When are you good enough to teach?

[Dave Smith]

I have been asked many times if I give lessons. At first I just laughed because the idea seemed ridiculous. In the first couple years of turning I knew enough to be dangerous. Now, after five years of turning, I am not quite so dangerous. So how does one decide that they can accept money to help others learn how to turn? This is a quandary I have had for a few months.

My approach to helping people new to turning is to make sure their first experience is a good one. The last thing I would want to have happen is scare someone who had never tried turning before. I have helped several people turn their first bowl at woodworking gatherings. I received positive feedback from them and from on lookers. Now I have the notion that I could provide tutoring to turners.

Do you have any thoughts or advise on the subject of private lessons for turning or other things?

Dave Smith

Sitting in central IN, a long way from Longview, WA.

[Todd Burch]

Dave, I would say that if you know your subject matter, go for it! I have taught both formally and informally. Both are fun, but the formal classes take a lot more prep. When you are excited about your craft, students can tell, and they will share in your enthusiasm. They will be there because they want to learn, and you are there because you enjoying sharing your knowledge. It's a win-win deal. Have fun!

Todd.

[Ken Salisbury]

I have been asked many times if I give lessons. So how does one decide that they can accept money to help others learn how to turn? This is a quandary I have had for a few months.

My approach to helping people new to turning is to make sure their first experience is a good one. The last thing I would want to have happen is scare someone who had never tried turning before. I have helped several people turn their first bowl at woodworking gatherings. I received positive feedback from them and from on lookers. Now I have the notion that I could provide tutoring to turners.

Do you have any thoughts or advise on the subject of private lessons for turning or other things?

Dave,

I have given a lot of lessons to folks (both private and in groups) who were new to turning (all free by the way). I have found it is essential to begin with the very basic things like tool orientation to the work piece, proper posture and the like.

I would not even consider lessons to someone new to turning by beginning to teach them "bowl making". With "new to turning" people I usually chuck up a 2" to 3" square x 12" to 18" long piece of something like maple, beech or some other wood that cuts easily and clean. Then go through the various chisels to teach tool orientation and techniques. Keep it simple to start , which gives them confidence and a comfortable feeling.

Of course if you have a student that has some level of lathe experience you can start at a higher level. Where you start depends on the individual person.

There are lots of folks (like Bill G.) who charge for lessons and will respond to this thread with helpful information. Just thought I would throw my 2 ¢ in the pot.:D

[Bill Grumbine]

Hi Dave

I think there are a number of questions you need to answer in order to proceed with this kind of thing. First, do you want to do it, and it sounds like you do. It ain't always easy, but I have watched you with some newbies at two picnics now, and I think you have it in you. I think an ability to communicate is even more important that a mastery of the subject, although that is certainly important! Also, I am not saying you don't have a mastery of the subject, I'm just saying what I think the order is. I like to joke about it, but there is no truth in the saying, "Those who can't do, teach." At least, those who can't do can't teaqch very well. Conversely, there are lots of turners out there who are excellent at their craft, but their teaching/demonstrating skills make me want to run screaming from the room. :eek:

The next big question you need to answer is, do you feel competent to deliver value given for value received - i.e. is what you have to offer really worth what you are asking as a fee, and are you comfortable asking it? I gave a few classes to people free of charge to start, and then asked them frankly if they would have paid for the same thing. Now, I did not ask them in such a way as to try and shame them into paying me after the fact, but rather asked them to provide me with an objective critique in exchange for my time spent teaching. I had some help on that score because I taught for Woodcraft for 2 1/2 years. I have also taught everything from Sunday School to assembly/disassembly of the M-16 assault rifle, so I already had teaching experience.

I heard a good saying from my welding teacher a couple of weeks ago. After spending several hours padding a plate with welding beads, I told him I understood a bit better now how my students felt when they had to make that shear scraping cut for the 50th time. He replied, "To teach is to learn". Your 10th student will have a better experience than your first student (at least you hope so!) and so on. People coming to me now have the benefit of several more years of experience on my end than you had when you were here. And no, you aren't getting a refund! :D It is important for a teacher to continue to improve his or her own skill set or familiarity with the subject, and we need to be able to learn from our students.

You need to be flexible with your students, or at least in your approach in handling them. Some people just aren't going to learn by a certain method, and it is your job to discern that and change your technique to get through to them so that every single student will go away happy with lots of nice things to say about you and his or her experience with you. That might sound like it is all about you and your reputation, but it is also about how they perceived the learning experience. I can blah blah blah all day long, but if the person on the receiving end did not receive, then no teaching took place.

You need to concern yourself about things like insurance, first aid, etc. I have never needed either of those, but there have been times when I thought I might, and both are ready at hand.

You need to be able to plan a class effectively, and know what to leave out or what to put in to maximize the student's time while not taking away from your own. To be a little more blunt, you need to be able, in a nice way, to tell someone thier time is up, and if they want more, they need to cough up some dough. Now, anyone who has every been to my shop knows that I am not a strict clock watcher, but you need to be able to send people home without giving up several hours of time for free. Free is not a bad thing, and I do lots of stuff, and offer lots of extras for free all the time, but it needs to be on your terms, not those of any student.

Along with planning, proper preparation is essential. When someone comes here for a class, thy do not want to watch me spend the first half hour or so cleaning up my lathe area so we can get to it. Saws, lathes, wood, and all the attendant tools need to be ready to go. If a student is coming for spindle work, I can't start looking for a thick spindle blank when they get here and so on.

I know a lot of this stuff is probably already stuff you have considered, but since it is going through my head, I thought I would write it down. Hopefully it will be of some help to someone as well as to you. Good luck with it. I think you will do well.

Bill

[Dave Anderson NH]

He's right on with his take on teaching. As others have mentioned, teaching anything requires both the honing of your skills in the subject area and a massive amount of planning and preparation. I had an instructor trainer put it in a somewhat blunt nutshell during a training course for kayak teachers many long years ago, he called it "P to the fifth power". Poor Planning Produces Poor Performance. The upside of all of the practice and planning is that you will improve your own performance beyond what you could ever believe and it will give you fantastic confidence. I'd also consider limiting your immediate objectives on topic or topics. As you gain teaching skill and practice you can add more programs. Nothing will dilute your effort as much as trying to move in several directions at once. For your first teaching efforts you might also want to start with either a single student or a very small group. This will allow you to hone your teaching technique without getting in over your head.

[Dave Smith]

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my question. I guess the question of teaching is similar to selling your woodworking products. Is what I am offering worth what I am asking? So far all my free lessons have not been over priced.

This morning I am heading to Dave McDonnel's in Speedway, IN to help him turn some coffee table legs. I have never turned on a Shop Smith before. Mac is a big guy so I better make my free lessons worth the price.

Dave Smith

Cold and a dusting of snow in Carmel, IN.