tell you exactly how you had to make your course 3 cake? I was hoping to do fondant, she says it must be butter cream with , get this, butter cream lillies, petunias, all the piped flowers from this course. She has never taught us or let us make royal icing flowers in course 2 or 3. We are not given the option of doing the fondant roses, we were not taught how to do the embroidery... I am a little cranky today but also wondering if this is how all classes are or if some are given freedom to use their aquired skills to crat their final masterpiece? Thanks for your time!
My instructor said we could do any type we wanted as long as it was stacked/tiered and used some skills we were taught in Course 3. We all did MMF and I did royal petunias, very much like the cake shown in the back of the book. Strange she is so insistant on buttercream when you learned fondant in the course...and royal is so much better for the flowers!
Sorry to hear about your troubles. I've felt this way before also with a Wilton instuctor. Someone here will brighten your day, you've come to the right place to vent. After I had written my post, I got alot of feedback that helped me get over my situation. Good luck to you and I hope you get to do the fondant cake that you would like.
Sorry to hear that your course 3 wasn't all about fondant. 
I was told I could use buttercream on the cake if I wanted, but the fondant roses were a must. I chose to cover my cake with fondant. Since the class seemed to me to be all about fondant, it didn't seem right not to try to learn it.
If you can find another class at another location, you may want to see if you can take it again sometime under a different instructor.
It is amazing how different Wilton instructors are! I guess the good thing is we have this sight for inspiration and as a sounding board for ideas! Do they perhaps have another instructor where you are taking classes? Maybe you could sit in on his/her class for the things you wanted to learn but didn't? I would let the manager know and see if it is possible.
As a WMI - that is HORRIBLE! I was told I could do any darn cake I wanted as long as I used the basic skills - fondant, stacking, tiering, etc.
That WMI is WRONG and she is not following the manual or the rules!
Rachel
Sorry to hear that every instructor is different from what I hear luckly for some of us is too our advatage I have no complaints about mine she is so cool and is letting us do whatever we want as long as is stacked or tiered
As a Wilton Instructor, I can tell you that you should have learned everything in the course books. Your instructor is supposed to actually make royal icing for you on the first lesson of course 2. All of your course 2 flowers should have been made in royal icing as well as all of your lily nail flowers in course three. She should also have taught you the fondant rose. As far as your final cake, it is up to the instructor if she lets you create your own cake or do the cake on the cover of the course 3 book.
If you weren't taught any of these things, you need to complain to the instructor, the store and Wilton. You paid to be taught the Wilton way and you weren't. Good Luck
Renae
OK, you all have made me feel so much better! I am feeling rather restricted in this class but next week is the final so I will finish and move on. Since I just did course 2 and 3 consecutively, I will take a cake class break for the rest of the year, but will be looking to take more classes after the first of the year! THANK YOU ALL!!!!
I loved my Wilton instructor SO much! I was lucky enough to be the ONLY person in my Course 3 class, so she said I could make ANYTHING I wanted as long as it fondant, and most importantly... challanging. It was so nice to have private lessons for the entire course 3 classes! I only wish I had a Wilton course in my town that taught Gumpaste flowers...but there isn't one. I hear they may have one at a later time, but no promises.
I'm in course 2 now and I don't see what she could have taught you since most of the book is royal flowers and day 2 and 3 of the class are entirely royal icing. I would complain and get my money back. If I were taking the course I would want to learn by the book.
Hope it works out for you.
i took all 3 class and we went by the book we learned it all and then some. in class 3 i was able to pick what i wanted to do as long as it was stacked/tiered and what ever decor. i wanted. if i was you i would be upset and complaining i think you should go talk the instr. and also ask how long has she been doing the class. and let her know that you feel that you did not learne what you wanted to learn from the book and mabe she will show you if not tell the store and tell wilton and mabe the will refund your money back or give you a free class. don't just give up and say 'oh, that is ok' cause it's not i am mad right now for you, that someone can teach a class not show you what you want to learn. please say something about it cause you have to also look at it as in it's not only you that is getting short changed but everyone else that take the class hey mabe that is what you can do talk to the other people in the class and ask them how they feel about the class and see what you all can do.. let us know what happends.....
please excuse my spelling i wish this had a spellcheck
shaddi
Ummm isn't course 3 all about using fondant?! 
I would be contacting Wilton directly and informing them of this issue! I have a great instructor and she has been SO wonderful. Unfortunately, I'm the "perfectionist" in the class and there have been some techniques that I just don't seem to grasp -and she is so terrific, she'll ask if there is a way I think I can do the technique, and when I show her the only way I can seem to, she is very encouraging. She will say "I like your method better, it looks so much easier!"
So anyways, yes both in course 1 and now in course 2 - my instructor encourages us to do anything we want, just as long as we use the techniques we have learned. Umm course 2 you should have been doing the flowers in royal icing. I'm sorry but IMO your instructor is not doing her job and should be reported.
If your teacher is not teaching what is in the book, skipping or leaving things out I would confront her about it. We are suppose to teach what is in the book. If that does no good, I'd contact Wilton and let them know and look for another store to take the class at.
Occasionally I change the order of things from how they are in the books but I do make sure to cover everything for the students.
As far as having an exact cake to do, some instructors are more picky about this than others. I leave it up to my students but do tell them to use things they have learned in the classes so far.
Some instructo'sr steer a bit from the course book. But witht that said as a former WMI what you see in the book is what you are supposed to be taught!! Each week your instructor should be following the course guideline.
I once had a bad teacher. If you feel that you are not learning what you are supposed to be report her.
I am taking Course 3 from two different teachers. One is on Monday night and one is on Thurs nights.
The teacher in the Monday night classes wants us to make the cake in the book. But I'm still planning on doing a different one. I made a different one for the first fondant cake in her class also. I think she may be a bit put off but I don't care. I'm the one paying for the class and if I want to try a different type of cake I think I should be able to. As long as it shows the styles we are learning.
On my Thurs night class my teacher said we can do any type of cake with any theme as long as it is a tier cake. It can be stacked or raised. Fondant or butter cream. So again, I plan on doing something I want to try rather then I'm told to do.
If you never learned royal icing and/or fondant I would be very upset. I would have to say something and demand my money back or be able to take a new class that taught those things.
You paid to learn certain things not to be told to do whatever the teacher wants to teach.
GOod luck.
THanks everyone! We did the little oval fodant cake with the fondant roses on the second night of class, so I did get a little fondant experience. We have bee shown aoo of our flowers in BC and told that royal is too hard, I made some in course 2 out of royal at home and brought to class to show the other students, they could see the difference. I also brought a sample of MMF to class last week to show them the MMF.... THanks for your encouragement!
Wow. I can see diverting a little bit from the book but not even teaching what the courses are supposed to be about is ridiculous. I would mention it to the store or Wilton or whomever you need to b/c it sounds like she has no idea what she is doing.
My instructor never (I've taken 1&2) made icing or showed us the consistency so I had to wing it and she omitted one flower leaf in course 2 . (oh and taught us the roses totally wrong) However, everything else was by the book and I felt she was pretty good.
Good Luck to you and you need to tell someone so others don't end up taking her and NOT learning what the book is teaching.
I signed up for classes at a local Michaels. Showed up for class with my notebook in hand. After 30 minutes I was told the instructor cancelled the class because there weren't enough people signed up. They just failed to let me know.
I was extremely blessed and flew to Chicago and took classes from the Wilton school. They are very proud and I am sure would want to know if an instructor was lacking. I would write to them and be specific (i.e. location of class, instructor name, etc.)
I waited one year and went back to Chicago to the Wilton school to take classes from Colette Peters. Both times were a blast. Each time the class was one week.
Let Wilton know.
Wow! That instructor needs to be reported! She is a bad teacher!
I'm taking my classes back to back and mine has been great.
As a Wilton instructor myselft, I am appalled to hear about what is happening to you. At our annual meeting it was stressed to us how important it is to teach the correct way. These kind of instructors make the rest of us look bad. It seems some of these intructors lose intrest in cake decoration and look at it as just a job for money. Where most instructors do it for the love of cake decorating and to bring our love of it to others.
I would diffently bring it to the attention of the class coordinator of the store, maybe the instructor needs a refresher course herself!
I think you should definitely contact Wilton and let them know about this instructor.
I would also let the instructor know that you have done some checking and know that she has taught you what she was supposed to.
I would then demand a refund of your money!
Guess I'm feeling ornery today!
I don't like to criticize other coworkers because you never know the reasonings behind the situation or the human being... but this is venturing from the beaten patch!
if she was not comfortable in this area i.e. fondant etc ...she should have said soooo.
There is not shame in saying what you can't and can't do!
As a WI, I always inform my students that c3 is about intro to fondant and 3 tiered cakes!
However, as long as it is a 3 tiered cake I don't really care how they frost their cake- it's their choice. I'm not there to stiffle creativity- you never know... again, I would strongly suggest that they stay with the program and they are RESPONSIBLE for their choice! 
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%