Aristotle once said,’ Those who can, do and those who understand, teach.’ (NOT to be confused with George Bernard Shaw’s changing of the quote to, ‘Those who can, do and those who can’t teach’) Aristotle’s opinion about teachers was very respectful and true.
He said, teachers weren’t simply there to transfer their knowledge.
You need to be able to recognize that a student who possesses that certain ‘something’ is being held back by not being able to explain and pass along this knowledge when in real-world scenarios, or lacks the confidence to go forth with what they know and put it into practice. This is the gap every cosmetology instructor faces at one time or another, and to ensure the success of your student, you have to know how to close that gap.
The greatest achievement for an instructor is not just creating a technician, but instilling the confidence that a client-ready professional requires.
Here are four teaching methods you can use to help your students grow, thrive, and confidently go forth and enhance the beauty of the world.
Role Playing
You can read the theory of something a dozen times, but until you put that theory into practice, it probably won’t make sense.
Encourage active listening skills to establish a trusting relationship with the client. Teach them the technique of open-ended questions and practice repeating desires back to clients so everyone understands what a ‘day look’ in makeup means, or sassy and fun ‘hair style’ can mean for someone else.
These practices will immediately build a rapport and establish trust with the client, and they will always remember how their stylist listened and delivered.
The more they practice this, the more instinctual they will become, and finding the right look will become like second nature.
Spotlight The Soft Skills
During practical assessments, it’s natural to focus on the precision of a cut, the right foundations in makeup, or the nail quality of the gels.
But you can boost the stylist’s confidence in their skills when you elevate your feedback by actively ‘spotlighting’ the soft skills happening alongside the technique.
Did they explain each step to their model? Was their time management spot on? Did they take steps to ensure the work station was clean and sanitary?
When you verbally reward your students, they remember those things and long to keep them as part of their daily practices.
These little things give them a professional base to call from and make them walk taller and feel pride in themselves.
Always With The Why
Pin curls in the 1920s, braiding beyond the simple pigtails, and braids into the 2000s. Were there cultural backgrounds to the braids worn by males in a certain cultural setting, who thought the mullet was fun?
Sometimes knowing the science behind how a hair bonds against itself, or why phony lashes are all the rage, makes it more interesting and can get your imagination flowing.
Building this respect for the craft and knowing innovations and creativity can take you far, can make you brave, and make you want to study things further.
Keeping Up With Trends and Licensing
As a Professional, you want to stay competitive all the time. This means that you want to be licensed at all times, plus you want to learn all the new rules/regulations (sure that’s important), but also how new technology affects your profession, so that you can take it to the next level. But how often you have to renew your license and how much you get to learn is different depending on where you work/live, plus it also differs based on what you do.
Here’s a quick example:
A Nebraska cosmetology-instructor CE to continue growing your teaching expertise will be set at 8 hours, with a biannual licence renewal cycle, while a cosmetology instructor in Texas will have to complete only 4 hrs of CE. So do check with your State Board to see what your requirements are.
You’ll need to prepare yourself for the coming exams to keep up your licence and make sure you are on top of your game, so you impart knowledge to the up-and-comers in the field.
Focus on your teaching techniques.
This way, you become more of a mentor than a teacher. This way, the next generation will have a better chance of making it, all confident to excel in their craft, inspired by you.
