Instructor Development

30 June 09 On the Art of Instructing, from one of our Instructors: "At our recent DTI Instructors' Course, I was asked if there were any books on 'firearms instruction' that one wishing to teach could procure; a Training Manual for trainers, if you will. My response to this aspiring Instructor was, 'There are many texts you'll find helpful, and I commend to you nearly all of them, but none will contain what you're looking for! I went on to explain that the most important component in becoming a good teacher is the amount of time one puts in on the firing line. Nothing hones skills quicker than live students, with live guns, on a live firing-line! This, of course, was illustrated multiple times during our Class, as each student/instructor was directed to assume command of the firing line and run various drills. This 'trial-by-fire/fly-by-the-seat-of-ones-pants' approach generated numerous, glorious emotional bookmarks for those thus shoved onto center stage! Intense lessons that they won't soon forget, and nothing that could have been gleaned from reading a book. Trial-and-error. Curve-balls. Unexpected deviations from the outline. Surprises! This is the boiling cauldron from which the Instructor's True Voice ultimately emerges! The best way to become a competent Instructor is to instruct!" Comment: Now, more than ever, we must have competent instructors. America desperately needs competent Gunmen, not more amateurs with guns. We already have plenty of those! /John