I agree with your assessment of TMY. It is really just a matter of learning to
process it to fit one's expectations. I'll even go a step further and make the
claim that one doesn't even need to use pyro, the dangerous holy grail.
Your ideas on teaching beginning photography students is certainly one way of
doing things, and would probably be the way I would go (though if I could I
would require the use of a sheet film). The other, opposite way to go would be
to require use of auto-everything cameras and color print film. This would
force the emphasis on composition. Not being an instructor, I would think that
either direction would be appropriate as long as the instructor served as an
inspiration.
Cheers -
george
-- Handmade Photographic Images http://www2.ari.net/glsmyth/