I'm Back ... and apparently a natural born teacher

I have returned from the self-imposed Blogging hiatus ... sort of. I still reserve the right to skip days, maybe even weeks at a time in favor of writing only for myself or, quite possibly working on yet another "little project" I started last year and is yet unfinished. Forgive me those days and send me an e-mail if it gets to be too long between posts ... maybe I just plain forgot.

Today's horoscope from yahoo.com:

"The greatest thing about the energy you'll be feeling today is that it will give you all the focus you need to take the most complicated ideas and make them simple enough for anyone to understand. That makes today a wonderful day for teaching people things or showing someone how to do something. You are a born teacher, although you rarely get the chance to play that role to your full potential. You can communicate with others in a way no one else can."

I spent yesterday afternoon doing exactly what this little gem is talking about. Jen's sister Kimmy came over with her two boys, a pair of jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and some ankle high boots. She's scheduled to take the Motor Cycle Foundation's Basic Rider Safety class in a few weeks and having never driven a stick shift in her life let alone a motorcycle she wanted a private lesson. I was a little better off that her this time last year, having driven a stick most of my life but never a motorcycle. I remember feeling terrified the first time I climbed on a bike in class and even a little unsure if it was something I really wanted to do.

After lunch, I started up the bike, backed it out of the garage, slapped on a brain bucket, and took it for a short spin around the neighborhood to warm up the engine. I've ridden enough miles on a cold engine to know that the clutch is a little temperamental until she runs for a bit and that the transmission shifts much smoother once it's had a chance to get up to speed in fourth gear at least once. When I returned in a few minutes, I parked on the street, angled around the corner so it was a straight shot for the first 100 yards, and killed the engine.

It took a little pep talk but Kimmy climbed on, picked the bike up fro the side stand, and straightened the front wheel. I walked her through how to start the bike, tell when it's in neutral, and got her "power walking" down the street using only the clutch. By the time she got around the corner and into the straight section of road, she had both feet on the pegs and was doing a nice job of driving slowly down the street. A little lesson on how to turn the corner she was approaching, some positive feedback on how great she was doing for a beginner, and a suggestion or two on what she needed to concentrate on to improve and she was off again. The corner was WIDE ... she barely leaned the bike at all and turned mostly with the front wheel ... but she did it without stopping or crashing. I yelled to her as she rode off toward the next turn and sure enough, she took that one a little more like a true biker and a little less like an awkward kid first learning to ride a two-wheeler.

She must have ridden around the block half a dozen times, each time stopping in front of me to ask a question or tell me she was having trouble with something, and each time I told her what a great job she had done at something and offered tips on how to do better at something. By the end, she was riding like a newbie, a little slow on the turns and a bit shaky when starting from a dead stop, but she was riding! Her husband had tried to teach her to ride many times over the past few years but it always ended in frustration for both of them. He simply did not have the patience to walk her through the simple things and she did not understand what he expected of her. After jut over an hour with me, not only was she more comfortable on the bike in general, she was riding it solo, shifting up to at least 3rd gear, and using both front and back brakes to stop. She still has a long way to go before I would be comfortable sending her out on the road to dodge traffic, but she'll get there. I have no doubt that by the end of the riding class in a few weeks she will be the next licensed cyclist in the family and may well spend the money to get insurance and plates for her husband’s bike so that SHE can ride it.

I learned long ago that I had the ability to take complex things, like the way a computer connects to a wireless network, and break them into simple concepts and every day language for end users. I use this skill almost daily. The hour I spent teaching Kimmy to ride a motorcycle is just more proof that I am a natural teacher when I choose to be. I suppose I should find other ways to use this skill