Tag: Learning

Yesterday, my delightful niece came for lunch and a lesson on how to make bread. I’d mentioned that I often made my own and offered to show her how. She was keen to accept. So between remote working (her) and dog walking (me), we set about making bread together.

My own experience of learning the art of bread making was rather more drawn out and frustrating. I’d follow one recipe after another to get okay results. Only after months (years?) of trial an error, I discovered that a second rise is not optional but mandatory and exactly what the dough should feel like when it is perfect. Answer: your earlobe! I picked up scraps of information here and there and eventually figured it out.

In the past, such endeavours would have been entirely unnecessary. My mother or grandmother would have shown me how or I would have learned from observation. But breadmaking, like so many lost skills, is something we often have to learn by ourselves. How much better to teach others what we know.

Restoring lost skills

So many skills that the older generation took for granted were lost when ready- made goods became more affordable. And no, I am not romanticising the often laborious tasks so many had to face. Knitting, sewing and darning every evening to make sure your family was well clothed is not what I’m talking about.

However, rising costs and a desire for more individual or better quality goods has made many younger folk turn to the skills performed by their forebears. And not just the young. My age group has shown a marked interest in the practical crafts, but what we lack are those to show us how.

My crocheted squares have languished in the basket for months, because I don’t know how to join them (except in the most basic way, which I don’t like) or to do a pretty edging. I’m stuck. Books are great, but they’re not the same as a hand to guide you.

Using the business model

Sharing skills or knowledge sharing, as it is know in the business world, has long been acknowledged as a vital component in a successful enterprise. After all, if one person knows how to do something and shows another, efficiency, confidence and productivity improve.

And yet, in the domestic sphere, we seem less willing to embrace this concept. Young people (and older!) go out into the world not knowing how to mend a shirt or tyre or make a healthy meal. When we neglect to pass on these vital abilities, we doom them to the cost of constantly replacing clothing, paying for expensive help and eating poorly.

My husband is a whizz at DIY and throughout their childhoods, the kids were encouraged to help lay floors, decorate etc. Their skills are now well beyond our own, but I hope that early introduction gave them the confidence to try.

My eldest has just built an exquisite home office in the grounds of his house. It is so cute, I’d quite like to move in myself.

On-line learning

For many of us, the Internet is the place we turn to for advice. My husband has fixed my car using it and I have tackled many a craft project under its expert tuition. Indeed, there is almost nothing that can’t be learned via YouTube. But it is not quite the same as having a person to guide you.

And we all have skills. Probably many more than we realise. Sharing these is an opportunity to build relationships as well as passing on expertise. There are few things more delightful than giving someone the gift of knowledge and the empowerment that brings.

So don’t keep your skills to yourself. Share them. We can all do with a little help sometimes.