Originally Posted by
nanna-up-north
I couldn't agree more that novice quilters need instruction on cutting, sewing 1/4", etc. And perhaps I was not accurate when I said this class is for novice quilters. The QS owner will be the final answer on that and I always design my classes to fit the needs of the students. So I was a little surprised to get comments that sort of made me feel attacked. Really? What's that about?
I can't tell if your question is rhetorical or not, so I'll assume it's a genuine question and go ahead & answer it.
I truly believe that everyone here who took the time to respond to your post did so with kindness & helpfulness in their heart. I'm not sure whose post you're referring to so maybe it's mine. In that event, I'll provide a bit of context that might make more clear what can't be communicated simply by reading text because there is no tone to denote kindness or loving concern vs anger or condescension.
My background is teaching. I've taught grade school, middle school, high school, summer school, run special recreation camps & taught sewing/piecing to children ages 5-8. When I first started each of those, I would often struggle to match the level of my instruction to my students' ability -- especially if I was only working with them for a quarter, a summer, or a multi-week program and didn't have time to properly test their level myself. At first it was due to me not asking about the students' abilities. But as time went on, it was more typically because my definition of a "beginner" or "intermediate" student (whether it was a language student or a sewist) did not match the program coordinator's definition. In at least 3 cases that I can remember, there were people in my life that recognized the problem but were reluctant to speak up because they assumed I would see that kind of feedback as hurtful or belittling. Instead, they kept quiet and my lessons were complete failures. The students were overwhelmed & off-task; the parents were irate; I cried myself to sleep those nights. And then, to add salt to my wounds, each time someone who knew better would come up to me and say "They were really good lessons, but for students that were much more advanced than these. I knew when you showed me/told me what you were going to teach that it would never fly and something like this would happen." Ummm... congratulations? You rightly predicted that I was going to crash and burn mid-lesson?
I was so devastated by those experiences, I never would want someone I respected to go through that. I recovered and others have too, but it's stuck with me to this day. I've had plenty of successes since then, but I still remember the hurt of learning that someone could have clued me in on what might have been a better match for my students' abilities & chose not to. That's where I was coming from in writing my post.
By and large, we have little to no knowledge/memory of what classes, if any, a member has taught before. There are all levels of quilters, and many levels of teachers & professionals on the Board and trying to keep everyone straight is nearly impossible. I know the shops where I live teach how to turn on a machine, sew a straight line, change feet, use a rotary cutter, etc in the "novice" and "beginner" classes. Even our guild workshops tend to be basic things like sewing together FG, 60-degree triangles, postage stamp quilts, etc, which are all described as "confident beginner". When I took a Lone Star quilt class (out of the area), it was labeled as "advanced". But maybe quilting levels are like ski slope ratings. A black diamond (advanced) in Michigan or Wisconsin is easier to ski than a green circle (beginner) in Utah.
At any rate, please know that we are all on your side & only wish you the very best with your newest class.
