Oh the stress!

 

This orangutan perfectly encompasses how I feel right now.  

I am stressed and done and don't feel quite like dealing with anything right now.  The wedding is taking it's toll on my creativity and when things are out of my hands I am not a happy camper. Yesterday was a bit tumultuous in regards to wedding stuff BUT good things happen as well. I'm happy to say that I have my organist that I wanted and many friends are super supportive.  I know nothing goes perfectly for any wedding that is just the nature of them.

 What I can do is keep on trucking along and get the other things in my life taken care of. Classes are in full swing for me at CCAD.  Another Summer of Draping into Pattern and Pattern Drafting and Construction.  I was a little slumped at the beginning of last semester but this semester feels so much better.  It has been a little over 3 years of me teaching Pattern Drafting and Construction for the Continuing Education and the longer I do it the more I feel like I have gained great experience.  I have found what does and does not work, learned to changed things up depending on the overall skill level of the class, where and when to take the extra time with a student or even if it is necessary.  

Teaching has helped me a great deal to read people and the way they act, I only have a limited time so I need to know where and how to spend that.  Most of my people are fantastic but sometimes there are people who just don't want to listen and can't be helped, in those cases I have learned to gracefully point out they need to sort themselves out a bit before taking up my class time.  

The other important thing is how to keep this curriculum refreshing to me even though it is basically the same lesson repeated every semester.  Little things like choosing different fabrics to do my demo on or switching up the order of the demos, making conversation and connecting with the students.  Another great thing is asking them to participate during the demo, for example I would sew up one side of the invisible zipper and let someone else try to sew in the second part.

I can with confidence still say that teaching is one of my favorite jobs.  I am dedicated to not becoming a broken or bitter teacher.  If for some reason teaching is no longer fun then you should not be doing it, it is a horrible thing to see someone's negativity crush an aspiring mind.

My Advice to other teachers is to not be afraid to voice your unhappiness.  Do not dwell in it.  Perhaps evaluate what you like and don't like about your class or what you are teaching.  Most importantly do not be afraid to make changes.