PROJECT HEALING WATERS AT LONG BEACH, CA
June, 2007
The Director of Recreational Therapy at the Long Beach VA Medical Center asked us to work with a group of Day Therapy out-patients with psychiatric disabilities. There is big range of ages and three of the thirteen who typically attend are women. Many are on medications that make learning new skills go more slowly, and this has become our challenge as teachers.
Our first class was an orientation to fly tying equipment, putting the hook in the vise, starting the thread and using the whip finisher. There wasn’t enough time to master whip finishing, so several of us went back the following week to help them practice. That worked well and has become our modus operandi: teach a class one week, and have a supervised practice session the following week. We also taught the double hitch and half hitch to some who can’t manage whip finishing.
The first fly was the woolly bugger. Everyone finished one fly. The following week at the practice session, everyone tied another woolly bugger and a few students got two done. Some are showing real enthusiasm and feel comfortable enough to want to practice on their own now (the tying equipment, books and DVD are left in a locked cabinet).
We have just one hour, so volunteers (VA & LBCC) set up the vises, books and equipment early, and we package the materials that will be needed for each class in a zip-lock bag to save class time for actual tying. With this group, it is ideal to have one instructor per student, or, at the least, one instructor per two students.
Our lead instructor ties in front of a video camera that displays on a large TV monitor. Our instructors take their vises and equipment, and sit beside one student or between two, and tie along with the demonstration. That way the students can more closely see how the steps are to be done, and it works really well with our students. We’ve already learned that we have to be flexible, and modify our plans as we get more experience working with this group. We plan to teach one fly every other week over a 12 week period, followed by casting instruction and fishing trips on local waters.
Our reception has been great. At the end of the first class, several students said “You’re coming back next week, aren’t you?” They took our photographs and gave us copies. They wrote a two page article in their Veterans Speak newsletter that included 8 photos, text and artwork, and were so eager to give each of us copies.
A comment from one of our instructors summarizes our sentiments well:
“I still don’t understand how this can be so frustrating and so rewarding simultaneously. Sometimes they struggle to do the most simple things, but when they accomplished the fly yesterday their smiles were sooo great. It’s making me evaluate how to do, and explain, each step in the most simple terms. We’ll be better teachers for the next fly tying classes, that’s for sure.” Mick Woodbury, Long Beach Casting Club
Carol Katz
