When you first get into the gun world you may notice like any other industry, you will be given all kinds of information from all kinds of walks of life. In the shooting world, you will get advice from all experience levels. How do we sort through it all?
This is no simple task and is never 100% accurate. I will say you can learn from everyone if you try hard enough. The world of firearms is a tough one for certain, but you can learn to sift through what is proven valuable and what you might not want to implement.
Often we see it as bad vs. good or wrong vs. right and that applies some of the time, but I think there is a better way to look at it. We often worry so much about proving someone wrong or right. Rather than looking for the things we can extract that are positive and leave what we don't need. So here are some things that have helped me pass judgment on people's ability to teach.
1. Humility
This is number one for me. No one is ever perfect we all have egos, but I rank this number one because I struggle to be around or trust people who lack this trait in some capacity. It is key because as a teacher you should have the best understanding of how much of a student you are. There are lessons everywhere. I hear this said a lot but it is more important to see. pay attention to the way people treat their enemies, not their friends. This will tell you a great deal about their level of humility.
2. Skill
I don't just mean in whatever area they are teaching, that is a given. I mean how do they communicate? Are they seeking new skills to better themselves? Can they teach or is everything regurgitate metaphors? A lot of this shooting stuff isn't new but the methods of showing people can be developed according to each student's needs. I have found it to generally be a good rule of thumb that people who have a better mastery of a subject can generally simplify that subject, not overload you. They also must be able to demonstrate the skills and be allowed to be human and make mistakes. If they mess up and start going down the rabbit hole of excuses, that can be a red flag...now we all do it from time to time, myself included but we want extreme ownership. I have learned a lot from simply analyzing my mistakes and sharing how I diagnose and fix them. That helps people learn.
3. Mindset
Now, this is very similar to humility however more general. What drives this person? Is it simply the money? or the fame? anyone doing this job will be motivated by those things even if they won't admit it. It is about taming those desires and working to be of service to the people paying you and looking up to you. If that falls away, there becomes a struggle with ego and the desire to stay relevant. Do they make people around them look small, so they can look big? Big people are simply big. They are not afraid of others being bigger because there is always someone bigger.
These are just a few of the things that in my opinion make for good instructors. They are not the only things but some guidelines I find important for me to stick to.
Educate-Train-Perform
Garret
Kommentit