[Thor]

This is a question that I feel many have, but it's kind of hard to know the answer to.

When are you ready to teach classes of your own? Is it years of experience? a body of work? a self-proclaimed style? finally being able to scare people with how sharp your tools are? or just confidence?

I have been sharing my knowledge, such as it is, since the first 6 months I've been carving which was almost 5 years ago. I've recently been asked to teach locally at continuing ed at the nearby college. I have taught lots of folks the beginning basics, but not for money, so this is a serious question.

Do others here have this question on thier minds? and the ones who do teach, what was the turning point for you?
Thanks,
Thor

[squbrigg]

Thor, that is a great question! I am looking forward to the range of replies and points of view.

I suppose it really depends on a number of things. The first I would consider is : What is it they want you to teach?

You then would have to consider you own ability, both carving ability, and as a teacher.
Some points that I would consider, (in no particular order):
What styles of carving do I have experience and competence in? (relief, round, portraiture, cararacture, architectural, animal/bird)
What is my knowledge of various forms of finishing? (painted, staining, natural)
What are my skills like in burning? (is it part of the plan)
What type of carving am I comfortable with, competent in, power or edged tool, or both?
What are my design skills like?
What are my drawing skills like?
How do I respond to students and what are my teaching skills or competencies?
Is my personality suited to teaching?

I am sure others will be able to give you a more comprehensive way of answering your question, simpler, but I tend to analyze things before I jump into them. Perhaps too much. But I use to teach a lot when I was able to work, in industry,and have learned one thing from that. You must be prepared and know your subject matter, and have confidence in that knowledge. If you don't know your subject, your students will see that immediately and you will lose your credibility. A good teacher will inspire their students to reach beyond their own ability and give them a desire to improve. With a good teacher, it is a joy to attend their class.

Hope this helps a little. Best of luck in your decision and your classes if you choose to accept. I believe that you would make a marvelous teacher, based on your work, but that is but part of the process.

Bob
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[mark yundt]

Teaching can start from day one. You start doing something,,someone else sees it and asks "how did you do that?" Teaching now has begun. Of course it will be limited in it's scope due to lack of experience.The broader your range of experience the more valueable you are to someone to be able to point the way,show how to solve problems,and offer suggestions for alternate techniques,styles,designs. If someone has only carved one thing their whole career,,Santas for example,,I think it would be difficult to teach architectural carvings though they might be very good at Santas.I have seen many people teach who's own level of competence is questionable to say the least even though they have been carving /writing/teaching for some time.This usually occurs I think because most have no reference to what can and should be done and will follow anyone who can make a block of wood look like something other than the original block of wood and assume they know what they are doing.Because of this I find many who have the worst habbits,techniques,lack of basics that are difficult to "unlearn" and then continue reinforcing these same bad habits over and over again.We like to think we learn all sorts of new things,, and we do,,but it is a fact of human nature we tend to hold on to the things we learn early on and try to build on these things and relate all new ideas to the old.There is also a tendency in people to become excited about something new and want to share it,,or be proud of what you have accomplished and share that as well,, and rightly so.But I think that this is partly where the expression comes from,,"those that can,,,do,,, those who can't,,,teach" No ,, it's not always true,,but in more cases than not ,,I fear it is.

[Mark Gargac]

Thor, I started teaching classes 3 months after I started carving. My first class that I taught was at the Woodcraft store in Denver,CO. How this happen to come about was something like this... when I started carving, I said to myself, if I can just carve a woodspirit walking stick then I would be happy with just that alone. I probably carved through 20 sticks before I got one that look something like a woodspirit, lot's of designer firewood! Over joyed with the outcome of my real first carving , I imediately started sharing this with neighbors, friends and co-workers, whose comments and praise only but boosted my ego to continue on to pursue even more challaneges of the like. Feeling like I had conquered my quest, I decided one sunny afternoon to take my crafted product down to the Woodcraft store in Denver for the possibility of setting the carving in thier disply case and try selling my first woodcarving. When I approched the store Manager, intoduced myself, and asked about the possiblity of displying my carving in thier case, he looked at me, then at my carving and said, "Want to teach a carving class". Well my carving never sold, but I taught classes there for three years with very satisfying results. I learned more about carving in those first three years then I have in the total 9 years that I have been carving. So when are you ready to teach your first woodcarving class. From my stand point, when you are somewhat confident in handling your carving tools, nailed down the basic techiques of carving, got a good idea on how to keep a sharp edge on your tools, and you have a subject matter down to almost a production style like carving. As far as charging money for a class, .......................a good plan for instructing, with satisfying end results by all carvers taking the class, will help determine the value of the class, and future classes of the same. I like to say the more you teach , the more you reach, the more you learn , the more you turn, My wife also says I'm a big cornball!

[Wolf Kiessling]

That is a very good question, Thor, and there have been some really good answers also. Matter of fact, the answers were so good that I was just going to go on reading but on further introspection, I think I have something that I can add.

I think the truly simple reply is, you can teach when you have some specific knowledge you can pass on that may be of value to someone else. However, that is not really complete. First of all I want to say, like some of the other responders, I used to teach for a living (telecommunications, not wood carving). Teaching, in and of itself, is a skill that not everyone has. So, just because you are a competent woodcarver, does not mean you can be an effective teacher. That is the first question that needs to be answered. Then, do you really want to teach is another. Several years ago, when I began to really feel comfortable with both the craft and the art of woodcarving, learned how to sharpen my tools, and came to the realization that most mistakes that you make in carving can be corrected, I though I might want to teach carving. I gave the matter a lot of thought and finally came to the conclusion that I do not want to teach. Here is the reason. I analyzed my style of carving and it does not lend itself well to teaching. I am a very undisciplined worker in that I jump around all over a piece, working on many different areas of it at the same time, and, to anyone who might be watching, it would seem that I have no plan at all. Also, occasionally I will work for many hours at a stretch while other times I just can't go on after maybe only an hour or two of work. There is a reason I do this and that is because I want my work to be loose, spirited and sometimes maybe a little wild. It's really difficult for me to put into words.

Anyway, in my opinion at least, if someone is going to teach carving, and by that I mean a specific subject such as a type of animal, a human face, a specific caricature, an architectural piece, the instructor should have a very specific plan as to how to go about it. There should be a reason given for every cut made, certain dimensions need to be discussed and explained, there should be a pattern and plan to work from and, of course, all of the peripheral things like sharpening and finishing need to be covered. This is not a comprehensive list but you get the idea. Then, this same plan should be followed over and over with every class. I used to work from a lesson plan and teaching carving should be done the same way. In any case, this is the reason I won't teach, except the occasional one on one, because I do not like a highly disciplined approach to carving. I want to be as free as the wind and that does not translate well into a class/seminar environment.

My two cents...........

[mark yundt]

Very insightful and valuable two cents worth Wolf.I only wish more "teachers" had your thoughts in mind.I have seen too many people take classes for too many years from some who's ego/opinions of their own work got the best of them.There is nothing wrong with sharing information,,how to do something,,and for many it's a wonderful way to pass some time and pick up a trick or two,make some friends and meet people. Unfortunately I have also seen many , who have a deep interest in carving and desire to improve,spend hard earned money to take classes that were essentially useless,only because no other reference to what should be done isn't known by both the teacher and the student.It can be a tough call.Some will be perpetual students,, others get a trick or two and are off blazing their own paths with a trail of wood chips behind them.If I were to take piano lessons,, I would want someone with a broader range of skills than the ability to play a few variations of chop sticks.Then again it may just be me. I have a tendency to want to turn everything inside out,,know it backwards and forwards and beat it to within an inch of it's life and have a reasonably good command of all facets of carving.Only then would I personally feel I have something to offer to others,have the ground to speak from experience,reference and example,and to be able to solve problems and show multiple solutions to the inevitable problems that come up.If your bag of tricks is limited, so is your ability to teach as effectively as you could,,and should be able to. Most I have seen can't draw on this distinction.The end results of these attempts is the poor students ,who for lack of frames of reference and ignorance ( not meant negatively) think they are actually learning something,,that, I think is sad,and the final carvings don't lie ,they only show the truth .

[falconer]

Well, you guys seem to have this topic under control.

[Thor]

OK, this almost needs to be considered from two different directions.
Most folks who want to learn the basics, and I mean beginner carvers, would indeed benefit from instruction, but poor instruction might actually do more harm than good.
By the same standards, if you want to learn from a master, they are really less likely to be teaching, since they are actually carving. Plus, you're not confident to study under a master before you've tried out the tools.
Following a "hand-out" and lesson plan with sharpening, honing, tool techniques, and simple choices from several patterns made available may not be such a bad idea so long as expectations do not exceed the skill level of the teacher. So, it seems examples of the finished project being made available would help, and making sure the level of carving be carefully defined by the class description.
"If you want to learn "this", then I can show you how".
I'm re-reading each suggestion and input several times to get all of the points made here.
I feel very strongly about "do no harm", when it comes to helping folks learn.
Thanks for the input so far, and I'll be watching for more.
Thor

[Mark Gargac]

Great points , Mark, Wolf and Thor. Thinking back, I do have to admit, I truely, did not feel I was ready to attempt to teach a woodcarving class in the sense that things required to attempt such an endeaver were not yet sufficiently developed yet in my own mind. I did not give the store manager a answer that day, and told him I would get back with him on that.
After thinking about it for a few weeks, I decided some questions can never really be completely answered. Each step in development as a carver, artist, sculptor, entertainer, or any other practice in imaginnative art, ect,ect,ect. is a series of steps. One can only acheive, and do the best that they are capable of at any one time in thier life and each step in our development is a step in the unknowen. And one's own artistic prowess being thier ticket to the next step, with each proceeding step becoming more and more difficult to obtain. Knowledge comes from studying the works of others, carving in thier style for a while, borrowing techiques, and infusing bits and pieces into thier own work, to hopefully create a style of thier own, and with this viable resource, thier own work will visually be impressed on others. As individuals we can only get so far on our own, learning from our contemporaries is a fine way to advance to higer levels on the steps. Woodcarving comes to me in bits and pieces. I have collected, and still do, all kinds of reference materials, books, videos, dvd's, rough outs, carvings, study aids, on subject matter's that I am interested in over the years. My carving style has slowly evolved into a style that I feel that has showed what I am trying to express. My classes have evolved since that first one back in the spring '98 like I hoped they would. I gear my classes towards each individual carver having the desire to participate, the oppotortunity, in developing thier own style, and not to mimic or duplicate someones carving ability they admired . My woodcarving classes are not cookie cutter classes of the last. I hopefully will teach the same class taught the week before entirely different the following week. Gaining insight from others is a great way to learn, and carvers leaving my class will not only have a carving they feel was worth carving, but will also have a better prospective on thier next carving to make it even better.

[doris]

this is a very interesting topic ... i am a teacher, not for carving, but for math at university. i do love teaching, and i think i would like add something from the perspective of teacher, i think is common for all teaching...
first, and to me most important, and mentioned here already, is the responsibility you have towards your students. in the beginning they are eager to learn, and your task as teacher is twofold : you should give them the best information available, and (!) you need to keep their interest highest possible. both points are tricky, and somewhat contradictory...
to judge what is best information available, you need to know that information yourself, so you need be able to carve various areas, faces, animals architectual, relief... only by being able to do all that, you can be confident you not spoil a student. this always was my biggest fear in beginning of teaching. i think it applies well to carving.given a teacher for carving has only limited experience, he cannot really judge upon other styles of carving, maybe not knows what student is asking... i mean, if i were to go to a carving class, i would want teacher explain me all i want to know, want teacher show me this and that, even though it might not be in the path of the course. i am a wild learner, with an impatient pace, and if i pay for a course, i would expect teacher to satisfy my curiosity for learning...and, as teacher, i think, every student has exactely the right to demand that...
also, if a teacher has not full knowledge, he has no chance to realise when a student is really good, and should therefore be given even more information/instruction/greater pace/different direction....
yes, the second point, keep the interest of student high. may be this is not that difficult with carving as is with math, but if i , again, think being student in a carving course, i would be bored to death if i had to follow every cut teacher is doing... and to listen every why a cut was made... in my case, a teacher would need be very flexible, to guide me when necessary, and let me run free for a while also, only to bring me back on course...sigh ... i think, it is complicated to express... on the other hand, there are always students, which need a severe/strong guide, which need be talked through all the steps in the beginning. here again, in my opinion, the teacher needs be very confident on his skills, ...
the teaching itself, i think, not needs be so very repititive, except for those students needing this way to learn, but in general i would think, as in math, a free, wild spirit learning is more effective. and this should more easily applied to carving ..
i love teaching, but i would for very long not consider teaching carving, as i would fear my "wild learned way" to carve is not how it should be done. i would need much more time to reensure myself, that what i do is worth giving further to others as a way to carve... maybe i am too oldfashioned in this view, but i wanted share