I give SoR five stars and more than five if there was the option :)…read more My kids attended School of Rock in Palo Alto this summer and we had a positive experience. My kids attended two of the summer camps that the school offered. The general manager Felix helped me pick out which camps to sign up for that were best suited for each of my boys. We went for the pop rock 101 for my younger son and the one hit wonders music video camp for my older son. The camps were only five days long, so I wasn't expecting much learning wise, but was more looking for them to have a good time. My oldest son was very apprehensive about going (as is pretty normal for him) and really didn't want to attend. After the first day, my oldest son's teacher John helped it to be a fun, at ease environment and Levi was able to open up, be himself and be comfortable there. After the first day he was significantly less apprehensive and after the second day it was gone completely. On the fifth and final day of camp the boys performed at a Mexican restaurant next to the school to show off what they had learned. I was impressed that my younger sons teacher Edwin had been able to teach Toby (who's only 6) the sheer amount of songs he had in such a short time. For my older son, even though they only played a set of three songs they also put together a music video, which is a fun keepsake that I got to share with friends and family. John did a nice job putting that together. It was fun for Levi to watch. Toby's class even made a cameo appearance in it :D Basically my kids came to school of rock's summer camps with no previous music background and by the last day were playing their first show ever and had a great time.

I had the same experience as another reviewer below who was charged without receiving the…read moreagreed-upon services. Before I paid, they were extremely enthusiastic about getting me onboard: daily follow-up emails, very responsive communication, and multiple calls to make sure I paid upfront. Once payment was made, the service essentially disappeared. At my first class, I didn't receive the full 30 minutes even though I arrived early, because my instructor had to cover the front desk while the front desk staff was on break. I accepted that at the time. After class, I asked to be assigned practice drills. The instructor never responded. I followed up by email, still no response. Eventually, the front desk said they would "chase" the instructor. Then, on the day of my next class, I finally received the homework--and it was a vocal drill for a completely different student, even though I was taking a keyboard class. For my second class, I was running late and called the front desk to notify them. No one answered, I left a voicemail, and no one returned my call. I still went in person and arrived before my class was supposed to end, only to be told that my instructor had already started working with someone else because I was late. I received no notice or communication about this. When I told them I wanted to cancel, they stopped responding entirely. The front desk said there was no way to get a refund because I had paid upfront. Emails about cancellation have gone unanswered yet again. This is honestly the worst service provider I've dealt with. Be very careful, once they have your money, responsiveness and accountability seem to disappear.

This review is only for their Palo Alto classes, we've never taken classes with their Saratoga…read moreclass teachers. Teachers are young, green, and the turnover is high. My daughter was enrolled for a year and they've changed 3 teachers already. The teachers don't really give much feedback on performance, classwork or homework. They merely show up for class - and for a while they didn't even do that. The owner had to sit in to be the instructor for a few classes. The owner and teachers are not responsive to email. Given the tuition that they charge (and you have to pay upfront the entire year's tuition), there is little value for money.

The teacher for elementary school was very patient in teaching the younger kids. Even though our…read morechild went to the camp for only one week we already saw the difference in his public speaking confidence. Definitely recommended for your child.

We took a class from the love institute before the pandemic...it was an fun experience. Now, years…read morelater my partner and I decided to revisit the experience.....BETTER the second time around. Excellent care was taken for our safety, caring and fun instruction. We laughed and learned new techniques and more about each other. Will revisit again... too much massage .....no such thing :)

Took the first series of the couples massage class here. We liked it so much we bought the $60…read morevoucher for the next class AND we invested in our own massage tables. The class really left us feeling like these were techniques we could easily continue practicing at home. The value of the class was great since we used a Groupon deal. 2 hour class, guys were on the tables first and then the girls. One of the guys in our class fell asleep while on the table which I guess is a good sign? The slanted roof was a bit bothersome for the part of the class when I had to sit on that side of the table, and I'm pretty short so I can't imagine how tall people manage in this location. That being said, I believe that the SF location has more tables and I do prefer a smaller group for this class. Ladies, you will get topless under your blankets so make sure your partner makes a good blanket tent to cover you up! Another thing I wasn't expecting was that we had to remove our shoes at the door so I wouldn't wear flip flops next time. After the class, our teacher struggled with her Square reader when some of us tried to purchase the second class. A bit of wasted time and eventually she gave up, but luckily the owner was very good about contacting us after and making sure we got our purchase figured out. I'd probably try a new instructor for the second series just to vary our learning experiences even more.

Five years ago, when I was getting to know my girlfriend, she completed a brief course with Esther…read more With just a few months of following the Gokhale Method, her long-term hip pain had vanished. I do miss rubbing pain relieving gel on her hip, but she is a much happier and more flexible person since adopting Esther's method. In the last few months, I developed intermittent sciatic pain and decided to give the method a try. As a registered nurse, I am impressed with Esther's deep understanding of physiology born of decades of observation and research. As a student, I'm in awe of her teaching and mentoring skills. It's important to note that the system is not just a bunch of limbering up exercises to do first thing in the morning. It's about gaining a new perspective on how you use your body in every-day tasks in harmony with its design. Over time you make certain small adjustments to the way you sit, stand, walk, and reach. Small changes, big results. I highly recommend an individual analysis before beginning the course so that your teacher can get a clearer understanding of your strengths, limitations, and goals.The courses themselves are composed of a tidy number of participants, perhaps six or eight, just right for a dinner party. Over six weekly sessions everyone gets meticulous personal attention from Esther as well as encouragement from fellow learners. It helped me to learn with a small group because I could observe others and learn from Esther's guidance to them how to modify my own habits. Even though I completed my course only recently, I've noticed my sleep quality has improved markedly. Yes, she teaches you about sleeping. What is more basic than that! And my intermittent back trouble has not recurred so far. Got a friend with a "bad back?" Point them to the Gokhale Method, You just might change their life.

My experience is that it is mainly about profit for Esther and the Google Method. I joined her…read moreclass in person a while ago in the Bay Area. Because the class was so big, I decided to also do a (very expensive) private class with her because of my chronic low back pain. It was such useless experience, that I still think about. I didn't really realize it at the time, maybe because I was a young mom, and was still trying to figure out myself after delivery of my baby. Butshe approached the whole class with no interest or compassion at all, the things she showed me were thoughtless, and I didn't gain any new information, she never followed up with me either. Also, during the group class, she would just ask her daughter in to do the lesson instead. I think her daughter at the time was in her late teens or early 20s. Lastly, regarding her book, what I found disgraceful was her taking pictures of people during her visit in Burkina Faso as if they were early humans that we should try to emulate.

Dan's knowledge of Lightroom is extensive. He did an amazing job helping me transfer all my images…read moreto a new external hard drive. He advised me on what equipment I needed. He communicates clearly and gets to the root of the problem quickly. I no doubt will need his help again.

I could not say enough positive about Dan's help with me today on a lightroom problem that I have…read morehad for over 4 months. 2 other paid consultants could not figure it out. And I worked with a number of adobe support technicians who could not be less helpful. It was a syncing problem and very frustrating. Dan asked a lot of questions ahead of time, was very thorough in making sure he understood the problem. His questions ahead of time had me just know that finally someone was going to be able to fix this. In one hour and 15 minutes it was solved!!! Completely! He will be my first call if I should have a lightroom issue again. What a pleasant experience!

The quality of teachers at the camp are poor. The teachers clearly don't have much experience…read moreteaching and are there to build experience to the quality is lacking in classroom management. The teachers do more of the work then the students.

I don't recommend this place at all…read more First, the quality of teachers who teach my kid is poor. The teacher doesn't have enough ability to manage/teach the class, letting the kid sit there for the whole class (1 hour) doing nothing when he was dealing with another student. Moreover, it is not the first time. The last class, the teacher debugged by himself for the whole class and let my kid sitting there doing nothing as well. Second, the school operation and system is a mess. They mismatched different level students in the same section. Further more, the teacher is new and inexperienced to teach this class. The school doesn't manage the teacher. The worst part is the management and the customer service. My kid was crying due to the frustration that the teacher not teaching him at all for the continuous two lessons. The front desk person pretended not knowing what was happened from the beginning until I told the details. Then she admitted that they had the internal discussion of the issue and will refund the class / change the teacher. But they cannot even guarantee the same thing won't be happened to my kid after changing the teacher. So there is no internal management for teachers. The way and the attitude of handling the issue showing me they don't have basic customer service. Wasting time and destroying the passion of a kid's learning is more than a refund!

I can't speak for the entire school, but I had a very bad experience trying to enroll in a night…read morewood working class. I had previous experience in woodshop classes I took at Mount Tam high school in Marin, so I wasn't a novice. I paid the fee and enrolled in the class. However, when I met the teacher Ray, he decided not to let me take the class. I think he just didn't like me. Disappointed, I tried to get a refund but the school wouldn't give it to me, so I had to open a dispute with my bank. None of my calls or emails to the school or the teacher were ever returned regarding the class or the possibility of taking future classes. It felt like the class was a private club not open to outsiders. Its this kind of elite snobbery that gives rich cities like Palo Alto a bad name.

I am all about learning something new. I have taken classes from financial, to building your own…read morewater fountain to a basic sewing class. Classes are mostly held at Palo Alto High School on Embarcadero Road and El Camino Real across from the Town and Country Shopping Center. They follow the semester system. I get a hard copy catalog in the mail. You can register online, by phone, by fax and by mail. How easy is that? Classes are very reasonable and can range from $35 on up to $200 depending on how often it meets and the types of supplies you pay for. Geared toward the adult, so evening and weekend classes. They have arts and crafts, cooking, financial, computer, language, music, health and fitness, birdwatching, dancing, acting, CPR and first aid, ...you name it.

My son had a fabulous time at Code Sleep Repeat for many reasons. It was extremely helpful that the…read moreinstructors divided the group into multiple levels to ensure each student learned at the appropriate pace. The instructors were extremely knowledgeable and very adept in answering questions. The instruction part was both informative and engaging. My son left the week eager to continue to expand his programming knowledge!

From the owner: CSR is a selective programming academy for high-school students developed and taught exclusively by…read moreStanford University graduates and undergraduates.

I took Tom's "DSLR/M Jumpstart" class this June. Glowing review follows…read more.. But first, a bit about me: I've been a latent photography maven since my early teens, starting with a Polaroid and quickly graduating to my dad's old Bell & Howell 35mm. As things often do, it found itself on a shelf until the advent of the iPhone and ever-present cameras. Discovering that I enjoy taking nice shots, but always knowing I could do better, I finally splurged on a "prosumer" Canon mirrorless. Not wanting to let it be relegated to the same fate as the B&H, I immediately went looking for some classes, and found Tom literally one neighborhood away. I immediately liked his no-nonsense commentary about how good photography connects us to our memories and what we experienced at the time, but also his keen level of humility; I think that's essential to being a good teacher, as hubris stands in the way of connection with students. When I arrived, Tom had a cozy kitchen table set up for three students, with brief handouts at the ready, and a table full of curios just begging for practice. Alas, one student was a no-show, but we had lively chat until Tom decided to get underway. There wasn't a single boring moment in the day; Tom immediately got both of us familiar with the controls on our fancy cameras, then started reviewing the basics of photography. It wasn't a theory class, per se, but he spent as much time as it took going over both how our cameras take photos, and how we perceive them. The room was set up for a simple PowerPoint-style presentation, but it was always in the background as we moved back and forth between our devices and discussion. Just setting expectations: about 75-80% of the class is "ground school" -- we worked with our cameras and settings indoors, practicing a bit on nearby objects, and then venturing outside for some practice. Tom made it fun, setting us up for a bit of a scavenger hunt in his back patio that's clearly designed to get us looking at the objects a little more deeply, and playing with focus and depth of field to achieve artistic effect. By the end of the day, I didn't feel like a "pro," by any stretch of imagination. But I did feel like I had the potential to get there. I haven't switched my camera back to "Auto" mode since the class. I've taken some lousy photos, and then realized what I'd done wrong. And I've taken some amazing shots. My only gripe about the class? It's too short. I left wondering, "ok, what next?" Tom offers a number of other opportunities like photo walks, and I'll be taking him up on them in the near future, but I definitely felt like there could have been a second day. That said, I think that's a good thing: the class achieves a "jump start" for new photographers, and leaves you wanting more.

It has been almost 5 years since I took Tom's DSLR jumpstart class, and the lessons I learned that…read moreday are still in use. The class really helped ignite my ability to properly set up my camera, but also how to adjust setting on the fly. Since his class, I have been published in multiple aviation books, blogs, newspapers, and magazines. Last Year I was an Editors Choice in the 2023 Aviation Week and Space Technology Photo edition Without Tom and his class I would no doubt be plodding away with my camera with the usual mediocre results instead of what I am shooting now. If you want to do more with your photography this one is an easy call. Give Tom and PhotoTrainer a try.

My 8 year old son has taken three lessons with Paige and Isabela. The lessons are 2 hours and they…read moreare both energetic and fun that the time flies by. My son has made clothes for his build a bear, a stocking and the warmest blanket with his fabric from his favorite sports team. He has a hand me down machine that they are teaching him to use. The studio has every tool you could imagine and tools you didn't even know existed! A special note that we have done one lesson during the pandemic. It was one on one without the parent present. He is familiar with the studio and teacher so this was comfortable for us. Both my son and instructor wore a mask the entire time. The studio is well ventilated. But most of all, my son was so happy to create and do something normal. It really brought him a lot of joy.

I found this amazing studio back in 2013, i was pregnant of my first baby so i bought i sewing…read moremachine, i always want to learn how to sew, i've learn so much with Isabela, she is an amazing person and instructor, today still if i need advice she is there to help, she does this amazing workshops, i did the pijama one, and now during the lockdown can't wait for another great proyect even if is trhought zoom. I strongly recommend her studio for a beginners even for little girls.