New Batch

As November continues to blaze the way into shorter, rainier days here in Portland, more folks start to realize that they will be spending more time inside during the next several months.  Some of them (and/or their children) end up at our school.  Having both new and veteran students in the same class gives senior students the chance to show what they’ve learned to the incoming students.

The beauty of having the senior students teach the new students is (in part) that they enjoy it.  Who doesn’t like showing other people what they’ve learned and how hard they’ve worked to earn it?  In addition, it solves the curriculum problem of having rote novices and experienced students in the same class – by having them teach each other, everyone gets to participate.

On a final bonus note, almost every time a student teaches another, they soon realize that there is some gap (no matter how small) in their knowledge.  So not only are they teaching someone else, but they are often learning as they do so – figuring out some of the small details of techniques that they’d never given much thought to before.  Ours is a teaching style; we believe that passing along techniques to fellow students functions to strengthen retention and skill.  Bring them on!