Ep 517: Being a Pottery Educator with Ian Childers

Send us Fan MailIn an internet world where there are seemingly endless “educators” available to learn from, what actually qualifies someone to teach a skill? Is it a traditional piece of paper, or diploma, saying that some institution has decided you can? Is it the number of years you’ve been doing the thing? Frankly, there’s really not a fixed formula we can say where x+ y = qualified educator! However, during this chat with Ian Childers, a potter who, as often happens, fell into education by necessity and yet has found a passion for it, I’ve found a few thru lines and a couple of Ian’s philosophies I wholeheartedly agree with - namely, the fact that he’s not only teaching his students a skill set to hypothetically go make a living at this craft, he is also showing his students what it takes to make a living at this craft. As Ian says during our chat, how can he expect his students to trust him if he’s not out there doing it himself? And that I couldn’t agree more with. Guest Resources:Ian Childers Instagram - @ianchilders---Looking for support in building your own creative life? Come join over 100 other makers from around the world, having these very discussions, inside of The Community. Click here to learn more.---Love this podcast? Support an episode!  Follow The Maker's Playbook on Instagram @themakersplaybook