Why be a Wicca 101 teacher? – Back to School for Witches

This is my Back to School for Witches posting http://bookofshadowsandblessings.wordpress.com/2012/08/23/back-to-school-for-witches-too-blog-party/ – There is a lot of things you can read about how to find your first teacher but not a lot on why or how to become a teacher. I don’t think you should teach unless you get forced into it. That might be quite a weird thing to say but it is necessary. It’s the only way to make sure you are not teaching to stroke your ego.

Teaching 101 is not just teaching a single subject and you are setting yourself in a placement of power in people’s lives. This is not like teaching a Math class. Math class doesn’t generally turn people’s lives upside down and inside out. Do you remember how your life changed when you started on the path? If you were serious about it you probably went through some pretty big changes. When you offer your life to the Goddess she always takes you up on it. Are you ready to and willing to watch other people go through that and not step in? Because you can’t step in, it’s their path to walk.

Because by teaching Wicca 101 you are about to accelerate your own learning curve, do not set out to set yourself up to be a Wicca 101 teacher, you will fall. I got into it because my first HP was on the Board of the Pallas Society (as was I) and we had been hearing about some 101 classes in the area that had gone horribly wrong. So somehow I got maneuvered into it by my old HP and another friend on the Board who would be my teaching partner.

Someone else found us the teaching place in one of the student’s houses. I don’t recommend that now because what if that student backs out or you need to tell them you aren’t going to teach them? Then you are stuck.

You have to write your curriculum. You have to put together materials. You have to have the gas money to get there. We charged $10 for the 6 week class and the money went back to the Pallas Society not us. I wouldn’t have done it to make money. If churches don’t charge for Sunday School then we shouldn’t charge either except for money to rent the space or back to the sponsoring organization just like a church offering goes to the administration of the church. You have to give your time not just for classes but for planning and sometimes some student hand holding.

You have to be willing to say this is not about me. This is about setting other motivated people on their path. You are a facilitator to that. You cannot set yourself up to be a guru or a leader because you will get yourself into a huge can of worms and the Goddess will slap you down hard. What will happen if you have the right attitude is that you will have more joy than you know what to do with from making new friends and seeing them grow.

You have to be willing to step back and not interfere with student’s growth. If they have a significant other that is not good for them they may shed it. They may lose a job. They may have health problems that call attention to unhealthy patterns. You have to be willing to watch and not make it better you cannot rescue them from their path and that will hurt if you have any compassion at all.

You have to have the strength to say to some people this might not be the right path for them. No one is going to tell them what to do and that if they want or need that maybe Christianity or a religion with rules is better for them. You have to tell people Wicca is not a fashion statement or another excuse to rebel against the parental unit. You have to tell them that that this is a path of personal responsibility.

Teaching Wicca 101 will change your life and you have to be ready for it. If you aren’t willing to change then don’t do it.