Experience Summary
I learned chess very young but didn't start really getting into it until the first day of high school. My homeroom teacher had a chess board on his desk and asked me to play; I accepted his challenge and he then only took 4 moves to put me in checkmate. Three months later, i was finally able to beat him after heavy amounts of practice and lots of games with online opponents along with my fellow classmates. A couple months after that, with the same amount of practice, I could beat him without a problem. I constantly preach this anecdote because it shows that it doesn't matter where you start or how good you are at something, you can accomplish great things if you put your mind to it and practice, practice, practice! Of course, it's always easier to have a tutor or coach to guide you along the way to teach you right from wrong and show you what to practice, just as a teacher would make you practice by assigning homework. During high school, I helped cub scouts obtain their chess belt loops and pins by teaching them how the pieces move along with basic strategies and checkmates. After high school, I came back to the high school to help coach the chess team and I also offered private lessons to people in the area via word of mouth and flyers I've posted.
Other Comments
I don't just teach chess, I feel that it's also important to relate the game to life by stressing how important it is to make plans, think before you act, and to use tactics to accomplish difficult tasks.