Learning to See Past the Camera

The hardest part about teaching at a photography school is finding a way to convey the principles that are instinctive and absolutely essential to the art form, but which you've never tried to explain verbally. The most important photography school lessons can only be learned if you can persuade a student to willingly "fail," and to participate in an analysis of what really happened within a supportive atmosphere of trusted peers without worrying about looking foolish.
The most fundamental, essential and difficult lesson in photography is not grappling with the technical complexities of apertures and shutter speeds and the like. It is the problem of creating true empathy and perception in the photographer for their subject. Ultimately, all technical matters of exposure, lighting, composition and focus have to be handled with such facility that the photographer can create the best possible visual form instinctively without ever losing sight of the content: the person standing in front of them, uncomfortable, restless, trying to read from the photographer's body language and unfortunate glimpses at the immediate electronic image (oof - that doesn't look good) how they're "performing."
But the sitter shouldn't have to perform for the camera. The photographer's highest calling is to truly see the person in front of them, to earn their trust, and to reveal something so honest that it startles even the subject themselves. And the only way to do that is to practice the craft until it becomes second nature so that the photographer can attend to their real job: watching and learning something about the person in front of them.