Becoming Certified: Instructor Programs
After my experience last Fall teaching Knitting to my neighbors I decided to sign up to become a Certified Knitting Instructor with the Craft Yarn Council. I had no idea these programs even existed, but I read that this is the program that Michaels used to make mandatory for Instructors to work there, so I figured it must be pretty good.
I have six months to complete knitting assignments. This includes knitting swatches of different types of stitch patterns, creating lesson plans and teaching hours. All the information gets sent to an Evaluator who gives me either Pass/Fail on my work. If something needs to be corrected, you only get one chance to do so….otherwise you FAIL. ::insert doom music here::
Yeah, so I guess because there is a deadline it’s a bit intense but for some reason I tend to thrive in these kinds of situations. I’ve been learning so much about Knitting! Like even if you aren’t planning to become a Certified Instructor, the information they give you is SO good, and I’ve been pretty happy with everything so far and am obsessed with cable knit at the present moment.
Obviously being Certified isn’t a requirement to be a Knitting Instructor and I can tell you that most people don’t even know about this. It’s not like becoming a Doctor and you want the person who is treating you to have the proper credentials. This is certainly not a life and death situation…but for me it gives me peace of mind that I am able to answer student questions with more confidence because I learned it from my coursework, not just off YouTube.
Y’all should know by now I consider myself a life-long learner. Mostly self-taught in things but always wanting to learn more. My knowledge comes from books, YT, other people and my own personal experience. It’s always fun to learn new things.
As far as sewing goes, I also decided to sign up to become a Certified Sewing Instructor through Palmer/Pletch in a few months. I am really excited about this since I will learn all about Fit. This program is something I have wanted to do ever since I started sewing. This will be helpful in learning not only to fit myself but also being able to teach OTHERS! Knowing how to sew is one thing, and knowing how to fit is like an entirely different skill…one that people could tear their hair out trying to nip and tuck all the live long day. (Especially when it comes to bust or pants fitting!)
As a proud member of the American Sewing Guild, our mission statement is “Advancing Sewing as an Art and Life Skill.” This is something that I truly believe in and am passionate about, so teaching sewing and learning sewing falls in line with my personal mission. 🙂
