisque firing handle tooth enamel or will he need to go a bit
higher? :-)
deg
Susan Setley on sat 22 nov 03
In a message dated 11/22/03 12:42:16 PM, earthfire_studios@COX.NET writes:
<< Now my question is, is it justifiable homicide to strangle this guy? >>
If you can find some place else to fire your best pieces, I would let him do
it himself.
wayneinkeywest on sun 23 nov 03
Chris:
The most obvious solution I can think of:
Let this moron die on his sword. Stop offering advice, stop arguing, do
some tongue biting. Do what you need to do, finish your degree, and let the
chips fall where they may. I know, it's a bitter pill to swallow.
If he wants to burn down the department, let him. Unfortunately, this means
that some students (the ones who don't know enough to question, or are too
lazy to care) will be affected, but that's not your problem either.
Incompetence is never recognised by other incompetents, only by those who
know.
He will be found out eventually.
Wayne Seidl
> Ok I need to vent. I've mentioned before that my old ceramics professor
> retired. Well they rplaced him at the beginning of summer with a guy who
> while having been in eramics (supposedly) for 20 years, has absolutely no
> clue what he is doing, yet is condescending towards students who try and
fix
> his screw ups. I'll give you an example:
>
> We have a 20 year old gas kiln that is in sad shape. It doesn't reduce
> properly anymore, has very uneven firing (bottom hits cone 11 while the
top
> cone 9 is still standing perfectly straight.) Anyway, our main workstudy
who
> fired the kiln graduated and the two we have now are undertrained and a
bit
> spacey so their gonna mess up when firing the kiln. Well they have
repeated
> overfired the kiln it seems at this new professors instructions. They
don't
> shut off the kiln until the middle shelf reaches cone 10, but by the time
> this happens, the bottom cone 11 guard cone has been laying flat a while.
No
> telling what cone the kiln has actually been hitting.
>
> Anyway the obvious happens after consistently overfiring a kiln, our
> insulation breaks down, and our chimney cracks, setting the roof on fire.
It
> was a minor fire and was put out soon enough but the kiln has to be fixed.
>
> So, to give you an example of what were having to deal with, the
"professor"
> decides to replace the insulation (good idea) with Kaowool only rated to
> 2300F, because it's cheaper by half, so that can begin firing to cone 10
> again (Oh that's brilliant, lets see, insulation-2300, cone 10 2350, oh
yeah
> that will work marvelessly if you like kilns made from glass that is. So
> after a week of arguing and showing info, he finallly decides that maybe
> 2400 rating is better, bearing in mind they always over fire. So another
> week of telling him he is going to mess up the kiln and he _)finally_
orders
> 2600 insulation _after_ I have a talk with the department head. So,
> insulation problem solved, now how to fix the chimney.
>
> Our department head thought we should hire a mason trained in kiln
chimneys
> to fix the kiln. Thank the gods right? WRONG! Our brilliant _experienced_
> professor convinces the department head he can save the school money by
> repairing the chimney which is cracked all over the place. His solution,
> place _aluminum_ band around the chimney at 1 foot intervals to hold it
> together and contain the heat. He claims he was told that the aluminum
would
> not melt until 2900F regardless of the fact that aluminum melts at 1220F
and
> is an _excellent_ conductor of heat.Now I know the external temp of the
> chimney would not possible reach 1220F, or our rafters would ignite
> regularly, butthe aluminum is banded around cracks and their could be
cracks
> resulting in localized melts. But the guy will not bend on this, he swears
> thathe was told this wouyld not melt, and it must be a different kind of
> aluminum (it's not an alloy I checked). He claims that this is a better
fix
> than paying a mason, becasue brick (firebrick) chimneys are "merely
cosmetic"
>
> Now my question is, is it justifiable homicide to strangle this guy?
Surely
> their is some provision for cases such as these (just kidding). Seriously,
> This guy is driving me nuts. On top of all this, he doesn't know some of
the
> most rudementary aspects of throwing. He was going to give his advanced
> class demos on off the hump and sectional throwing, and he had to look it
up
> in the book because he'd never done it before and didn't know how.
> Fortunately I'm passed the stage where I have lessons so I'm not worrried
> abbout that part for my sake, but all the incoming students are being
> cheated of a goog education by this charlaton.
>
> And I can't complain to anybody on campus for three reasons. One, he is a
> friend of most of the faculty and they believe he doing his job and I'm
> overreacting. Two, it'll get back to him, and my grades are subjective at
> this stage and I _need_ to be able to get into grad school. And three,
They
> can't hire anyone else because we are in a hiring freeze, and they would
> have to shut the program down, losing the school its right to grant BFAs,
> and keeping me from finishing my degree.
>
> So, I'm venting, sorry for the rant, but I'm going nuts. I can't transfer
> because my wife and I are only one year from finishing and can't afford to
> move now and then again when we got to grad school (hopfully I will get in
> to Syracuse University _hopefully_)
>
> Anyone have any productive ideas besides proffessorcide?
>
>
> Thanks,
> Chris Clyburn
Snail Scott on sun 23 nov 03
At 10:05 AM 11/23/03 -0500, you wrote:
>> ...decides to replace the insulation (good idea) with Kaowool only rated to
>> 2300F, because it's cheaper by half...convinces the department head he
can save the school money by
>> repairing the chimney which is cracked all over the place. His solution,
>> place _aluminum_ band around the chimney at 1 foot intervals to hold it
>> together...
I'd go easy on this guy to start. The compromise between
quality and money can be a tough call, and if he's just
come from a program that pinched every penny, it may
take a little while to readjust his assumptions and pay
good money for the best stuff. There are programs out
there which, although they say they want the best, will
land hard on people who spend too much to get it. A guy
who is new to the program and still feeling his way
around might very well try to impress the powers-that-
be by getting lots of work done 'on the cheap' before
putting in any big-bucks requisitions.
And as for his knowledge gaps, well, none of us knows
everything, and damn few know most of it, either. Give
the guy credit for trying to teach topics he's not too
strong in himself, and trying to learn it 'on the job'
rather than claiming it's not necessary to teach it, or
simply not offering the subject.
It's always a rough transition, when new instructors
are hired. It takes a while for a new person's merits
to be seen, rather than their shortcomings as compared
with the previous person. That previous instructor may
have had some blind spots too, but since you've become
accustomed to their version of the craft, you may not
be aware of those gaps or omissions until you see
someone else's approach.
I'm not saying your objections aren't valid, but give
him a year, then re-evaluate before condemning him
more formally to the administration or elsewhere.
-Snail
karen gringhuis on sun 23 nov 03
Chris -
In my former business life, one of my much older and
wiser manufacturers used to help me stay steady with
"This too shall pass." It's still aggravating when
you're in it and yes, what shall pass incl. the good
things. too.
But with only one year to go, hang on Snoopy, hang on.
SCHOOL situations can be like this - and while it
doesn't have to be that way, sometimes it just IS.
You're in a particularly bad one but try to keep your
wits about you. It's maddening when you know better.
And it's also very sad since there are many young
MFA's out there who could handle this teaching job
very well.
When you are a grad student, you will remember all
this and be the wise, patient, sharing and teaching
one to whom the undergrads bring their qns. (In my
senior yr I took my qns. to one particular grad from
KCAI - to the point where I finally had to explain it
was because I trusted his answers! He always had time
and never lost patience.)
A word of warning - school is not the only place you
will encounter inexperienced people with
responsibility. Inexperienced assistants with
oversized egos, little supervision and poor knowledge
of things like glaze mixing, kiln firing, etc. also
populate some of the most prestigious clay camp summer
programs and university summer schools.
All of which is to say, when one gets one's OWN KILN
and can screw it up (or not!) all on one's own, it is
indeed a HAPPY DAY. Meanwhile, hopefully we can be
savy & humble enough to listen and recognize good
advice when we hear it regardless of source.
You can't save your prof. or your school. You've gone
to the dean once and that sounds like enough risk to
me. The suggestion that perhaps you can find somewhere
else to fire your work is a good one - a local potter
who would barter kiln space for labor?
Hang in there.
=====
Karen Gringhuis
KG Pottery
Box 607 Alfred NY 14802
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
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william schran on sun 23 nov 03
Chris wrote: >....my old ceramics professor
retired. Well they rplaced him at the beginning of summer with a guy who
while having been in eramics (supposedly) for 20 years, has absolutely no
clue what he is doing, yet is condescending towards students who try and fix
his screw ups.
Anyone have any productive ideas besides proffessorcide?<
As someone who has taught at the college level for 26 years,
has been an assistant dean for 12 years and "played" acting dean for
a semester - I sympathize. I've always encouraged my students to let
me know if I was not meeting their expectations and that I was always
open for any comment, positive or negative without any fear of
retribution.
If you attack this guy, it's just gonna be trouble for you.
What I advise is killing him with kindness. He's obviously in over
his head at this point and the expectations of the students who had
the retired professor are high. I'd say go to him and offer your help
as a volunteer teaching assistant/studio assistant. Help him around
the studio in any way you can. Once you're on his good side and he
sees you as a valuable asset, it'll be much easier to discuss
alternative remedies to issues in the studio.
I was very fortunate in my undergrad and grad education.
Undergrad I worked for the art department. My junior/senior year
there was a wholesale change of faculty. I was put in charge of
working with each new faculty, getting them settled in and working
out the kinks in every studio area. Boy - did I learn about lots of
different media! Grad school I was teaching/studio assistant in the
ceramics and printmaking programs - learned about teaching and
maintaining equipment (by trial & error). But I still had lots to
learn - as I still have lots more to learn.
As I tell my students - "I teach for the entertainment
value". I could never find anything on TV as the stuff they come up
with.
Hope this helps a bit, Bill
Wally on sun 23 nov 03
Chris,
It happened before that professors climbed into a kiln to inspect
the rear wall, and someone accidently closed the door and started up
a bisque fire... Ending up with a nice bunch of ingredients to
start experiments with ash glazes....
You asked for a "productive" idea, right ?
Wally.
--- In clayart@yahoogroups.com, Chris Clyburn
wrote:
> Ok I need to vent. > Anyone have any productive ideas besides
proffessorcide?
> Thanks,
> Chris Clyburn
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