WHY I BECAME A SKILLHIPPO TEACHER

Nitin George 

"The most surprising thing about my
interaction with SkillHippo was that
I found myself equally interested in
the site as a student!"

If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve come to SkillHippo eager to learn or, like me, to teach your craft. Either way, I think you’re in for an interesting experience.

I am a guitar player and music producer and I’ve been teaching the instrument for  5 years. I write music for my band, The Whoevers, and play in a few bands around Delhi. Apart from this, I work full time at a studio, producing music for commercials, jingles and independent artists.

A SkillHippo representative (no, he wasn’t a real hippo) reached out a few months ago to help me sign up as a teacher. Once I heard the concept behind it, the first thing that came to my mind was, “Why didn’t I think of this?!” but the second, and more important thought that hit me was, “I’ll be able to teach people on my own time!”

As a music producer, I work odd hours which is not the best circumstance for scheduling classes. With SkillHippo’s customisable timetable, I can reach out to an entire class at once instead of individually coordinating with students. I can also track everyone’s progress more closely, which is another bonus, because different students are most often at different skill levels.

From a teacher’s point of view, the ability to reach out to a captive community interested in precisely what I want to teach was a massive draw for me. This way, if I don’t want to teach a beginners’ class for 2 months, I just don’t teach a beginners’ class for 2 months. Also, with the student feedback on the site, I can make blueprints for my future classes to keep things interesting and informative.

The most surprising thing about my interaction with SkillHippo was that I found myself equally interested in the site as a student! With courses beyond music and with the ability to attend classes that best suited my schedule and location, I found myself signing up for different classes. As someone who works full-time SkillHippo saves me the trouble of finding and screening teachers and gives me a clear idea of what I’m in for.

So, if you’re working full-time and want to spend your free time cultivating a hobby or teaching, SkillHippo is definitely the place to check out, and most definitely the place to contact excellent guitar teachers!

WHAT TO DO ON BORING DELHI AFTERNOONS

Astha Kapoor

It was 4PM on a lovely September afternoon. My classes were over and I was bored of the coffee-with-friends routine. My friends and I have often lamented about how there is precious little to do in Delhi. “If I don’t want to go out and wine and dine with friends, then what do I do with my time?”, we’ve repeatedly exclaimed. Films are expensive and often boring, parks have been overtaken by love-struck couples and even Appu Ghar is shut!

On that September afternoon, out of sheer boredom, I started drawing up a list of things I could do.

1) Read

Out of question! It’s 28 degrees outside and I just cannot bring myself to sit indoors amidst musty smelling books.

2) Take dog to vet

Whining dog is worse than musty books.

3) Bar hop

Depressing if done while the sun is still shining and the bartender is still setting up.

4) Gym

Haha!

5) Museum tour.

I heard that NGMA has an interesting new exhibit. It also shuts at 5pm. 

6) Practice headstand

A.K.A cure for the bummed out brain

The list only annoys me further. How can there not be anything interesting to do in one of the oldest cities in India? Somewhere along the way, I digressed to an old habit, Facebook. I started searching for classes I could take. Maybe learn Spanish or Urdu? Or Jive or Salsa?

I was a little skeptical going down this path. I had taken a salsa class once, but it was mediocre and I took it only because it was nearby. I’ve also called off 2 attempts to learn a new language because I could not find the right person to teach me. My guard up, I started exploring for teachers on Facebook. There were so many options that it was difficult to tell the good from the bad. In the absence of peer reviews and full information, I had almost given up my search when I landed on SkillHippo’s page.

Skillhippo was the one-stop shop I was looking for. It helped me explore the different skills I could pick up. All the information I needed was in one place and the peer reviews made it easier for me to figure out what to do.

Thanks to SkillHippo, I’m now spending my free afternoons learning new skills instead of bumming around.