The Basics are Everything
Sometimes my lack of knowledge catches me out.
Years ago, I remember being perplexed as to why my rotations in Modo were completely messed up. If I tried to rotate an item, the pivot point would be in a really weird place, and this had me scratching my head.
I didn't understand the difference between Item Mode and Component mode and I had applied transforms willy-nilly, not paying attention to which mode I was in. This meant my object's centre ended up orbiting the moon, messing up the pivot point and leaving me baffled.
Once I understood that transforms applied in Item mode affected the pivot, and those applied in Component mode did not, it all became clear - and I never forgot the lesson.
This epiphany was also helpful when I started using Blender, because the same principle applies to Blender's Object Mode and Edit Mode. Transforms carried out in Object Mode affect the object centre, and those carried out in Edit Modo do not.
This is basic stuff, but I'm not the first person to have been caught out.
Even experienced Modo users called for help with this issue on the forums, and in Blender lore applying transforms is the routine advice dished out to anyone struggling with with unexpected results. It seems that people are carelessly rotating their meshes on any day that ends with a Y.
But once you know the difference between editing geometry and editing an item, the problem goes away. But just like me all those years ago, not everyone understands this crucial distinction.
So whenever I taught a Modo course, I made sure to explain this clearly and early. Same with my Blender training. Never assume that everyone knows the basics, because often they don't. And if someone doesn't grasp the basics, they will struggle with unexpected results.
And that's why teaching the basics is essential. I'm not talking about baby steps, such as showing someone how to model a cube. I'm talking about teaching the fundamental principles that underlie the application. This distinction is important, and one that many teachers miss.
Showing people how to walk before they run (by building a cube before they model a spaceship) is all well and good, but it's also important to explain why that cube has a pivot point and what happens to it when you perform your edits. Because understanding this foundational why will give them a much deeper appreciation of the application they are learning.
So my approach is to always teach the basics, and teach them in depth. Because if you truly understand the basics, you're already ahead of the 90% of users who never took the time to grasp them.