Feeling as if I failed my student as an instructor today

[rsa-otc]

Today was one of our company range days. Since being first certified in 1979 this is only the third time in 35 years I have taken the gun off a student and thrown them off the range. The two previous incidents both students had pointed a gun at me. One actually succeed in grazing me with a bullet. Today it was different. The student couldn't follow simple directions and the straw that broke the camels back was when he ended up 5 paces in front of the firing line. Now this guy has been with me 3 years and has fired this course 9 times previously. He has been difficult in the past but I had found that acting like a drill instructor got his attention and he would toe the line. Today that didn't make a difference and he became a distraction and a safety hazard.

This has personally unsettled me since I have always felt it is the instructor's job to find a way to get through to the student. It has been at least 30 plus years since I last had to do this when I was a fairly inexperienced instructor. In all my time as an instructor I can count on one hand the number of students I couldn't get to pass any of our Qualification requirements.

Not feeling happy with myself right now even though I know for the rest of my students I did the right thing

[SamuelBLong]

You did the right thing man. Some days people will just not get it. Keep up the good work.

[TGS]

Why beat yourself up over it? The guy sounds like he needs a pink slip as well. The other students deserve your time....not the numpty who either is unable or worse, chooses not to perform.

I personally have little patience for the latter, and am glad to see subpar employees let go. They're an insult to the rest of the good employees who carry the day, and in doing so undermine the retention of good workers. In my opinion, screw the virtuous manuals that say you should be personally invested in making everyone succeed. Reward the winners, trample the weak, and hurdle the dead.

Maybe that's why I'm not an instructor, either.

[Dr. No]

You may think you did him a disservice but it sounds like you did exactly what you needed to do for the safety of all the other students in the class as well as his own.

Just like being DQ'd at a competition, sometimes you need a foot in the ass to think about what you've done and fix it next time. We have to draw the line somewhere, and safety is it.

[SailDesign]

You did the right thing man. Some days people will just not get it. Keep up the good work.

^^ That ^^ It is not your fault he refused to follow instructions. Just like raising children (only worse) it is necessary to remind them that "No" mean "No!" You do not get do-overs in Life.

[SeriousStudent]

You may think you did him a disservice but it sounds like you did exactly what you needed to do for the safety of all the other students in the class as well as his own.

Just like being DQ'd at a competition, sometimes you need a foot in the ass to think about what you've done and fix it next time. We have to draw the line somewhere, and safety is it.

Very much agree. If everyone left the range with the same number of body openings they arrived with, I think you did well in that set of circumstances.

I am reminded of Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke: "Some men you just can't reach."

[41magfan]

A wise old Police Chief I knew was fond of saying, "You just can't make chicken salad outta chicken schit."

For employees, screw-ups on the range need to be treated just like any other screw-up; progressive discipline based on the severity of the infraction. That could be anything from verbal warnings, time off without pay or termination, if necessary.

Cadets in training get something extra; push-ups in multiples of a hundred. I guess when you spend every moment of your free time during the day pressing the ground you get better focused. I know the onlookers certainly do. We haven't had to exact a harsher penalty than that in a loooooong time.

[Chance]

At some point, it's inevitable that you're going to come across people who simply can't, or choose not to. On top of that, you can't play Mr. Miyagi when there are imminent safety issues. I'm amazed you've had that experience with that few people.

[BaiHu]

I'm all for the way you handled it. As you said, he's been difficult in the past, so it's not his first screw up. This isn't tiddly winks. If he has any sense, he'll reach out to you and try and rectify the situation. If he doesn't, then I'm with the pink slip ASAP. The ball's in his court.

[TCinVA]

Today was one of our company range days. Since being first certified in 1979 this is only the third time in 35 years I have taken the gun off a student and thrown them off the range. The two previous incidents both students had pointed a gun at me. One actually succeed in grazing me with a bullet. Today it was different. The student couldn't follow simple directions and the straw that broke the camels back was when he ended up 5 paces in front of the firing line. Now this guy has been with me 3 years and has fired this course 9 times previously. He has been difficult in the past but I had found that acting like a drill instructor got his attention and he would toe the line. Today that didn't make a difference and he became a distraction and a safety hazard.

This has personally unsettled me since I have always felt it is the instructor's job to find a way to get through to the student. It has been at least 30 plus years since I last had to do this when I was a fairly inexperienced instructor. In all my time as an instructor I can count on one hand the number of students I couldn't get to pass any of our Qualification requirements.

Not feeling happy with myself right now even though I know for the rest of my students I did the right thing

Some people are unteachable. Nothing you can do about that.