Ringing Forums

I think Mary Jones makes some excellent points in her article on whether we should charge for ringing teaching or not. In our part of the country our ART teachers "care so much they are willing to give their time to share their knowledge and ensure the craft of ringing continues." This positivity is infectious and leads to individual towers and newly developed Benefice teams following this same ethos. It also means that teaching is not left to one or two but is shared out and respected by teachers and novice ringers alike. Also by working hard in this way it is a model for good succession planning and brings our young talent on, which is surely what we are all trying to achieve?

Whether charging learners or not it is important that those teaching ringing are 'qualified to do so' in that they have Church of England Safeguarding training (which can be done on-line for free) and of course have a current DBS certificate. These are obviously in place to 'protect' the teacher. Whilst in the short term charging does produce income to the tower, unlike learning the piano or a sport, those who take up ringing often say, "Gosh I thought it was pulling a rope and I didn't realise it was that complicated!" Realistically this means that not all learners like ringing and want to continue, so to my mind the question is, 'Am I such a good teacher that everyone paying for my tuition will get what they pay for and be able to ring and enjoy it?' or put another way, 'If I charge for ringing teaching and the person doesn't like it or want to continue will I be giving them their money back?'