Sorta OT - slight dilemna - to teach or not to teach

Remember about a month or so ago I told you about a LQS opening up in my
little village? Well it's opened and she's gradually getting in more
fabrics - it's kinda like a sewing machine shop with some fabric and classes
and things. Anyway, just before it opened I slipped a note under their door
letting them know I was available to work casually if they needed help in
the shop. Well she called me today and we had a chat and I'm to drop in on
Monday morning for a bit more of a chinwag. She thought I was a teacher and
wondered if I wanted to teach beginner classes. Apart from being overcome
at the thought of being able to teach, I said no, I didn't feel I was ready
yet to teach. She accepted and we moved onto other topics. When I told DH
he nearly went through the roof and replied along the lines of "Of course
you are good enough to teach......you've done fantastic quilts......you have
heaps of patience.....". He has convinced me to take up some samples and
talk to her.

What I want is expert opnions - how hard is it to teach? What is expected
of a teacher? What do I provide? How hard should a beginner class be?
Please don't rush out to answer this, take your time as I know y'all are
busy.

BTW the hairdresser today was magnificent - gotta wonderful head massage and
the cut is teriffic.



--
Sharon From Melbourne Australia (Queen of Down Under)
http://www.geocities.com/shazrules/index.html

Hullo Sharon
There is another side to this - another way of looking at it.
If you are not completely confident, *you* won't enjoy it. Whether or
not you have the knowledge, and the skill to put it over, you might be
hating every minute. I have done a lot of quilting, I am a qualified
teacher, too; but I still find workshops where I am not happy. Have you
ever tried to teach one of your friends something, perhaps? just to
give you an idea of whether you would like it. Also, it isn't just the
hours of the class itself, there is a lot you have to do beforehand,
making samples and so on.
I am *not* trying to put you off at all, just want you to think of the
whole picture.
You always sound much more outgoing than I am, so it might be just your
thing; and how great would that be!
..
In article , Sharon
Harper writes
Remember about a month or so ago I told you about a LQS opening up in my
little village? Well it's opened and she's gradually getting in more
fabrics - it's kinda like a sewing machine shop with some fabric and classes
and things. Anyway, just before it opened I slipped a note under their door
letting them know I was available to work casually if they needed help in
the shop. Well she called me today and we had a chat and I'm to drop in on
Monday morning for a bit more of a chinwag. She thought I was a teacher and
wondered if I wanted to teach beginner classes. Apart from being overcome
at the thought of being able to teach, I said no, I didn't feel I was ready
yet to teach. She accepted and we moved onto other topics. When I told DH
he nearly went through the roof and replied along the lines of "Of course
you are good enough to teach......you've done fantastic quilts......you have
heaps of patience.....". He has convinced me to take up some samples and
talk to her.

What I want is expert opnions - how hard is it to teach? What is expected
of a teacher? What do I provide? How hard should a beginner class be?
Please don't rush out to answer this, take your time as I know y'all are
busy.

BTW the hairdresser today was magnificent - gotta wonderful head massage and
the cut is teriffic.




--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

Go for it! Haven't really taught myself, but I've been a student. Seems to
me that people take classes for various reasons: they are absolute beginners
who know nothing and learn better from a human than from a book, they know
quite a bit but want to try a new technique in a controlled setting, or they
are pretty good seamsters who like a class environment to give them
motivation. What kind of class do you want to teach?
Roberta in D

"Sharon Harper" wrote in message
u...
Remember about a month or so ago I told you about a LQS opening up in my
little village? Well it's opened and she's gradually getting in more
fabrics - it's kinda like a sewing machine shop with some fabric and
classes
and things. Anyway, just before it opened I slipped a note under their
door
letting them know I was available to work casually if they needed help in
the shop. Well she called me today and we had a chat and I'm to drop in
on
Monday morning for a bit more of a chinwag. She thought I was a teacher
and
wondered if I wanted to teach beginner classes. Apart from being overcome
at the thought of being able to teach, I said no, I didn't feel I was
ready
yet to teach. She accepted and we moved onto other topics. When I told
DH
he nearly went through the roof and replied along the lines of "Of course
you are good enough to teach......you've done fantastic quilts......you
have
heaps of patience.....". He has convinced me to take up some samples and
talk to her.

What I want is expert opnions - how hard is it to teach? What is expected
of a teacher? What do I provide? How hard should a beginner class be?
Please don't rush out to answer this, take your time as I know y'all are
busy.

BTW the hairdresser today was magnificent - gotta wonderful head massage
and
the cut is teriffic.



--
Sharon From Melbourne Australia (Queen of Down Under)
http://www.geocities.com/shazrules/index.html

Go for it.....I love the beginners classes, I teach at our local Hancock
fabrics, I love the moment of aha when they open up Half square triangles!
I teach a simple nine patch block...churn dash, which we make into a
pillow.....you can cover choosing fabrics, seam allowance, pressing, using
the rotary cutter, straightening fabric, making a grid for 1/2 square
triangles, layering for quilting and SITD and in three sessions they go
home with a project COMPLETED....Anything more ambitious can be
frustrating.....I have found that in a class of 6 only 2 will know enough
about their machine, 2 will be sketchy, 2 will not have used their machine
EVER or have borrowed someone else's! I cover fabrics, thread, tools , and
books the first night....I soon will extend that to setting up their machine
for quilting so we don't have to do that the 2nd night.
KEEP IT SIMPLE.....I can't emphasize that enough...If you need more
information on handouts, let me know....I give out a handout about SM(always
a topic of discussion: What is the best SM for quilting?), care of quilts,
book,magazine,website, and TV show recommendations;

--
Mauvice in Central WI USA
..
"Sharon Harper" wrote in message
u...
Remember about a month or so ago I told you about a LQS opening up in my
little village? Well it's opened and she's gradually getting in more
fabrics - it's kinda like a sewing machine shop with some fabric and
classes
and things. Anyway, just before it opened I slipped a note under their
door
letting them know I was available to work casually if they needed help in
the shop. Well she called me today and we had a chat and I'm to drop in
on
Monday morning for a bit more of a chinwag. She thought I was a teacher
and
wondered if I wanted to teach beginner classes. Apart from being overcome
at the thought of being able to teach, I said no, I didn't feel I was
ready
yet to teach. She accepted and we moved onto other topics. When I told
DH
he nearly went through the roof and replied along the lines of "Of course
you are good enough to teach......you've done fantastic quilts......you
have
heaps of patience.....". He has convinced me to take up some samples and
talk to her.

What I want is expert opnions - how hard is it to teach? What is expected
of a teacher? What do I provide? How hard should a beginner class be?
Please don't rush out to answer this, take your time as I know y'all are
busy.

BTW the hairdresser today was magnificent - gotta wonderful head massage
and
the cut is teriffic.



--
Sharon From Melbourne Australia (Queen of Down Under)
http://www.geocities.com/shazrules/index.html

I recommend full disclosure and a helper.

By full disclosure, I mean that both your employer and your students
should know this is your first time teaching and be comfortable with
that. I can imagine being disappointed if I felt I was being
experimented on, thinking that the teacher was unsure and didn't know
what to say next. If I knew that she was new at it too, I'd know what
to expect and wouldn't mind. (And if I did mind, I could choose not to
take the class.)

I've taught quilting to individuals (no classes), and I have experience
teaching cooking classes and academic classes. The biggest challenges a

1. Paying attention to everyone's individual needs at once.
2. Thinking of everything you'll need to bring.
3. Getting a sense for how long things will take and moving things
along smoothly.

For all of these, a helper can be (ahem) a big help. If one student
needs everything explained 5 times while the rest of the class is ready
to move on, the helper sits next to that one person and helps her
understand. If you realize that you need bobbins or batting or
something cut, the helper can run and fetch or cut. Make sure your
helper is someone you know and get along with well, not someone you've
just met and has volunteered. The only thing worse than no helper is a
helper who needs twice as much time while you explain to her what you
need done.

--Lia

"Sharon Harper" wrote in message
u...

What I want is expert opnions - how hard is it to teach? What is expected
of a teacher? What do I provide? How hard should a beginner class be?
Please don't rush out to answer this, take your time as I know y'all are
busy.

Here's my take on it -- you'll get other opinions, I know.

Teaching and quilting are two different skills. I know a number of good
quilting teachers who aren't that great at quilting, and many more excellent
quilters who are lousy quilters. And there are many who are excellent at
both.

Think for a minute about your personality. Can you break down a simple
project like a rail fence and explain to someone who has never sewn how to
do it, step by step? Will you get frustrated if they ask the same question
over and over? What about the one person in every class who wants to
monopolize your attention? Can you break down the project into clear baby
steps?

Most teachers in my area don't provide anything except a supply list. (It's
a good idea to make sure the LQS you're teaching at has all the items on it!
LOL) Include *everything* on a beginning supply list, such as a sewing
machine in good working order, etc. Some teachers who teach away from the
LQS will note on their supply list which items they will have available for
purchase at the class, but that's a bit rare.

How hard should the class be? The important thing is to pick a project that
people will successfully finish. IMHO, a rail fence or a 9 patch is an
excellent project. Lap size is wonderful. The idea is to introduce them to
the concepts and tools, get them hooked on quilting (bwa ha ha!), and then
turn them loose on the big wide world. You might consider including how to
finish the quilt -- maybe some simple machine quilting with the walking foot
and then binding. Having a finished quilt instead of a UFO will set fire to
some of the students.

One local teacher does an 8 week "beginning" class where they make a 12
block queen sized sampler, sash it and do 3 mitered borders. IMHO, this is
NOT a beginner class. (And I've had to quilt many of the results). It's too
much for the students to absorb in too little time, and with the size of the
class (often 20 students), she can't give everyone the help they need on the
difficult parts. The result is usually 18 students with UFOs, and 2 who
bring the top to me only to find out that it won't lay flat and they need to
do major surgery. Only 1 of those 2 will usually stay with quilting.

Another local teacher who teaches a finished rail fence lap quilt as a 3
week beginning class (with only 8 in the class) has a fabulous success rate.
The students do the whole quilt from start to finish. Sure, they haven't
tackled anything tricky, but they've had that first sweet taste of success,
and they're hooked. Some move on to more difficult projects, and others
churn out an endless series of rail fences, but all are pleased with what
they're doing (and keep buying fabric from the LQS), and everyone is happy.

Hope that gave you a couple of things to think about.

--
Kathy A. (Woodland, CA)
longarm machine quilting, Queen of Fabric Tramps
http://www.kayneyquilting.com ,
remove the obvious to reply

Sharon,

And now, for something completely different ... or a little different, anyway.
Maybe the shop could offer "clinics" instead of classes. At least until you get
your feet wet.

That way, your students won't be total newbies who don't know which side of the
sewing machine to sit on. People could bring WIPs or UFOs to work on. You could
do a short demo/lesson on some topic and then be available to help with any
problems.

The students would probably pay less for that than for a real class. But you
could establish your credentials by having lots of your own work on display.
Maybe you couldn't point to "classes" that you had taught, but you could point
to perfect points and mitered borders and all that.

After a few sessions like that, you would also know how well you interact with
learners, whether you like the teaching part, and you would have a track record
as a "teacher" so future students wouldn't feel that they were getting someone
inexperienced. Just my $.02 US

--
Anne in CA
"It's not having what you want; it's wanting what you've got." -- Sheryl Crow
http://home.covad.net/~arudolph/annes.htm



Sharon Harper wrote:

Remember about a month or so ago I told you about a LQS opening up in my
little village? Well it's opened and she's gradually getting in more
fabrics - it's kinda like a sewing machine shop with some fabric and classes
and things. Anyway, just before it opened I slipped a note under their door
letting them know I was available to work casually if they needed help in
the shop. Well she called me today and we had a chat and I'm to drop in on
Monday morning for a bit more of a chinwag. She thought I was a teacher and
wondered if I wanted to teach beginner classes. Apart from being overcome
at the thought of being able to teach, I said no, I didn't feel I was ready
yet to teach. She accepted and we moved onto other topics. When I told DH
he nearly went through the roof and replied along the lines of "Of course
you are good enough to teach......you've done fantastic quilts......you have
heaps of patience.....". He has convinced me to take up some samples and
talk to her.

What I want is expert opnions - how hard is it to teach? What is expected
of a teacher? What do I provide? How hard should a beginner class be?
Please don't rush out to answer this, take your time as I know y'all are
busy.

BTW the hairdresser today was magnificent - gotta wonderful head massage and
the cut is teriffic.

--
Sharon From Melbourne Australia (Queen of Down Under)
http://www.geocities.com/shazrules/index.html




remove NOSPAM to reply

Thanks Patti, funny how it is so easy to sound outgoing when you are sitting
typing away in your jammies!! DH spent most of last night trying to recruit
people into telling me how I SHOULD teach, in then end I said I'd think
about it just to shut them up. But no, it will bear a lot of thinking.
Thanks.

--
Sharon From Melbourne Australia (Queen of Down Under)
http://www.geocities.com/shazrules/index.html

"Patti" wrote in message
...
Hullo Sharon
There is another side to this - another way of looking at it.
If you are not completely confident, *you* won't enjoy it. Whether or
not you have the knowledge, and the skill to put it over, you might be
hating every minute. I have done a lot of quilting, I am a qualified
teacher, too; but I still find workshops where I am not happy. Have you
ever tried to teach one of your friends something, perhaps? just to
give you an idea of whether you would like it. Also, it isn't just the
hours of the class itself, there is a lot you have to do beforehand,
making samples and so on.
I am *not* trying to put you off at all, just want you to think of the
whole picture.
You always sound much more outgoing than I am, so it might be just your
thing; and how great would that be!
.
In article , Sharon
Harper writes
Remember about a month or so ago I told you about a LQS opening up in my
little village? Well it's opened and she's gradually getting in more
fabrics - it's kinda like a sewing machine shop with some fabric and
classes
and things. Anyway, just before it opened I slipped a note under their
door
letting them know I was available to work casually if they needed help in
the shop. Well she called me today and we had a chat and I'm to drop in
on
Monday morning for a bit more of a chinwag. She thought I was a teacher
and
wondered if I wanted to teach beginner classes. Apart from being
overcome
at the thought of being able to teach, I said no, I didn't feel I was
ready
yet to teach. She accepted and we moved onto other topics. When I told
DH
he nearly went through the roof and replied along the lines of "Of course
you are good enough to teach......you've done fantastic quilts......you
have
heaps of patience.....". He has convinced me to take up some samples and
talk to her.

What I want is expert opnions - how hard is it to teach? What is
expected
of a teacher? What do I provide? How hard should a beginner class be?
Please don't rush out to answer this, take your time as I know y'all are
busy.

BTW the hairdresser today was magnificent - gotta wonderful head massage
and
the cut is teriffic.




--
Best Regards
pat on the hill

It would be an absolute beginner class (you know put fabric on mat, cut
here, slice there). Thanks for responding

--
Sharon From Melbourne Australia (Queen of Down Under)
http://www.geocities.com/shazrules/index.html

"Roberta Zollner" wrote in message
...
Go for it! Haven't really taught myself, but I've been a student. Seems to
me that people take classes for various reasons: they are absolute
beginners
who know nothing and learn better from a human than from a book, they know
quite a bit but want to try a new technique in a controlled setting, or
they
are pretty good seamsters who like a class environment to give them
motivation. What kind of class do you want to teach?
Roberta in D

"Sharon Harper" wrote in message
u...
Remember about a month or so ago I told you about a LQS opening up in my
little village? Well it's opened and she's gradually getting in more
fabrics - it's kinda like a sewing machine shop with some fabric and
classes
and things. Anyway, just before it opened I slipped a note under their
door
letting them know I was available to work casually if they needed help
in
the shop. Well she called me today and we had a chat and I'm to drop in
on
Monday morning for a bit more of a chinwag. She thought I was a teacher
and
wondered if I wanted to teach beginner classes. Apart from being
overcome
at the thought of being able to teach, I said no, I didn't feel I was
ready
yet to teach. She accepted and we moved onto other topics. When I told
DH
he nearly went through the roof and replied along the lines of "Of
course
you are good enough to teach......you've done fantastic quilts......you
have
heaps of patience.....". He has convinced me to take up some samples
and
talk to her.

What I want is expert opnions - how hard is it to teach? What is
expected
of a teacher? What do I provide? How hard should a beginner class be?
Please don't rush out to answer this, take your time as I know y'all are
busy.

BTW the hairdresser today was magnificent - gotta wonderful head massage
and
the cut is teriffic.



--
Sharon From Melbourne Australia (Queen of Down Under)
http://www.geocities.com/shazrules/index.html

Thanks so much Mauvice, I really appreciate your help. I've saved your
response so that IF I decide to go ahead, I'll have some ideas.

--
Sharon From Melbourne Australia (Queen of Down Under)
http://www.geocities.com/shazrules/index.html

"CHARLES MURPHY" wrote in message
...
Go for it.....I love the beginners classes, I teach at our local Hancock
fabrics, I love the moment of aha when they open up Half square
triangles!
I teach a simple nine patch block...churn dash, which we make into a
pillow.....you can cover choosing fabrics, seam allowance, pressing,
using
the rotary cutter, straightening fabric, making a grid for 1/2 square
triangles, layering for quilting and SITD and in three sessions they go
home with a project COMPLETED....Anything more ambitious can be
frustrating.....I have found that in a class of 6 only 2 will know enough
about their machine, 2 will be sketchy, 2 will not have used their machine
EVER or have borrowed someone else's! I cover fabrics, thread, tools ,
and
books the first night....I soon will extend that to setting up their
machine
for quilting so we don't have to do that the 2nd night.
KEEP IT SIMPLE.....I can't emphasize that enough...If you need more
information on handouts, let me know....I give out a handout about
SM(always
a topic of discussion: What is the best SM for quilting?), care of quilts,
book,magazine,website, and TV show recommendations;

--
Mauvice in Central WI USA
.
"Sharon Harper" wrote in message
u...
Remember about a month or so ago I told you about a LQS opening up in my
little village? Well it's opened and she's gradually getting in more
fabrics - it's kinda like a sewing machine shop with some fabric and
classes
and things. Anyway, just before it opened I slipped a note under their
door
letting them know I was available to work casually if they needed help
in
the shop. Well she called me today and we had a chat and I'm to drop in
on
Monday morning for a bit more of a chinwag. She thought I was a teacher
and
wondered if I wanted to teach beginner classes. Apart from being
overcome
at the thought of being able to teach, I said no, I didn't feel I was
ready
yet to teach. She accepted and we moved onto other topics. When I told
DH
he nearly went through the roof and replied along the lines of "Of
course
you are good enough to teach......you've done fantastic quilts......you
have
heaps of patience.....". He has convinced me to take up some samples
and
talk to her.

What I want is expert opnions - how hard is it to teach? What is
expected
of a teacher? What do I provide? How hard should a beginner class be?
Please don't rush out to answer this, take your time as I know y'all are
busy.

BTW the hairdresser today was magnificent - gotta wonderful head massage
and
the cut is teriffic.



--
Sharon From Melbourne Australia (Queen of Down Under)
http://www.geocities.com/shazrules/index.html