You said it yourself:

The overall goal is for me to eventually become adept at
general furniture making, focusing mainly on tables and chairs of
various sorts.

Focus on tables and chairs (use this time to make one of an eventual set) of
various sorts to get hands-on assistance with. If you look at small tables
and single chairs, you'll learn the imporatnt techniques from your class
that you'll be able to use in your shop at home to tackle bigger projects.

Michael Latcha - at home in Redford, MI