Feeling accepted provides confidence in both soft and technical skill performance. In addition to the instructor, the non-traditional learners are often effective in providing that sense of acceptance to others because of their own life experiences.
Each of my students have different experiences both in life & work. I point out their strenghs and the positives about what they have to offer & build upon and not their current weaknesses. They then feel accepted at whatever level they are & understand they will improve at their own rates of appitudes in the kitchen.
Interesting how this seems so much more important now than when I went to college. In the "old" days at the U of M, there would be several hundred students in mass lectures. The issue of feeling accepted was non-existent. Nobody even noticed if you were there or not there. Is this a generational change? Students today seem much more in need of social support than I seem to remember.
It seems that when students feel accepted in class they are more willing to attempt new skills and ways of behaving. If they feel like they will not be ridiculed if they don't get it "just right" they are willing to take some risks that result in growth. Feeling accepted, students are also willing to share life experiences with the class, which is valuable to everyone.
