A Teaching Handbook for Wiccans and Pagans Read Online Free PDF

knows anything and you’ve read four books, then you’re the best there is for that group. There isn’t anyone in the group who knows more than you, and so you share what you know. So continue to try to learn, but you do need to make sure you know what you’re talking about.
    If you feel you need to learn more before you’re comfortable teaching, your gut instinct is probably correct. Although they should be firmly grounded in their subject matter before they teach, many Pagan teachers are called to take on students before they have finished their own training.
    T. Thorn Coyle told me about beginning to teach perhaps a little too early:
    I began teaching in my late twenties via the Reclaiming Tradition, which at the time had the theory “take a class, student-teach a class, co-teach a class.” On one hand, this was refreshing and liberating; on the other hand, I likely began teaching a bit too soon.
    Brian Rowe is currently teaching Wiccan students while he is still a Wiccan student himself. About that experience, he says:
    For me, the place where I am as a student also incorporates a lot of learning how to teach and getting feedback on things that I create as teaching tools, so it’s actually been pretty valuable for me to teach as a student. I would definitely even encourage students who are in a similar place to teach at that time. It’s difficult. It’s challenging. It’s a lot of work, because you’re doing that teaching and you’re learning, so you’re doing double. But what you can gain from seeing that second side, that reflection, is worth it.
    As you’re considering whether you know enough and whether you are ready, bear in mind that your perception of your own abilities might be skewed. After all, most of us have a hard time looking at ourselves completely objectively. I have a close friend who wants to teach but has been waffling about it because she “doesn’t know enough yet.” The truth is that she knows more than just about any other Pagan I’ve ever met—far more than I do, and I’ve been teaching for years. So if you think you don’t know enough yet, you might want to ask others for their opinion. Maybe you do know enough, but you don’t realize it. I have found that teaching is like skydiving or anything else that you know is worthwhile but you’re worried about doing: if you wait until you’re completely ready and confident, you’ll never do it. Brian Rowe essentially agreed: “Don’t wait until you are prepared and understand everything, because you will never get to that point.”
    What Are Your Priorities and Goals as a Potential Teacher?
    Are you interested in teaching a particular path or tradition? A particular subject? A particular age group or demographic? Do you want to teach to please someone else? Do you want to find and practice with like-minded people? Do you want to teach as a steppingstone to becoming a high priest, priestess, or coven leader? Are you willing to bend or change your goals if the situation doesn’t unfold the way you want it to? Taking the time to write out your goals can help you make the decision about whether you’re ready and give you a place to start if you are.
    What Are Your Strengths as a Potential Teacher?
    Are you very knowledgeable about a subject or subjects? Do you have previous teaching experience? Are you a good public speaker? Do you have good people skills? Are you patient and flexible? Are you good in a crisis? Do you have a well-developed sense of humor? Are you confident and grounded? Do you have a mentor or mentors? You don’t have to have every single one of these traits to be a teacher, but you should have many of them. You will need every possible resource at your disposal.
    What Are Your Weaknesses as a Potential Teacher?
How Can You Turn These Around?
    Are you shy? Unsure of your knowledge? Do you feel like you don’t have