Anne said, <I'm surprised that among all the talk about ...clubs and mentoring, no one has mentioned the business model that
got me into beekeeping: a company which will, for a fee, place a hive on your property...come and maintain it, and while doing so, teach you the ropes.>

Seattle has a few experienced beeks who run a variation of this, called "hive hosting", for folks who want hives but not any of the work.  For the fee, the property owner gets a certain amount of honey but lessons & consults aren't included, nor an expectation that the property owner participates in hive maintenance in any way. Presumably the owner can watch and ask questions, but I don't know if a regular visit schedule is arranged - ie, the beekeeper may show up when you're not home.

Our local club has its own hives on land owned by the Seattle Arboretum; folks interested in beekeeping can show up on designated days (suits provided if you don't have one) so that you can observe and learn what's involved before making a decision to get your own.  I don't know how many wannabe's show up to these.

One of my mentors who interacts with a lot of new beeks has commented that many appear to not do much in the way of "cracking a book" or going online to trusted sites to learn as much as they can  - he can tell by the questions they ask, and he constantly encourages them to learn as much on their own as possible. This is part of the disconnect - there's more to learn, as well as do, than most people imagine. Maybe because they're "just" insects and "appear" to be low-maintenance,  people assume less animal husbandry is required.

Perhaps a way to encourage more responsible beginner beekeeping would be for the clubs and instructors to offer an intro class that's more in the vein of a "survey" for wannabes to help them decide if beekeeping is really for them.  The beginner classes I've been in take that element for granted.  It could include an intro to the life cycle of the hive, and the equipment involved, but also some emphasis on what it takes to become a competent beekeeper.  So, while not actively discouraging folks, they get a realistic appraisal of what's involved.  I doubt many of the "casually interested" would spend the money for the gear and equipment if they knew how high their chances of failure were with 1 or 2 hives - especially if they don't do their "due diligence".  

When people ask what they can do to help bees, I say, "plant as much bee-friendly forage as you can". To this end, PSBA (Puget Sound Beekeepers Assn) has had a wildflower mix made up with our club name on the packet; they're distributed for free at all our events and meetings, and our members can take them to share in their personal circles of connection. 

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