On 2003-12-29, Julia Altshuler > wrote:

> I've noticed that a lot of people take cooking classes as a sort of
> entertainment, a way to meet people with similar interests, like a nice
> dinner out except you don't need a date. There's nothing wrong with
> that, but I wish I'd known before I started teaching. I went in all
> serious thinking about what the students would learn and found my
> classes not going well because they were more interested in chatting and
> having fun and wanted me to be more entertaining when I was being serious.

Not to rain on your parade, but perhaps you are just not a good
teacher. I've attended many single session cooking classes, most with
wine served during the class. Very seldom have I encountered the
attendees chatting and generally ignoring the chef/teacher. Usually,
the class members are very attentive, paying close attention to the
instruction. I'm not saying you aren't a good chef, but not everyone
is cut out to be a teacher.

nb

notbob wrote:

> Not to rain on your parade, but perhaps you are just not a good
> teacher. I've attended many single session cooking classes, most with
> wine served during the class. Very seldom have I encountered the
> attendees chatting and generally ignoring the chef/teacher. Usually,
> the class members are very attentive, paying close attention to the
> instruction. I'm not saying you aren't a good chef, but not everyone
> is cut out to be a teacher.


You may be right. Whenever I teach one-on-one, no matter the subject, I
get compliments. I'm clear and thorough and have a good knack for
discovering the trouble spot and explaining it. With classes, however,
that same clear, step-by-step thorough-ness may well make me boring. I
wouldn't say my students ignore me, but they haven't necessarily been
attentive. I did get the feeling that some thought of the class as
entertainment, and I'm not good at entertaining.

--Lia