Clay, My apologies and yes the joy of replying from an iPhone with a small screen and predictive text does affect grammar and punctuation (and sometimes unique words appear that I didn't mean) which coupled with the fact that as a child of the 70s British educational system I was not allowed to use punctuation until I was 14 so sometimes I forget to use it at all.
So my apologies, as perhaps my meaning didn't come across correctly. What I was trying to say was that with my background I have the privilege of observing good and bad practice and the tools to deconstruct why that works. The best teachers seem to always have three qualities: 1. A passion for their subject 2. An ability to connect with the student 3. Patience Clay, as you have trained as a teaching professional your reply went through and explained the standard deconstruct of VARK (Visual, Auditory, Read/Write and Kinestic). I know that there are lots of models on how to teach out there but I personally like VARK because it's so easy to use and so effective. A well taught teacher or trainer will try each method in turn to match the learner's style and a natural teacher (and there are many out there) will also do this. My husband admits that although he is a qualified teacher he is not a natural one and has to plan his lessons carefully to make sure he is inclusive in his methods of training. His biggest challenge is that although extremely passionate about his subject he is not naturally a patient man and has to remind himself that learners learn at different speeds and have different abilities. Because of his subject, many of his learners have limited educational experience and are often daunted by returning to a classroom. It is his job to make that experience welcoming. I knew a trainer who was very Kinestic - hands on. Every training session that they designed was practical learning but their learners were mainly read / write and wanted to know the facts behind the practical. Every time one of the learners asked a question the trainer would simple reply 'well, why do you think it does that'. The poor learners realised that the trainer either didn't know or couldn't explain so stopped asking. Then after about 6 months, they stopped booking training. When you are a paid trainer for a large company, having no delegates is a bit of an issue. My point with the GBS quote was that for many years people have fallen under that spell of thinking that anyone can pass on knowledge. The key being if you know more than the learner then you will be fine. But it's a myth. The first inspirational teacher I met was when I was 7 and learnt the guitar. He was actually 2 lessons ahead of me in the same book. But by learning at the same time as me he was deconstructing the learning experience and then reconstructing it for me. That grounding has done me well. I am a natural guitar player but it is combined with a good knowledge of music theory and guitar theory. I know how to and why and even now when I don't practice as much as I should, I can pick up my guitar and sight read music because it became a part of me through the teaching. Back in the late 90s I was rather ill and didn't do anything really for about 6 months. As I recovered I discovered I had no patience for anything and certainly no sustained levels of concentration. So I (perhaps foolishly) thought that going back to lacemaking was the answer. I realised then that the second person who taught me (in the early 90s) although not a trained teacher, was perhaps the best skills teacher I'd met. Each time I had hit a problem she would tell me that it was common and we would together trace back to where the error had started and talk about the options to put it right. She installed in me the maximum 'can you live with it' if yes, carry on, if no, make your lace backwards. I undid my return lace time and time again and was happy doing it because that teacher had installed in me the passion to make, the knowledge to do it and the patience to achieve it. Most of all, she made me feel as though I could do it. So again Clay, my apologies and I should not email whilst trying to board a plane and I must proof read on the iPhone. I often get work emails where I'm not sure if the person is being supportive or sarcastic. Because emails is so conversational sometimes it doesn't flow like a letter should. Even the iPad tried to change concentration in to condensation just now ... That would have brought a whole new level of confusion to the debate. And note to self - punctuation, punctuation, punctuation. L Sent from my iPad > On 23 Aug 2014, at 03:52, Clay Blackwell <[email protected]> wrote: > > I take offense to this on a number of levels. I'm going to overlook the typos > and grammatical errors as part of this crazy internet communication system! > However, lacemaking is an artistic skill. Artists do not think like business > trainers, nor do they think like vocational teachers. - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lacemaker/sets/
