I was thinking about a lace class that I was in where we had a woman who was an adjunct professor at a local college where she taught Nutrition. One really began to feel for the plight of the adjunct professor after being in a class with her. But one thing that struck me was that she said a lot of students took her course because they had to fulfill a science requirement and their reasoning was, "I have been eating all my life, I'll take nutrition", whereas the class was actually a rather complex class involving chemistry which came as an unpleasant surprise. At one point she remarked that it must be nice to teach a class such as the lace class where people actually want to learn the material. But, then again, when you are teaching a class that is required the students are under a lot of pressure to learn the material which may tend to compensate for any deficiencies in the teacher. Also, they don't necessarily expect to enjoy it. In a lace class the class is a treat for the student, which is in the realm of something they do for fun and relaxation and it competes with other fun activities for the student's time and money. Any adverse experience in the class will make it less fun than a spa treatment. However the student probably wants to come out of the class with more knowledge than when she came in and will hold the teacher responsible if she doesn't learn anything. I have always thought that it must be quite a difficult line to walk when you are the teacher, which mercifully I am not. Not only may the students have different priorities, learning a lot in a short time, or perhaps having a pressure free time away from home, or even just a social night, but the same student may want all these things at different times. You really have to be quite a diplomat to be able to teach a lace class. Devon _lynrbailey@desupernet.net_ (mailto:lynrbai...@desupernet.net) writes: I think there are two things to be noted here. The first is that we all bring baggage to whatever we do, and such baggage does not necessarily show on the outside. Some women, much, much more so than men, tend to take criticism personally, so in criticizing their lace, you are criticizing them, personally. It probably isn't the intent, but there it is, and the damage is done. Teachers need to be aware of this and plan and act accordingly. After all, technically, if the student doesn't progress, it is the fault of the teacher. That can raise arguments, I'm aware, but it remains true. It is the teacher's job to figure out strategies to impart the teacher's knowledge to the pupil. Assuming a willing pupil.
The other is that while teachers of a course which is a requirement for a degree or a required class in some way, public school and the like, can get away with riding roughshod over their students, since the students are stuck, and must put up with almost anything, either as a requirement by law, or by the overriding desire to get the degree or diploma so they can work in a given field, that is not the case with lace. Thus a lace teacher really should not do things calculated to alienate her students. Lace is a 'leisure' activity, done for the love of it. If you indulge a martinet attitude, you soon will have no students. I am fortunate not to have had any such teacher, ever, and I can only assume that the vast majority of teachers are of the proper ilk, but still, it bears remembering. It's really only common sense. A teacher who is pleasant and encouraging will have an easier time imparting her knowledge to her students because they will be more receptive. Lyn in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, US, where it is snowing. Hard. Expecting up to 4 inches of the stuff. But it will melt tomorrow, as the high will be 40. -----Original Message----- From: Jo Sent: Saturday, October 29, 2011 11:08 AM To: 'Maureen Bromley' ; 'Arachne List email' Subject: RE: [lace] Lace classes > Sometimes you have to live with an inperfect sample as long > as the planned piece is perfect. > After all, there is no point in keep undoing a sample > and being put off for ever. > > Maureen I totaly agree. I just had to learn that some people are putt off very very quickly. My patience did not get a second chance. Another one I managed to resque. Out of my knowledge a third lady putt her off with a very critical remark about her work. She prompted that remark by mailing me she would quit. I phoned to learn why, she wisely refused to tell the name of the other person but I could convince her to stay. Her work may not win prizes, but that was no point for me. She loved to do it and put effort in it. So I declared that were two strong reasons for me to also put effort in her. She stayed and slowly but surely progressed :-) Jo - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003 - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003 - To unsubscribe send email to majord...@arachne.com containing the line: unsubscribe lace y...@address.here. For help, write to arachne.modera...@gmail.com. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
