“The best thing for being sad,” replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, “is to learn something. That’s the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honor trampled in the sewers of baser minds.
There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.”
― The Once and Future King
There is so much to learn and then I decided to teach. I have been asked so often and finally, I have given in and offered classes for the ones willing to work on a piece of furniture under my supervision.
While I expected only a few to be interested once in a while, I quickly learned otherwise. Every Friday and Saturday I give classes, share the knowledge about my craft with the ones who are willing to listen.
What a simple plan it was and how it became so much more. I get paid to learn while teaching. Every student is different, so is every piece and I am forced to adjust to different people, with a diverse set of talents.
Sometimes I feel I should give the money back and should start paying my students instead. I am often pushed to my limit, and I am frequently forced to improvise -without having the time to think it all though.
How different we all are, even when we think we do the same? How contrary we can react, to the same message.
The old is often faster than the young, the female stronger than the male and the man turns around and manages a task we thought would be not suited for him -but her.
I am having a good time, and I am entirely grateful for the chance to share some of my knowledge with so many interesting people.
Here are some pictures of my summer classes.
Learning & teaching–the two best things on this planet.. kudos to you!
Thank you !
What a magnificent opportunity for these students! …. and even better, that the teacher also feels a huge win from the experience 💕
It keeps me on my toes 🙂
That’s fantastic! It must sometimes be as interesting for you as for them. A mutual exchange. 🙂 🙂
Sound thoughts
I wish I lived closer and could take one of your classes! Seriously! I have a number of pieces I would love to tackle. I’m sure there is a sense of camaraderie and accomplishment that makes the teacher-student relationship very welcome. 🙂
I would love that!
You are right, there is a sense of camaraderie between an adult student and the adult teacher. So far I have been very, very lucky with my students.
thanks for the passage on learning – love that – and I am teaching some students about psychological theories of learning and that passage will segway into conditioning and observational lessons….
but also give us that personal encouragement.
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and good for you for teaching – I enjoyed seeing the photos and loved your note:
“How different we all are, even when we think we do the same? How contrary we can react, to the same message.”
so true….
I am glad you liked the passage on learning as much I do.
Thank you for reading!
🙂
I need to try and come here more often – you post about wonderful things (and I am not just saying that)
How sweet. Thank you!