- How does one learn to write? What is included in the “learning process” of writing? Where does your understanding of the “learning process” of writing come from and how might this differ from your peers’ understandings and the origins of those understandings?
What I have personally found to help me write might not help others, but in my mind I have broken up my steps to learning in three ways; the acquisition of knowledge, practice, and sharing. I have found that this has been my process of learning in general, and can be applied to my ability to write. Let me just say that one of the reasons I have a model of learning for myself set up this way is because I need easy-to-grasp concepts that I can quickly refer to in my mind. The concepts can also represent symbols according to yourself as a person, which helps me remember it best; knowledge refers to the mind (brain), practice refers to your body (your hands specifically) which will perform the action of writing, and sharing refers to the heart, your ability to connect and communicate with others.
One thing you will see me do frequently is cite my job as an example. If you haven't read on the About already, I'm a Barista at one of my local Starbucks (where I'm from, there's at least twenty within a ten minute drive distance). When I first got hired, I was so afraid I wouldn't perform well that I spent the few nights I had before my training memorizing drink recipes and store policy. There wasn't much material to prepare me, but it was something I could use going in on my first day. So one of the few things I could do well as a new barista was write drink codes and recipes. After a few months, I could speak the whole language of coffee and Starbucks, and I knew what it meant to be a barista. I now have an encyclopedia of knowledge stored in my mind, which is one of my greatest tools to this day when I go into work.
But I wasn't great at the job yet, not by a long shot. Baristas who know a lot are great, but you'll find that the workers who are the most effective and valuable, are the ones who can get the job done and done well. No amount reading material or knowledge will prepare you for the pressure of a crowd coming to order their complicated lattes, or how it feels to make two-hundred and fifty drinks in one hour, or the satisfaction of killing a crazy line and having nothing left to make. For myself, it was a matter of hard work and dedication. I always wanted that coveted position as Drive-Thru Bar, a job that entailed a constant flow of complicated drinks at a nonstop pace. It wasn't until I realized I was making entire drinks in under a minute did I truly learn what it meant to be "good", and it wasn't until I reached this point, that my hands recognized what true speed felt like.
My measurable performance was good, and my knowledge of coffee was sound. The final part of learning, "How-to-Barista", is in the customer connections. The whole point of cafe culture in general was to create a place where people who knew stuff about coffee, would share with people who wanted to learn. This is often a point of criticism against Starbucks in that some stores have lost this part of the culture, and instead high sales and numbers are focused on. While those sale numbers are important, I'd argue they are important to any business, and are there to guide a store in the right direction. If sales are low, perhaps we're not making the connections we should be with the customers. Knowing how to sell coffee is a lacking, but important skill all baristas should have. Part of the challenge is that people don't often know what they want specifically. This is where the barista begins asking, "What kind of roast would you prefer? Something strong or something light? Something nutty or something chocolaty? How do you brew your coffee at home?" What it comes down to is basic communication and social skills, but if you have the knowledge, you should be able to create a meaningful connection with the customer. You have to remember that we are here for them, we are here to help the customers learn, and most of all enjoy the coffee. Some of my best experiences have been connecting with customers and other baristas. I learned to share coffee, I learned to teach its lessons. I finally reached a point where I knew what it meant to be good at this job.
My journey surmised; first I built my knowledge of coffee, second I trained myself to work effectively as a barista, and finally, I learned to share my knowledge and experience. Every step was necessary for me to learn something, and only now when I look back at every step do I feel like I've fulfilled every step of the learning process. The interesting truth of it is that I still have not learned it all, and that there is always room to improve. So I believe to be with writing, and all things.
Works cited:
Tulvit. "Still Life with Cube, Cone and Cylinder." DeviantArt. DeviantArt, 1 May 2015. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.
Tulvit. "Still Life with Cube, Cone and Cylinder." DeviantArt. DeviantArt, 1 May 2015. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.