Brandon,

Chose carefully, not all schools are equal. I’ve taught framebuilding classes longer than anyone else and a surprising percentage of my students have already taken another framebuilding class somewhere else. There is a big difference in their training depending on where they went. Teaching is a separate skill from building. Some students just want to make something cool for themselves, while others have the ambition to make more. I get both kind of students. The 1st group only requires that I show them what to do and watch over them so they don’t mess up. And maybe help them with the hard parts so they end up with a professional quality of frame. The 2nd group demands a lot more of themselves and of the teacher. It isn’t nearly enough that there is just an explanation and demonstration, they need to leave class with enough knowledge in their heads and skill in their hands and documentation (notes, pics, video and class manual) so they can do it all over again without an instructor. It is for these students that my degrees in teaching education and years in a regular classroom come into use. My job isn’t done until each student “gets it”. And that path is different for every student. There is a huge amount of information that has to be retained if one is going to make more. This is part of the reason I typically teach 3 week instead of 2 week classes (although sometimes I do teach shorter classes) because one can only catch on so fast.

Doug Fattic
Niles, MI