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Projecting Professional Images ... Through the Eyes of Photo Lenses

DeRutha Richardson
Muskogee High School, Muskogee, Oklahoma

Subject: Career Education
Grade: 12

"So many individuals and businesses wanted to become involved, either as observers or participants, that not all volunteers could be accommodated."

Purpose and Description of Project

Robert Burns wished in verse that some power would enable us to see ourselves as others see us. Business education teacher DeRutha Richardson used before and after still photographs to do just that for her high school seniors so that they could present the best possible image to prospective employers. Her goal in this project was to carry out a perception study that would demonstrate to her students that their dress, grooming, and physical attitudes make up a silent language that can make them or break them in the professional world. She also helped her students to gain a background of information and experience on which to base the choices that determine the overall impression they make as would-be employees.

Ten fields covered in the project were general management, office administration, banking, fashion, advertising, executive secretary, teaching, school administration, law, and insurance. Each student focused on one of these career areas. In addition to experiential activities for the students, two tangible products resulted from the project: (1) a job seekers manual with text and illustrative photographs and (2) individual student photo essays made up of captioned photos (of themselves and personally selected professional role models) that demonstrated what each student had learned.

And Richardson, it should be noted, had the courage to kick off the project with a show-stopper that demonstrated her convictions about the importance of the silent language. She turned up in class on the first day of the project as a model portraying the most negative image she could contrive. In her own words, she astonished her unsuspecting students by appearing in an old floppy jacket, flannel socks over stockings, with tennis shoes, a long fishtail dress, hair slicked back, no makeup, and a missing tooth effect. The result? She lost all control of the class, could not get students attention, and endured 15 minutes of total chaos before leaving in order to restore her normal appearance. As a result of this graphic demonstration, the project was launched with what the teacher characterizes as deep, constructive discussions of why appropriate dress for any occasion is important in our daily lives.

Activities

The primary activities of this project fell into three general areas-research, analysis, and demonstration-and were implemented over a period of about three and a half months. Examples of specific project elements-each of which was recorded in photographs-are as follows: Demonstrations of image do's and don'ts by school personnel, students, and community members. Research and discussion of magazine and newspaper articles on professional appearance. Color analysis workshops by the school psychology teacher, who is also a professional color consultant. Workshops by two professional photographer's on the basic techniques for taking clear, well-composed photographs, including hands-on experience for the students in camera handling.

Listing by students-on the basis of library research and teacher lectures-of the do's and don't of professional dress they wanted to demonstrate. Working in teams, students modeled and photographed various aspects of appearance, including head/hair, smiles and other facial expressions body language, dress, and footwear.

Screening and sorting of photos, by the end of the first week, students began selecting the shots that best exemplified the concepts they had chosen.

An all-school assembly/workshop during which participating students performed a skit on the "Do's and Don'ts of Professional Dress" and described their project for an audience of about 600 other students. Three community resource consultants on self-image also lectured and showed a film.

An inventory of students' personal wardrobe, focusing on coordination of key pieces to produce a more diversified selection.

Selection by each student of two complete outfits suitable to the student's chosen career. Students modeled the outfits and photographed each other. An all-school style show, during which each student modeled the better of the two outfits selected. Each student's personal projection was critiqued by a panel of judges on the basis of a "professional dress check sheet," and the student found to have made the best projection in the category chosen was awarded a color photographic portrait by a local professional photographer.

Selection and photographing by each student of a resource model from a local business or profession. Students then analyzed the resulting pictures according to the same checklist used by the judges of the style show.

Creation of the job seekers' manual-titled "Projecting Professional Images ...Through the Eyes of Photo Lenses." This effort included deciding on how many and which models to use, the concepts to be demonstrated, selection of photos, and composition of text. Production of a personal photo essay by each student, using pictures of both self and resource model and captions underlining the points made by the photos. The photos and captions were mounted on poster board by the individual student in a layout of the student's own design. The project was capped by a lunch out on the town for the teacher and students, all dressed to project a professional image.

Materials, Resources, and Expenses

The project could not have succeeded without the many professional consultants and amateur models who volunteered, according to Richardson. Among these were the school psychology teacher and color analysis consultant; photographers; self-image experts from the state university, the state extension service, and the 4-H program; a variety of school personnel and fellow students of participants; and community members who served as models of their respective professions. In addition, five local dress shops provided clothing selections for students modeling their professional projections, and various businesses provided written material and interviews about their dress requirements.

Students used two cameras on a rotating basis. Primary expenses were for film (KODACOLOR 100 and 200 Film in 24- and 36-exposure rolls) and film processing. Jumbo prints were made free by a local newspaper photographer, and some film was donated by the school journalism teacher.

Outcomes and Adaptability

Richardson found that every aspect of her original design was successfully carried out by her students and that the project stimulated even greater enthusiasm and more dramatic results than she had hoped for.

Based on this awareness, the young people also learned how to identify and select pieces of a business wardrobe that will project the desired image and to complete that image with suitable hair style, makeup, and bodily attitudes.

While all the students participating in this project were female high school seniors, Richardson emphasizes that this sort of perception study would be equally valuable for males and could be initiated with younger students as well.

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