Last night was a perfect teaching experience.
The class was an evening class that runs from 5:30 to 7:30, and it was Beginner’s II. Beginner’s II is a class for knitters who can cast-on, knit, purl and cast-off and who are starting to understand about stockinet, ribbing and other basic knitting terms. This class adds increasing and decreasing skills. It is designed to take the beginning knitter to the next level. After Beginner’s II we feel that anything is possible, knitting wise, and everything builds from this.
The first class of Beginner’s II is the most challenging as 3 different types of increasing are taught. An evening class is a little more difficult to teach as most students have worked all day – I get to start at noon when I teach evenings – and most of the members of the class are a little tired.
Last night I had six students: six students who meshed – the energy was incredible. They all “got” the concepts and by the end of the class they were helping each other! It was a very inspiring experience for me. I walked out of the class energized and not enervated. The students left before me chattering and laughing and loving what they had learned.
This has happened before, and will happen again, but it is not a common experience for an evening class. Sometimes students don’t mesh and sometimes the energy is so low that it drags everyone down, but this was the perfect class! I love teaching just for classes like this!
Happy Knitting
Lynette
What a nice feeling. I would get that when I was teach weaving or spinning to the 4th graders at the local school. They just love it and their joy is infectious.
Not a bit like when I taught English at night school. ugg. I am not a teacher and can only do conversational English, and it was hard. Most of the students were there not because they wanted to be, they were forced by bosses, parents or teachers. Sometimes things clicked and I would have a good class, but other times…ick.
Makes such a big difference teaching something you are confident in and enjoy. You are very lucky.
Teaching children is almost always rewarding – something about their enjoyment and discovery always rubs off onto the teacher!
Teaching knitting has forced me to become a better knitter – I have to really understand what I am trying to teach so that I can help others come to understand it!
Happy Knitting
Lynette