John Hearne and I discussed building motor programs and selecting instructors, and I may have had fun at John's expense.
John Hearne and I discussed building motor programs and selecting instructors, and I may have had fun at John's expense.
I had an ER nurse in a class. I noticed she kept taking all head shots. Her response when asked why, "'I've seen too many people who have been shot in the chest putting up a fight in the ER." Point taken.
Well done. Solid commentary on both sides!
I agree with the idea that the people teaching the lowest level stuff are really doing extremely important work and need to be good. To me, that raises a bunch of questions, most of which are way beyond my pay grade. But one question that I want to raise here is: how do we get people who are good to become instructors? Part of my layman's answer is that we get people to become instructors at least in part by inviting them to become instructors and offering to help them. I'm involved in a teaching profession myself (not professional firearms instruction!) and I have had surprisingly good results in recruiting people to our major simply by privately speaking to the best students in my intro classes and telling them they'd be good in this field, they should really think about it, and I'd be happy to talk with them about any questions they have. I've been told by some graduating majors that they never would have actually thought about becoming majors if I hadn't mentioned it to them. I'd like to humbly suggest to our higher-level instructors who haven't already started recruiting the personable, sharp, good shooters in your classes into basic-level instructing, that you do!
A follow-up email, for example, that just says "I really enjoyed having you in the class and I think you may have the kind of skills and personality that would translate well into teaching introductory level firearms classes. We sometimes think those classes can be taught by any schmuck because they're not important, but that's not my view. On the contrary, I think we need great instructors to teach those basic classes because (REASONS). I'd like to encourage you to think about pursuing this. Let me know if you have any questions!" Just a thought. These kinds of things can have a lot more influence than we realize.
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason.
There are plenty of people willing to "be" firearms instructors. Unfortunately, there isn't an equal willingness to pay one's dues in years of study, and more importantly, apprenticeships under truly experienced instructors to truly develop a body of knowledge. Why do all of that when one can simply attend a weekend class and "be" an instructor?
I had an ER nurse in a class. I noticed she kept taking all head shots. Her response when asked why, "'I've seen too many people who have been shot in the chest putting up a fight in the ER." Point taken.
I'm with you on that. There are far too many such folks out there already instructing. But those people don't need encouragement. They jump in all on their own, typically because of delusional ideas about how much money they can make.Originally Posted by jlw
What I'm saying is that there may be plenty of other people out there who are willing to pay their dues in years of study (and many who already have paid a lot of dues), but that it might never occur to them to start on the path to instructing unless someone takes the trouble to invite them. The jump from being a serious shooter and knowledgeable person, to being an instructor, can seem so large that it keeps great people from attempting it. Those are the folks I'd like to see try to make the leap, and I'm just saying that the national level instructors that they seek out as they get high level training can maybe help the shooting community by urging them to consider that leap.
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason.
Well-done! Thanks!
Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.
Don’t tread on volcanos!
Just watched it a second time. Good stuff.
OK, so I knew I was not a gifted athlete, but now I know that I lack kinesthetic intelligence. Sigh. I am a kinesthetic dufus. I liked it better when I just knew it as not being a gifted athlete.
Well, I need moar myelination.
Retar’d LE. Kinesthetic dufus.
Don’t tread on volcanos!
But I've been to four of your classes! I'm ready!
... ready to attend more classes that is...
I'll be posting some soon...
Red Hill has a new pistol pit.
I had an ER nurse in a class. I noticed she kept taking all head shots. Her response when asked why, "'I've seen too many people who have been shot in the chest putting up a fight in the ER." Point taken.
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