Good Morning Everyone,
We are in the middle of a hot, humid week in NY, and I thought that no one would show up for my regular Monday morning crochet class. Well I was wrong. I had a couple of regulars, one fairly newbie, but the biggest surprise was that I had two brand new crocheters show up.
One student had learned to chain and hold the hook years ago, but never did anything with it, the other had never even tried before. The latter is a real challenge for a teacher, especially in a class of different levels of expertise. The student who had learned to chain and hold the hook, picked up the technique and stitches very quickly, the one who had never even held a hook had more difficulty. Fortunately I have been blessed with a lot of patience, and when that "light bulb" moment came, the whole class cheered.
What fun to see someone (who we shall say was not a teenager), learn something new, something that was a real challenge for her, something that she thought was beyond her. I guess that's what makes teaching fun, its what makes teachers continue to teach, I know that is why I do it.
This class started me thinking about the learning process. I learned to knit and crochet at a very young age, and have consistently done it, always wanting to improve my skills. Many of us learned to knit /crochet as children, but for one reason or another, went for years without picking up hook or needle. In the past four or five years, with the renewed interest in the needlearts, I have noticed that the ones who learned as children have very little trouble picking up where they left off and sharpening their skills. Those who never learned as children have it harder, the whole process is so foreign, their fingers do not want to work. Young people are such marvelous creatures, like sponges soaking up all that is taught, and storing it for future use. As we get older, learning new things become so much more of a challenge, but the good news is that it CAN be done.
Have a great day
Margaret
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