A question to the educators

[Nail Effect]

evening everyone

After catching the nail bug off of my mother-in law who is also a technician, I wandered into the world of nails myself and so far have not looked back.
I have met quite a few nail techs now, some that own their own salons some that are mobile, but its the educators and ambassadors that make the fire for me burn when it comes to nails. I love learning everything from anatomy right down to the latest technique of filing natural nails.

So here is a question for all of you educators out there and ambassadors.

What are your guys stories on the journey that lead you to becoming an educator in nails? How did you get there?

I know so many of us love nails so, but I guess this is for all the people out there who maybe deep inside would like to one day teach nails as well as create

 

[JesseDavidNailDesign]

The how of becoming an educator is easy. I'm sure CND has a clear path for their techs regarding becoming an Ambassador. Love this choice of title, btw

But to be a good educator, you really have to understand how each student learns, and how to help them find their motivation. I think it has more to do with psychology. Also you need a warm personality, and to be out-going.

There are some teachers, mentors, etc. that I have worked with that have stuck out in my mind. I still hear them in my head when I'm working. I think technicians are very nuturing people, and the desire to teach comes from wanting to help people grow.

I hold a state license to teach nails in the US. The bulk of our training was developing and implementing curriculams and lesson plans, learner types and how to keep the whole experience exciting and dynamic. You need the right combination of seeing, understanding and doing.

 

[geeg]

How did I get there? Before I started formally teaching for CND I taught all the technicians who worked in my 3 nails only salons.

{Believe it or not, there were only 3 companies (CND, OPI and Backscratchers) that even taught nail education in the UK at that time; any other companies around just sold products with no education at all. It is actually thanks to the standards set and insisted upon by the 3 above mentioned companies that anyone in the UK even has education offered today (but that is a whole other story).}

My salons had the best reputation and the girls who worked in them were tops (or they didn't work there long). Any client could go to any technician who worked for me and get a superb service. So I found that without knowing it or having formal teaching certs. I was excellent at getting the message across to my students.

Years later when I was asked by CND to become the UK distributor I did all my formal teacher training (which was so much admin rubbish and paperwork and didn't actually teach me how to teach at all). The best training I got as far as actual teaching was concerned was from CND itself. Years and years of training and stretching me to reach new limits and my own added skills and experience.

I believe that the qualities needed in a good teacher (that Jessie explains so well above ) one is BORN with ... it cannot be taught.

I see so many educators who use teaching as only a platform to show off what they can do without being committed to actually passing their skills on to others.

For an educator to be truly a great one .. education is not about them, it is only about the student and ensuring as far as possible that they 'get it'.

 

[JesseDavidNailDesign]

For an educator to be truly a great one .. education is not about them, it is only about the student and ensuring as far as possible that they 'get it'.

This is a great point. If you are just considering education as a means to increase your own exposure in the world of nails, you won't be the best.

It is so similar to the qualities that produce a great leader, manager, whatever you want to call it.

You're only as good as the work of the students you produce. Like a team is only as strong as its weakest member.

This is a great topic.