A high school principal flashing his junk in front of his students would be a debacle for Dallas ISD. But for School Class, it's just third period.
Nestled at 1222 W. Davis, in a little storefront next door to The Kessler Theater, School Class is a new experiment (and experience) in adult education. It's the brainchild of returning resident John Neel, and its faculty isn't made up of your usual teachers waxing on and on about the three Rs. Instead, Neel has turned to the community for our collective betterment. Anyone can pitch a course with an online teacher application,- so offerings range from pop culture to puppeteering. On Saturday the classroom was filled with the expected youth hipster sect but also with potential scholars in their 40s and 50s.
Tuition includes a series of classes, and last weekend's kicked-off with a special effects make-up lesson called "Blood, Guts, Gore & Tits," which segued nicely into second periods' Buffyverse gender study, "Sex and the Slayer." But when third period's figure drawing class, "Figtastic," rolled around, something was ...missing.
The model was truant.
Rather than cancel class, President Neel stepped barefoot-and-everything-else into the role of Naked Person. He took the job seriously and even included three minutes' worth of nude handstands for our artistic betterment. Thanks to his pinch-sitting, I'd say that by the night's end we all had sketches that actually illustrated the human figure. Sort of.
If the first day of programming (and the upcoming camping field trip to Trinity) is any sign, School Class is going to be a favorite go-to for alternative education. Sure, it could have been the free Pabst or the bottle of Fireball that we passed around, but I left certain that this was a great first day.
Bring on the BA in awesome randomness.
