Learning About Teaching

My daughter gave me the hair cut gift certificate she wasn't going to use before it expired. Why not, I thought. Get my hair cut for free at the beauty school and save some money. It took the young girl quite awhile to get the job done, which gave me plenty of time to observe the process and give thought to the education that was going on around me.

A hair cut at the beauty school means the instructor will be over often to teach how to do it. Being a teacher of small students, I do enjoy watching any teaching process. It also reminded me of Stacey and Ruth's posts over the last few months drawing parallels between learning as adults and what we can apply to our own teaching skills.

I noticed several important things. First, the instructors voice was always calm, but authoritative. She used the same pleasant voice each time and explained exactly what to do in as few words as possible.

The teacher's compliments were frequent, direct and descriptive of her student's work. She never criticized the girl's work or attempts.

On one of her trips over, the instructor told me a few things about how the shop worked and the services they offered. Then she pleasantly surprised me by saying that the young girl working on my hair was quite artistic. Therefore, that was the reason she was teaching about the hair cut using references to lines and angles. This teacher really knew her student. And she was using her student's strengths to teach and clarify the skill.

Finally the cut was done and I must say I was pleased. The new hair stylist looked tired, but relieved. And proud.