Alice I think you did really well to survive all of that. I haven’t been teaching formally now for several years but I think I’ve encountered all of those problems but usually only one at a time!
Finding suitable accommodation can be a big problem for lace classes. I always wrote “good lighting” on the list of requirements but very often everyone was struggling to see what they were doing. Another time they pushed us into the room adjoining the art studio which had life classes running at the same time. No problem to us having a nude model next door, but life drawing is a very intense subject and they didn’t like the chat and occasional laughter which came from the lacemakers. The other thing that was difficult to do was cope with was the differing abilities and having to write a lesson plan to suit a dozen different people - the powers that be always seemed to think that it should one lesson plan to suit all with a bit of extra to accommodate the fast learners and at the same time do something easier for the slow ones. For most people once they had got a piece of lace underway they wanted to continue with it for as long as that project lasted, with help as necessary and didn’t want to be made to to do something different each week. My students ranged from the woman (competent in Torchon) who came at the beginning of term with Pam Nottingham’s Bucks book, pointed to the four inch wide floral Bucks hankie edging on the cover and said "I want to make that” and by the end of the year she had completed it, through to the deaf/autistic girl who was very keen but communicated with sign language via her carer so I was effectively teaching the carer. Just one problem with that - the carer changed every couple of weeks and none of them had any knowledge of lacemaking. Brenda in Allhallows [email protected] www.brendapaternoster.co.uk - 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/
