As adults, it can be easy to forget what it feels like to be new at something. We get settle into our routines. We know how to do our job, care for our homes, etc. and stay within our comfort zone. This can make it difficult to relate to students who are learning something really complex and are can easily be overwhelmed by it. They are new, and we know that they won't get everything right away, and that's fine, but sometimes it helps to be able to relate as a newbie. Recently, I took a one time acrylic painting class. I had wanted to try painting for a long time, and took the opportunity to try it...I hadn't ever painted on a canvas before and never worked with acrylics, so it was a bit intimidating. Here are some things I learned from that experience.
1) It's OK to not know how to do something. When you are in a class or a lesson, the teacher (and classmates, if you have them) don't expect you to be great at what you're doing. That's why you are in the class. It's OK to ask questions or ask for help when you don't understand.
2) It's OK if the finished product is not amazing. The purpose is learning and improving. Before I went to that class, I didn't know how to mix the colors to get different shades (eg. I never would have thought to mix blue and green to get a darker green!). I didn't know when to use long brush strokes and when to use short ones. I didn't know that acrylic paint dries quickly, so wait for the orange and yellow to dry before you add purple. I made some mistakes. I got help to fix them. And I learned.
3) The inner critic will always be there, but you don't have to listen to it. My inner critic was telling me my painting looked like a kindergartner did it. Well, in painting, I'm at the level of a kindergartner, so that's OK. My inner critic said everyone else's paintings looked a lot better than mine. In reality, I was the only one who had absolutely no experience with acrylics, so it's to be expected that others who had done it before would be better at it than I am. That's fine.
4) I need to listen to the advice I give to my students. All the things I mentioned before, it's OK not to know, it's OK to make mistakes, it's OK to ask for help, it doesn't have to be perfect, the goal is to learn and do better, and don't listen to the inner critic are all things that I need to remind myself of when I am tackling something new.
I came out of my newbie experience with a bit more compassion for my students when they are struggling to get a new concept or skill. I remember more clearly what it feels like, and how much having some encouragement can help when you feel like the only one who doesn't understand or that you'll never be able to perform as well as you want to.
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