Wilton I Class

Decorating By moralna Updated 24 Aug 2006 , 2:40am by Euphoriabakery

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moralna Posted 18 Aug 2006 , 7:14pm
post #1 of 15

Need some advise from my CC friends. . . my first Wilton I Class began this past Tuesday - August 15th. The class was actually supposed to start the previous Tuesday, August 8th, but someone at Michael's got mixed up and told the teacher that no one had signed up for the class and so there were 9 of us waiting for the teacher who never showed up (not her fault). Anyway, this past Tuesday, when we actually had our class, the teacher covered both the first class and the second class together in a 2 hour timeframe. She went over buttercreams (which she made some in front of us), different tools, etc. She did not cover the best way to hold a piping bag and some other basic techniques, which i have learned on my own through CC and other websites. I have looked at cakes in the cake class gallery and have seen some nice cakes after the 2nd class with some great techniques, where as in our class, we just piped a few stars around our cake and some zigzags anyway we wanted - no specific direction - just to make our own design. Next week we are headed toward our clown cake, but we never even disussed the rainbow cake or how it's to be done or anything - we just skipped right over that. My question is should I talk to the teacher and voice my concern and then talk to Michael's and explain my concern as well and if I feel that i have not learned what is according to the book, ask to take the class again for free. . . any opinions would be greatly appreciated!

14 replies
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diz Posted 18 Aug 2006 , 7:19pm
post #2 of 15

I would talk to them. I found it very valuable to learn how to do the piping gel transfer and do a cake with the star tip.

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Tiffysma Posted 18 Aug 2006 , 7:25pm
post #3 of 15

My Wilton instructor did the same thing, and we didn't miss a class. You should have an extra class and not miss out because they messed up. But she demonstrated and talked about the clown cake and didn't even touch on the rainbow cake. I read the instructions and wanted to try it - I'm not a fan of cowns, so I did and did okay with it. But I wish I had pushed the issue and kept asking her about it. Don't be afraid to speak up and get your moneys worth! You're paying for the classes.

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mrboop Posted 18 Aug 2006 , 7:29pm
post #4 of 15

Talk to your instructor. When I took the classes our instructor did everything in the book but did not go in the same order. Your first "2" classes sound like what we were taught in 2 actual classes. The only thing we did not do was cupcakes and the bear cake. She said she knows we can bake and that if you learn the basics, which is what class 1 is, you can do the cupcakes and the bear cake pictured in the book. I had the other 2 classes by the same instructor and she did all the classes the same. She did not go in the order of the book. But do talk to her before going to the store's manager.

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Frohdi Posted 18 Aug 2006 , 7:36pm
post #5 of 15

When I took class 1 and 2, the instructors ( 2 different ones ) said that we were welcomed and allowed to revisit any portion of a previous class if we felt we needed to review or that we did not feel we got the proper instruction the first time around .. and this was in Michaels..

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CakeDiva73 Posted 18 Aug 2006 , 7:49pm
post #6 of 15

I would most definitely talk to her! They are right - you paid full price for these classes.... did they refund 1/4 of your moeny since they missed the first class?

I know that despite my asking my instructor - she never did clarify how to do the ribbon border and now it's too late! I wish I had spoken up.

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frider Posted 18 Aug 2006 , 7:53pm
post #7 of 15

I am also in a Wilton I class and the same thing has happened. Our second lesson was just piping a few stars and practicing writing. During the last 5 mins, she said we could decorate the cake we brought. The first class was a brief demo and no hands-on at all. We''ll see how lesson 3 of the series goes. It is also at Michaels and there was also a mixup with the teacher and the signing up.

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MissT Posted 18 Aug 2006 , 10:26pm
post #8 of 15

I agree with cakediva73 - you paid for 4 classes and should get 4 classes!!! Our instructor was not feeling well for the first night of class for course 2 so she is having a make-up class this week. She didn't try to cram 2 classes into 1. I would definately say something.

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moralna Posted 19 Aug 2006 , 12:16am
post #9 of 15

thanks to all of you for your help. The teacher provided us with her e-mail address and i am going to send her an e-mail about my concerns and also let her know i want to discuss it with her.

Thanks again.

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Euphoriabakery Posted 19 Aug 2006 , 12:26am
post #10 of 15

I am a Wilton instructor at a Michaels and I can tell you that the correct way to handle a missed class is to reschedule it if the instructor is the one who misses class. Or if just one or two students miss a class they are invited to come to the same class the next time it is offered as long as there is room for them in the class.

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moralna Posted 21 Aug 2006 , 7:13pm
post #11 of 15

The thing is it really wasn't the teacher's fault because it was the store that gave her the wrong information. My concern is that we are up to Lesson 3 and we didn't discuss gel transfers and tomorrow is the next to last class and I am really disappointed because i feel that i did not get anything out of that first "double class". I sent the instructor an e-mail on Friday expressing my concerns but i have not heard back from her. I am going to get to class early tomorrow and speak to her personally. If worse comes to worse, I will speak to the Michael's manager and ask to take the class again at no cost and maybe with a different teacher.

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TexasSugar Posted 21 Aug 2006 , 10:02pm
post #12 of 15

I'm glad you sent the instructor an email first before going to the store. Hopefully she will answer soon or will listen before class. This may have been a new situation for her and she may have been trying to fix it as best as she could think.

Let her know that you feel like you missed out on some of the lesson and ask her if you can sit in on her next Course 1 Lesson 2.

If she isn't willing to work with you (and the class) to help make up for parts missed, then I would go to the manager, or find another store to take the classes at for the other courses.

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MichelleG Posted 21 Aug 2006 , 11:37pm
post #13 of 15

Hi guys, I'm a Wilton instructor and we have very strict rules about how we are to teach a class and I can tell you that this teacher is not following the Wilton Method ways. We were given two hugh books telling us how to run our classes. I would talk to the teacher, but I would also let the class coordinator at the Michael's store know that things are not running right and that maybe the teacher needs a refresher course herself.

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moralna Posted 22 Aug 2006 , 12:24pm
post #14 of 15

Thank you all for your advise - I am definitely going to talk to the instructor tonight. We were supposed to bring an iced cake for decorating tonight, but one of the problems that I have is smoothing out my buttercream and I think that icing a cake properly is one of the things she should have covered during the first 2 lessons and worked with us on it. She did show us very briefly how to ice a cake, but didn't give us the opportunity to work on it with her. I am not shyicon_smile.gif, so I will definitely speak up if I feel that I haven't gotten the most of any lesson.

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Euphoriabakery Posted 24 Aug 2006 , 2:40am
post #15 of 15

As an instructor I can tell you that on the first night of class the teacher should go over icing a cake. But the students never actually ice a cake in class, it is done at home. If my students have trouble I will give them pointers so that they can do better next time. but there is just not enough time to have the students ice a cake in class.

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