Deb Lewis

If you could "teach" yourself you wouldn't need the book. If you had
the knowledge to "teach" yourself sewing you'd just already know how
to sew.
A book, or a couple of websites and some fiddling around, some advice
and tips from friends will help you *learn* about sewing. <g>
(I'm unable to help you. I repair clothing with a stapler or duct
tape.<g>)

Deb Lewis

From www.sandradodd.com/wordswords


Unschooling: Words and Thoughts
How Changing What We Say Can Change the Way We Think

What Teaching Never Can Be
For years I have recommended that new unschoolers stop using the
word "teach" and replace all statements and thoughts with phrases
using the word "learn" instead. I've gotten much flak back from
people saying it doesn't matter, or that's "just semantics." What
started as a theory with me became belief and then conviction.
Unschoolers who cling to the idea of teaching will handicap their own
understanding of how learning works.

The boldface lines below are quotes from someone in a discussion once
who was sure she could change my mind:

So if teaching "really" means competently and compassionately
facilitating learning, then teaching *does* exist, no?

The word exists.
The idea exists.
In English we expect words to have meanings. We expect a thing to be
a THING. And a verb to be ACTION! Wham! Pow!

The action of "teaching" isn't simple and clear.

When there are pairs of words like "pitcher and cup" or "pitcher and
catcher" or "ball and socket", We assume the two things are
complementary parts of a whole.

So we have (and have had for many languages back up the line, I'm
guessing, maybe) "teacher and student."

Now that I'm thinking about it, though, maybe this is, in part, an
English language problem. Because in Romance languages (Latin-based,
Italian, French, Spanish...) they used "maestro" or forms
thereof. "Master" or "Mistress" of an art or body of knowledge.
Someone can be a maestro with no followers or students. One can't
very well be a teacher without the presence of a student.

But anyway, we do have in modern English the pair "teach and learn."

If I want to teach someone how to use quotation marks, I can talk,
show them, make jokes, draw stick figures with speech-balloons, and I
could maybe sing songs about it. So IF the person who's in the
room "being taught" is thinking about how to file down that one piece
of a machine gun that can turn a legal semi-automatic into an illegal
automatic, and how to hide that part really well, disguised as
something altogether different, what am I doing?

I'm talking, writing, drawing, dancing, and singing. But I'm not
teaching. I'm reviewing for myself something I already know. I'm just
performing a play of sorts, without any audience. I'm playing with
myself. I'm ...well, you know.

So if I'm reading a magazine about machine guns and someone comes and
says, "How do I punctuate a quote within a quote?" I can show them.
If they don't totally understand, I can draw pictures or give other
examples. When I perceive that they have learned the thing they
wanted to learn, I should shush up and go back to my magazine,
because the action is completed. .

They learned. I helped them learn. I was "the teacher" but I didn't
do the work that resulted in learning. The learner did that in his
own head. I could put ideas in the air, but only he could hear and
process and ask more questions. Without his active work, no teaching
can possibly take place.


So if teaching *really* means competently and compassionately
facilitating learning, then teaching does exist, no?

There's that Buddhist talk about being the water, being the ocean.
Think of it as kneading bread, maybe. Here's a truth: teaching has no
action to show for itself which is "teaching." You can't really pour
useful information into anyone else's ears or eyes against their
will. They can learn like crazy, but you can't make them.
Fold and push. People learn from other people.

Fold and push. There are people paid to teach. Some are aware that
there are limitations to what they can do. Others are not
philosophical and believe that, if they "taught" (presented
information), only the lazy and uncooperative could possibly fail
to "learn."

Fold and push really hard.

"Teaching" is an idea that most people understand on a quick, simple
level. It's an idea that the best teachers and the best homeschoolers
(i.e. we unschoolers) think about more carefully and examine more
closely.

I feel that I've taught my kids to be kind and patient. If they
reject that "teaching" though, they're not taught at all. I would
have modelled and discussed and totally failed miserably to teach.
But somehow I persuaded them to believe that what I believe was
important. Sometimes, somehow, I persuade people to believe
unschooling will work and is important. Some people fail to learn it,
but I keep singing and dancing anyway..

I don't much like jazz, but philosophy, ideas, and teaching are kind
of like jazz. Early in playing an instrument you're told the One
Right Way to hold it, to blow/strike/pluck, to use the keys so you
don't damage them, to stand or to sit just so, making it easier for
you and safer for the instrument. Those are The Rules.

If you get so good at your instrument that you can play it in the
dark, quickly, while carrying on a conversation with someone else at
the same time (not wind players, but you know what I mean...), the
rules no longer apply to you.

At that point you cannot be a beginner who accidentally broke an
instrument out of ignorance or carelessness. You will love that
instrument and know it really well and maybe be able to repair it. At
first the instrument was the sacred goal, but once your musicianship
is greater than the instrument, you are beyond and above the simple
rules.

Here's a rule: You have to stand to sing. Otherwise your diaphragm is
cramped up and it won't be able to support your notes and control
your pitches. HAVE to stand up.

Professionals in musicals and operas—they sing sitting, they sing
lying in beds, they sing dancing, they sing in all kinds of
positions. Folksingers and traditional musicians of various kinds
sing sitting in various situations.

I can teach like they can sing. So why am I saying teaching doesn't
exist? Beginners need to know that teaching isn't a thing you do to
someone else. Rather, learning is something that you MIGHT, if you're
lucky, get to assist with.

In beginning stages, like student teachers and beginning
homeschooling parents and assistant karate teachers (which my son is)
and games teachers (Marty and Holly have both "taught a game" in the
past couple of days, or rather recited rules in the presence of other
people) need to look for and see learning as a separate process from
their own song and dance. In advances stages there is teaching, but
it is compassionately and competently facilitating another's
learning.


Sandra
Originally posted at www.unschooling.com in November 2001, discovered
printed out, transcribed
and mailed back to me by Kelly Lovejoy July 7, 2003.
In French: CE QUE « ENSEIGNER » NE PEUT PAS ETRE

Melissa

I always start with the 'dummies' series, nearly everything I've been
interested in. It sets things out concisely...although I haven't
seen the sewing for dummies, I imagine that it's much the same.
Sewing is really quite easy, once you learn the language! I was
fortunate that I had an older lady from church who was willing to
walk me through one project. Once I did that, I felt confident enough
to just do other projects. You might also look at yahoo groups (my
other 'start' button is yahoo lol!)
Good luck, it's been really nice to be able to sew with the girls.
Melissa
Mom to Josh (12), Breanna (10), Emily (8), Rachel (7), Sam (6), Dan
(4), and Avari Rose (19 months)

share our lives at
http://360.yahoo.com/multimomma



On Aug 19, 2007, at 11:51 AM, Kendrah Nilsestuen wrote:

> I would like to take the plunge and start diving into my own
> interests, while my children continue to expand on theirs. I've
> always wanted to sew. I have an older sewing machine that used to
> belong to my grandmother. My grandmother has since passed, and none
> of my other family knows how to sew. I have friends that do but they
> are busy moms themselves. A class isn't really an option right now,
> due to time & financial constraints.
>
> So, can anyone recommend any starter books that would help me teach
> myself?
>
> Thanks so much,
> Kendrah:)
>
>



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diana jenner

I'd just *go for it* with square pillows (I bought some Mary Englebright
fabric that was "pillow ready" and I recycled the stuffing from old
pillows), drawstring bags, curtains, just about anything you've got laying
around that you can analyze visually and reproduce easily... from there I'd
go to your local fabric store, check out the samples and ask a clerk for
advice on a simple patterns.
On Ren's blog, she talks about making fabric ATCs and I know Kelli Traaseth
blogged recently about sewing with her daughter (and friends!).

I avoid the dummy series myself, as I'm *not* a dummy ;) I know, I know
they're full of good info, I just can't get past the title. :)

On 8/19/07, Melissa <autismhelp@...> wrote:
>
> I always start with the 'dummies' series, nearly everything I've been
> interested in. It sets things out concisely...although I haven't
> seen the sewing for dummies, I imagine that it's much the same.
> Sewing is really quite easy, once you learn the language! I was
> fortunate that I had an older lady from church who was willing to
> walk me through one project. Once I did that, I felt confident enough
> to just do other projects. You might also look at yahoo groups (my
> other 'start' button is yahoo lol!)
> Good luck, it's been really nice to be able to sew with the girls.
> Melissa
> Mom to Josh (12), Breanna (10), Emily (8), Rachel (7), Sam (6), Dan
> (4), and Avari Rose (19 months)
>
> share our lives at
> http://360.yahoo.com/multimomma
>
> On Aug 19, 2007, at 11:51 AM, Kendrah Nilsestuen wrote:
>
> > I would like to take the plunge and start diving into my own
> > interests, while my children continue to expand on theirs. I've
> > always wanted to sew. I have an older sewing machine that used to
> > belong to my grandmother. My grandmother has since passed, and none
> > of my other family knows how to sew. I have friends that do but they
> > are busy moms themselves. A class isn't really an option right now,
> > due to time & financial constraints.
> >
> > So, can anyone recommend any starter books that would help me teach
> > myself?
>


--
~diana :)
xoxoxoxo
hannahbearski.blogspot.com


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Meredith

*What* do you want to sew?

The "Singer Sewing Library" has lots of good, basic information - its a
collection of books, not an actual library! Its arranged by subject -
apparel, home decor, quilting and some other specialty areas
like "sewing for kids" and lingerie ;) Most big chain fabric stores
carry these books.

I worked in fabric stores for almost twenty years, though, and one of
the really wonderful things about them is you can ask the employees for
help. If you're going to a big chain store go during the day so you're
more likely to get a full-time employee who knows how to sew.

Personally, I think the best way to learn to sew is to pick a project
and get started. It might also help to think a little about how you
learn and what kinds of things motivate vs discourage you. If
unfinished projects leave you feeling down about yourself start with
small, easy-to-complete stuff. If you like to play around and
experiment - go for it!

---Meredith (Mo 6, Ray 13)

Erica Iwamura

Kendrah,

I just learned to use my sewing machine a week ago! I absolutely love it.

I know that you said the other mom's are busy (as you are too!) but could
you maybe set up a playdate for the kids and have one just show you how to
thread the machine? Thats really the main thing (at least it was for me).
Once I got that down I made some drawstring bags for the kids toys for when
we travel, some pillowcases and a pillow. I just got some material for
holiday napkins and table runners.

I agree with Diana, stick with squares and straight line patterns right
now. I didn't even use a pattern for the pillowcases. I just "eye-balled"
it and they turned out perfect. Get some cheaper material to practice on
and go for it!

Erica


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Debra Rossing

Or, you could check out places like Michael's that often have beginner
classes that cost little to nothing for the class, just for materials
(which you'd be buying anyhow). They *deliberately* don't charge much
for the classes in order to make their money from the increased business
of people come in to buy the materials more often.

Pillows and hair scrunchies (yeah, I know they're slightly out of style
now) and such are pretty easy to do because they're basically straight
seams, no patterns to lay out and bias to consider and all (don't have
to worry about matching the stripes quite so much on a hair scrunchy as
you do on a skirt lol). I think if I'd NOT had sewing in middle school I
would've liked it more. My mom sewed a lot when we were kids and I loved
helping pick out the fabric, laying out the pattern, and so on. A middle
school sewing class 'disaster' with a zipper pretty much killed my
interest (it took so long to get the zipper in, with the ripping out,
adjusting, re-trying and all, that the skirt no longer fit properly by
the time I was done).

Deb

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ivy papa-goze

hi. in my case, i just decided to go for it recalling as much as i can from home ec classes (which i had never been good at). for me it all started with slings. then i graduated on to babylegs. my last project had been a shopping cart cover. i'm not sure if i did things "right", but they're all functional and look all right. i'm now in the middle of putting together a patchwork quilt. all of the patterns and instructions i followed i got online. maybe while waiting to get a book that suits you, you could sort of warm up with simple projects you can get online. hth. :)

ivy


http://spinninglovelydays.blogspot.com

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