Just wanted to share some news. My instructor recommended me to be an instructor ..I didn't think I would be able to do it but I got assigned to a hobby lobby!! I really think this will be great for my skill sharpening!!!

Congrats!

Do you mean sharpening other people's skills?! ...I'm just going to go ahead & stop myself...congrats(?).

I've been an instructor since April...yes, you MUST sharpen your own skills in order to teach others.

Very exciting! Congrats! I love it. Wilton knows how to spoil its instructors.

Congrats! It is by far the best job I've ever had! I still can't believe I get paid to do this, and I've been doing it for over a year. Your going to have so much fun!

Congratulations - you will do a great job. It is awesome to watch one of your students "get" a technique. I started teaching 3 years ago and only one month following completion of classes. I love being able to practice without having to make so many cakes and I think I am getting better all the while.

CoNgratulations! That is so exciting!

Thanks everyone! To an above poster , yes I meant sharpening my skills while teaching others to better theirs...thanks to everyone who totally got what I was saying..such an exciting opportunity ..I am so excited to get started next week. The previos instructor at my location left it kind of a mess so I've got a little organizing to do but my first class starts January 10, 2012. If those of you who are or have been instructors , please offer any helpful hints or advice!!!

Stick closely to your alloted time for each part of the lesson! Also STRESS that the students need to come prepared for the lesson. I could tell you a couple of horror stories!

Ok, here's one: One lady actually told me that she is "never going to make a cake" so could she just reuse a cake she bought for lesson 2 of Decorating Basics! The whole class gasped. I have a middle school girl and high school boy in the same class, and THEY were even shocked. Then again, this same woman was a little disruptive.

Congrats Jacs!!! Very exciting!!-- I'm sure you will do great!!

I'm going to throw out one suggestion- A friend and I took a class at Michaels -which we never finished beacuse it was so bad!!!- so so bad!! but that's another post (ha)- but this would have really helped us!

When describing the consistancy of the buttercreams, maybe you can bring in an example of the differences, so students can really get a visual and feel for thin vs. med etc. This was very hard for us to figure out without seeing it-

Visuals are key!! completed, in the process, correct, wrong etc

My instructor insisted that we had to make our own buttercream (although as I said we had NO idea what we were shooting for)- we spendt so much time and wasted energy on that when we could have bought ready-made from the shelf and practiced that at our own speed- we went to learn to decorate-- and since our buttercream was not right- our decorating wasn't either-- we should have just bought it and called it a day- but we tried to follow the instructor's requests and we lost out on the essence of the class-

Just my suggestion-

Ohhh and I'm sorry someone felt the need to "rain on your parade"- sometimes the cranky, snide remarks on here are frustrating- I had hoped it was ceasing as there was a big discussion about it at one time- but I guess not everyone got the memo. (I'm surprised it wasn't followed by a request and "talking-to" about being insured, licensed, board approved...yada yada yada!! ha)

Can't wait to hear about your experience- make sure you post all about it!!

Mo

Wow, Mo...your instructor totally failed. For the first class, instructors are supposed to make the buttercream IN CLASS for you to see and feel! Then, for lesson 2, you bring in yours, adjusting it as needed WITH the instructor.

Jacs, hon, there's another suggestion: follow your instructor's guide!

When I took my first Wilton class - Decorating Basics - my instructor made a batch of buttercream right there in the class and showed us how to make it thinner and thicker to meet whatever consistency we needed for what we were doing. It was really nice to be able to see it and have a better idea of what we were supposed to be striving for in consistency. The other thing she did -- because several of us had never used fondant before -- was bring in small samples of different fondants for us to taste (Wilton's, Satin Ice and Fonderific). I'll tell you one thing...we all decided we'd never use Wilton's fondant!!!

This instructor also made it very clear to all who attended that punctuality and readiness were very important as we did have a timeline in the classes. Of course there always has to be one person who doesn't come prepared and/or on time and she was always borrowing from those of us who managed to come over prepared. Also if you can, learn how to do what your instructing as a left handed person. We happened to have 2 people (me being one of them) who were left handed in the class and thank goodness our instructor knew how to teach us the left handed approach to decorating. It made it so much easier for us. She asked at the beginning of the class if there were any lefties in the class. So those are just a few observances from a student in the Wilton classes. I thoroughly enjoyed all 3 classes I took and loved my instructor! I'm going to take a cookie decorating class in February from her and am looking forward to it! Good luck to you --- I'm sure you'll do well and it will definitely improve your own skills in the process.

Jacscakes213- Congrats! That is great! I would have to say, I took one class, the rest I had to seek on my own (of course with hubby's help) My instructor did not show us the difference in types of icing. She did make a batch but left it up to us to figure out stiff, medium and thin. Like MaurorLess67, much time was wasted when a lady brought in sugar soup. It was also hard to see the things she was piping on the practice board when she was standing in front of the class with the board facing her. The two things that I had never done at that time was leveling a cake properly (always a "pisa" work) and smoothing. It was addressed with the comment, nobody likes the a smooth cake and refer to the book on how to level. Of course, the cakes that she brought in were domed on top and not smooth. I tried to do the second class. She took my money and never called me to tell me when the class was. It took me a month to get my money back. So, I would just say keep in mind "don't be like my teacher"! You'll be fine. You sound like you have a passion for it. I think that is what my instructor lacked.

Thanks everyone , all of your advice is awesome!
To Gerle , I am a lefty!!! I decorate with my eight and but I can do both soi will definitely address that in classes,

I don't have a lot of patience for non punctual people so I will definitly be stressing that point right from the start!

When I took all of the courses, in was one of the ones who came over prepared and was always annoyed when there were some who never were prepared.I know that a lot of my own experiences will guide me. I am going into the account tomorrow to check inventory levels and all of that good stuff,

So excited to turn this page in my cake life chapter... That was corny..ah well!

Punctuality---- I should have added that in my post- our instructor was 1 1/2 late the first night- and we were ALWAYS there before she was for the following classes- I'm telling you- it was so bad- Also, there were children in our class- they were very nice young girls- but def needed a lot of support- guess who's table they always wanted to sit at???? Yup- ours!

I can continue to go on about the horrible experince the class was... but I won't-- it was a shame though- we never finished course 1- and never went back. We should have complained- not ONE person in our class- and there were I think at least 8 of us, signed up for course 2-- we were all so mad!!

I can't believe your instructors actually made buttercream during the class!! We didnt even get an example- wait till I tell Lee- she will be so mad! ha

You totally should have complained, Mo!

1 1/2 hours late...and it's a 2 hour class. Wow. Totally against everything an instructor is supposed to do.

Good luck! And have fun!