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A Code of Practice for Wood turning tutorsReproduced from an origional article printed in the Woodturner | |
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Malcolm Cobb, Honorary Secretary of the Register of Professional Turners
expands upon the question of improving standards for non-vocational
woodturning instruction, a subject which he alluded to last month. This has
been the subject of recent discussion by the Register through a working
party consisting of Peter Tree, Ian Wilkie, Reg Sherwin, Oliver Plant and
Stephen Cooper as the Chairman. Reg Sherwin certainly started something with his article last year about the possibilities of poor and, at worst, dangerous instruction in woodturning. During 1997, there has been considerable 'traffic' in ideas and proposals for improving the situation he described. I have had telephone conversations and letters from fellow turners who are clearly concerned that our craft should be firmly based on training that is safe, responsible and technically sound. All instruction and all instructors should be of high quality, but the greatest importance should be attached to the teaching of novices. After turning for a year or so, reading the magazines and books, studying the videos and joining a woodturning club, our new turners will have become streetwise, and will arrange their next course only after consultation with friends and colleagues. It is not unusual for someone to acquire a lathe, and then be told by their spouse "You are not touching that thing until you have taken a proper course of instruction". (This is before the one about the shavings getting everywhere!) The spouse, who is quite right, then selects an instructor from the learn-to-turn pages. But on what criteria? A licence to teach? In an ideal world, there would be a requirement that all professional instructors are qualified, and that their licence would be revoked if it was proved that they had given unsatisfactory service. For example professional driving instructors are licensed only after a stiff set of tests and are retested at least every year. For most of the hand-crafts, as they are set-up now, a scheme of this sort would present the 'responsible authority' with an expensive and onerous task. Realistically, one must accept that an enforced licensing scheme will not be introduced in the near future. Although the Register cannot actually guarantee the quality of the courses offered by its members, any complaint about instruction that fell below the standards we expect, would be investigated and, if proven, action taken. With nearly 40 of the members of the Register of Professional Turners offering instruction as one of their commercial activities, it was not surprising that at our March 1997 Craft Meeting these matters were discussed at some length. As a consequence, a working party, chaired by Stephen Cooper, was set up to consider what action should be taken. At that time there was no information as to the magnitude of the 'problem'. Had we a Panorama-style 'national scandal' on our hands, or was it only the result of a few sour anecdotes? So the first tangible product of the working party was the formulation of a questionnaire, giving an opportunity for the 'well satisfied' or the 'hopping mad' to give their views. Initially this was published in one of the magazines, and is now given to departing students by teachers on the Register. The size of the response to the former was poor, but to the current scheme, very good. However, in neither case was there evidence of dissatisfaction: in our own survey, very much the reverse. But are novices good judges of a course of instruction? Are they too easily impressed by the flair and dexterity of these Olympians who have agreed to impart a few tricks of the trade (in exchange for money)? These thoughts led to the group's second proposal, a Code of Practice, so that all parties know what is to be expected in a course, and which could become the basis for a commercial agreement. One prominent storekeeper has expressed willingness to give a copy of the Code (in its final form) with every 'starter' lathe; others who wish to take part would be welcome. What's in it for the teachers? Why do some professional woodturners decide to teach? Answers to this question may range from the idealistic "It is very satisfying to see students' faces when they achieve something that previously they had not thought possible", to the cynical "it beats turning balusters all day". How does a professional turner prepare for the new role of instructor? Apart from increasing the workshop hardware, supplementing the safety equipment and taking out appropriate insurance, it would probably not occur to many that anything else was needed. It seems that there are no local government regulations specifically covering the teaching of crafts, although the new activities would come under the eye of the local Environmental Health Department. (This is because members of the public are being invited into commercial premises.) In this rather grey area, the advice of the Health and Safety Executive is simply that, in line with other workshop situations, 'best practice' should be used at all times! And anyway teaching is easy, isn't it? Well, no it isn't! Teaching is a skill in itself. It is in fact the total management of a learning situation, a special form of communication. Some people have a natural ability to teach, but all would benefit from a course of training in the techniques and psychology of the teaching-learning process. A well respected qualification is the City and Guilds 7306 (also 7307). Being awarded a 'piece of paper' is not particularly important, but it is important to have spent time gaining an insight into the student mind, acquiring the ability to speak clearly and unambiguously, and learning how to detect, analyse and correct faults. The possibility that someone who has just taken an elementary course in woodturning, without any significant experience in turning or teaching, could set up as an instructor and offer courses, is clearly unacceptable. The novice, nervous, anxious to please and keen to learn has to be put at ease in a strange workshop, possibly with other people 'watching'. There is a limited time-span into which an agreed syllabus must be accommodated. It is all too easy to waste time, yarning about difficult or interesting turning projects from the past (or, unforgivably, difficult or interesting past students). And, while it is necessary that the instructor should demonstrate his own confident skill to the student, showing off (or swanking, as Frank Pain used to say) in a way not relevant to the syllabus, is another way of wasting precious time. Precious, because the student is paying for it! Incidentally, some good instructors have their students working at the lathe within an hour of the start of the course. Whatever the legal or insurance position, the instructor has a duty of care towards the students, protecting them from short-term (eg sharp things) and long-term hazards (eg air-borne dust) at all times. The ten point plan The following provisional 'ten point plan' has been gleaned from conversations and letters from Register members and a number of dedicated amateur turners. Incidentally, it was the latter who advocated a much more rigorous attitude, involving licensing only fully qualified instructors. (Don't laugh, this might come!) Some assumptions are reasonable. The student should have some basic workshop skills, and the instructor, besides being a competent turner, should have faced the fact that teaching anything is not easy, and needs patience, humour and understanding. At this stage, the emphasis is on the 'how' of teaching, rather than the definition of a precise syllabus. Code of practice for woodturning instruction* Advertisements for training courses and brochures should be unambiguous and should not claim more than can be delivered. 2. HELPFUL RESPONSE * The instructor should respond in a helpful and positive manner to the student's initial enquiry. * Careful attention should be paid to questions about special needs, training targets, etc. * A detailed syllabus for each course offered is essential. 3. STUDENT'S CURRENT ABILITIES * The student should describe accurately his/her experience and current level of ability. * The instructor may suggest pre-course reading, so that time-consuming chats about the parts of the lathe, timber characteristics, etc can be avoided. 4. FACILITIES AND COSTS * There must be a lathe and set of tools for each student. * A smock and a full set of personal safety equipment should be provided by the teaching workshop. Students should be clear about other items they may bring, such as prescription reading glasses, personal lathe tools for correct sharpening, etc. * A clear statement of inclusive costs/charges should be provided for each course at the time of the enquiry. * If, at the student's request, a modification to the course involves extra expense, an agreed surcharge is acceptable. 5. TRAINING TARGETS * In a two-day course, a novice student should become familiar with the core skills of spindle and faceplate turning. * The objective should be to achieve a good surface finish from a basic set of tools. * The use of each tool, and its limitations, should be explained and demonstrated. * Special attention should be given to the advantages of the correct use of the skew chisel in spindle turning. * Students should expect to spend at least 90 per cent of the course-time at their lathes. * The following specific processes should be discussed, and whenever appropriate practised by the student: Timber storage (discuss) Factors that influence choice of timber, and its orientation on the lathe for particular turned products (discuss) Preparation of timber blanks, including safe use of the bandsaw Sharpening a basic set of lathe tools, including. safe use of the grindstone Options for the secure mounting of various turning blanks on the lathe Safe use and simple maintenance of the lathe options and hazards for achieving a smooth durable finish. * Gaining skills is more important than taking home some impressive artifacts, particularly if the intervention of the instructor is necessary for their completion. 6. SAFETY * The student should be in no doubt that the instructor sees safety as paramount. * A 'bravado' approach to workshop hazards is totally unacceptable. * The stages of any work should be planned with safety in mind. * The teaching workshop should be uncluttered, well lit, and with adequate ventilation and dust management. * Machines and tools should be in good order. * Fire extinguishers, first aid boxes and insurance certificates should be clearly visible, and all exit doors marked prominently. 7. MONITORED PROGRESS * With courses of limited duration, a brisk pace is to be expected, but the individual student should not feel overloaded at any point, or that they are holding up the progress of others. * The work should be planned in easy stages, using diagrams, with recapitulations at frequent intervals. * It is reassuring if the student knows that the points being covered will also be found in an accompanying coordinated set of course notes. 8. FOCUS ON TEACHING * The success of a course depends on the qualities of the instructor, who must have thought out a resilient scheme of teaching. * The instructor has an obligation to review and to seek to improve his teaching methods. * The instructor should be aware that there is no such thing as a 'standard student'. * It is reasonable for an instructor to 'establish his credibility'. However, a training course of limited duration is not an opportunity for showing off techniques that would be well beyond the student's present abilities. 9. INSTRUCTOR'S QUALIFICATIONS * An instructor should be willing to describe his background in turning, and how his experience qualifies him to teach others. * An instructor should give serious consideration to gaining further insights into the teaching-learning process by attending courses such as C & G 7306. 10. ROUND-UP * On completion of the course, the instructor should give his assessment of the student's achievements, pointing out any weaknesses requiring special practice. * After the student has returned home, it is likely that small problems will arise. The course notes can be used to pin-point the difficulty. If the instructor is willing to accept questions by 'phone (or fax), it is reasonable that they should be restricted to times convenient to the instructor. | |
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